Hello to all, I recently posted the dreaded lifter problem, and I was wondering how many others have the same problem. 1988 Bll 2.9 . LOUD ticking -clicking noise that comes and goes. If you do please advise what it is/was and what you did to fix it. Thanks ex..

 

Mine's not loud, it's just a light, continuous click. It doesn't come and go, it's always there. I've owned the truck since late March and it has never gotten worse, and I have done nothing about it...

 

I just bought an 88b2 xlt, and he said the best thing I could do was add a quart of something called lucas(?) and use 20W50 in the engine (170,000+ miles)
I'm not fond of the idea of such heavy oil, but he owns one and this is what he does.

 

anybody else ?

 

Yeah in warmer climates use 5W30. In fact use it in cold climates too. Being lighter the oil will get to the lifters quicker than using a heavier weight oil. Never use heavy weight oil. The lifter ticking in 2.9's when cold is normal. When warm lifters shouldn't tick. Also check your oil level.

 

I've been using 20W50 Castrol GTX since I've owned the truck, and have had no probs... just the light LIGHT click... and yes it does do the loud click in the cold... but if that's normal, cool...

 

thanks for the reply, i sure that if there are enough of us who have this same problem in common , get together and present these cases to FOMOCO, they may help us find a solution to our problem or may EVEN cause a recall, or maybe a class action suit. So lets hit that keyboard this time and talk to your friends and get some input from them. who knows where this could take us ..... free new engine from FOMOCO ,or a repair. or national attention to our problem . thanks ex...

 

Make sure the tick is not coming from the fuel rail.The fuel rail is know for a fuel knock. If you mave a mechanics stethoscope, probe around and see if you hear it more pronounced on the rail or on the engine itself. I have the ticking from the fuel rail. I had changed the fuel rail and did not cure it. Only slightly lowered the volume.
I have heard of people changing the position of the camshaft thrust plate on the front of the engine from left to right allowing more flow to the top end. This cure has mixed results.
I highly doubt any legal action will take place being that Ford discontinued the Bronco II. There were so many law actions against the truck, The explorer was its quick fix.
Also if you have a loud tapping noise only on cold start up it could either be a garbage oil filter(Fram) or an exhaust ,manifold leak. I had the cold start up tap. I use only motorcraft filters(learned about that a while back)I had found the exhaust manifolds leaking. Changed them and it is all gone.
Good luck everyone.

 

thanks for your reply WOLFFPAX . checked fuel rail little clicking not the big click coming from inside the valve cover. can you go into more detail on how to move camshaft thrust plate, ? $ , tools time how hard it is to do. will change to MOTORCRAFT filter. no exhaust leak. thanks again for your input.

 

I haven't done it but I can try to give you as much as detail as possible on the process.
1. Drain oil and coolant
2. remove radiator,fan and spacer,drive beltand pulley
3. remove alternator
4. remove fuel lines(need fuel disconnect tools from local auto store)
5. remove crankshaft damper(need puller)
6. remove engine front coverand water pump as an assembly
7. remove camshaft sproket attaching bolts and washer, and slide off camshaft
8. loosen plate bolts and rotate the camshaft thrust plate. It is mounted with the crescent plate facing the passenger side of the truck. You simply rotate it to the right.So that the crescent side is facing the drivers side.
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You will need coolant,oil, brake clean, rags, hand tools(sockets and wrenches), Ford fuel disconnect tools, pulley puller.
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You could have a collapsed lifter, bent pushrod, or a rocker arm that is indented from a collapsed lifter.(this happens from a constant slap on the rocker ar without any lifter dampening it.Also commonly found on the 2.9 and 4.0 engines)or an oil flow problem going to the heads.
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Like I stated before there were mixed results from the plate rotation fix. This might not fix what you are having.
I would ask around first before starting on a project that might turn out to be a lot more than you bargain for.

 

Hello Wollfpax. I noticed your name and have to ask you if you were ever a member of the Wolf Pack in Korea?

 

And to the one who uses 20W50. Ford never recommended that weight for it's vehicles using gas. 10W30 was the norm and recently they have recommended 5W30.

 

I'm using 20W50 so my dad doesn't get pissed off at me for not using it... he wants me to use it because the truck has a zillion miles and that 10W30 is too thin (I think he thinks the valve seals probably won't seal well with 10W30 at the current mileage and age of the engine). I've never had a problem with 20W50. My oil pressure is prolly about 2-3 PSI lower than normal, but nothing bad has happened to it.

 

Sorry MJB.No I have not been a member of the Wolf Pack in Korea.

 

OK 20W50, the problem with that weight of oil is it takes longer for the oil to warm up, thinning out enough to make to your bearings and upper end. I remember stories about a guy wanting to trade his Dodge 318 in on a new car. The problem was that a rod bearing was going and it was loud. His fix was to put 90 weight gear lube in it, get it nice and hot then drive it to the dealer. The dealer didn't know the engine was shot until the day after the sale. That was a slick one.