92 EB extended, 4l v6 with 111,000 miles-

What would cause a clattering sound whenever I am going up any incline? It doesn't sound like pinging. It's more of a rattling sound.

Just had the tranny rebuilt (again), complete tune-up 12 months ago with Motorcraft plugs and wires, front-end rebuilt last year, and oil changes every 3k.

I am only getting about 15/mpg in the city.

Any ideas?

aerostargal

 

Have you ever had the 4.0L decarbon'd?

When you say clatter, that makes me think of valves sticking, A decarboning will correct that problem.

Any CE lights?

 

9 times out of 10 it is plugs and wires but since you had those changed recently I would agree with 93nighthawk about carbon buildup. There is a simple procedure for running Seafoam or just ordinary tap water through the intake manifold to reduce carbon buildup. If you have a regular route you drive and notice the 'clatter' try running it with and without the A/C engaged and see if there is a difference. If so, do a search on this forum for 'Seafoam' and read up on the procedure to decarbonize the cylinder heads.

 

Thanks for your responses.

To clarify the noise a little more - it sounds like a manual tranny in too high of a gear.

It makes that noise going up hill (even a slight one) whether the a/c is on or off, and I drive in D in town and OD on highways. I haven't had it decarboned before so I will do a search on Seafoam.

Thanks again,
aerostargal

 

Might be a good idea to at least try the decarbonizing. Its simple, inexpensive and has no known side effects - at least to date with those that have reported on it.

FWIW, I will add, that I tried this recently with just water. All was going well until the engine suddenly died. On restart, there was a noticeable knocking noise and my heart just sank, thinking "oh, no, I just ruined a perfectly good engine for no real reason other than experimentation." I shut it down and went to bed angry at myself for what I thought was a foolish mistake. The next morning, it fired right up with no noises and has been running just like before. Whatever the noise (temporary sticking valve?) it abated and no damage has been detected after 2 weeks operation.

 

I would not recomend using water. You will contaminate your oil and cause rust. Seafoam and Berrymans are so cheap and will not harm your internal components.

 

In theory, no water gets past the rings to contaminate anything. The small amount introduced becomes steam which then scours the carbon deposits. An oil check afterwards did not reveal any contamination. Besides, the condensation that normally forms inside an engine during short trip, cold weather operation would be far more extensive than the hot engine procedure we are discussing.

I never thought much of this water method until I replaced a cylinder head on a Taurus last fall. The cylinder with the tiny coolant leak was absolutely clean as a whistle while both adjacent cylinders were heavily carbonized.

 

will the water decarbonization treatment or Seafoam remove deposits built up on the O2 sensors?

any chance the combustion chamber carbon builtup that flakes off will end up on the O2 sensors and cause problems?

 

O2s wear out over time, they are not cleanable, sorry.

Anything that does fly out, I doubt will stick to the O2 because it does get fairly hot.

 

Do you think I can get Seafoam at Autozone? From my research this stuff sounds like it works GREAT!

Thanks again guys, I will post with my results.

aerostargal

 

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15 mpg with an extended Aerostar, is about right for city MPG. The extended Aerostars are quite heavy. What viscosity of oil are you using? Brand? Also, Sea Foam is available at Auto Zone. I tried it after reading about it here, and felt a noticeable improvement, especially at hot afternoon, high temp. idle. I have a '87 Aerostar, 3.0V6. I was starting to notice the idle would be low, after a freeway drive. Coming off the exit ramp, high 90s+ air temperature. Summer. With the AC on in the van, it seemed to labor, almost to the point of slipping the gear shift to "N" so it would not stall. After using a can of Sea Foam, for once a week, for a month, the Aerostar would idle right at + - 900 1000 rpm, HOT, in gear, AC blowing cold, headlights on. Dash lights brights. A "normal" feel, where I did not think the Aerostar might stall. Now I add a can of Sea Foam once or twice a year, and so far THIS summer, my Aerostar has run fine/. I also like Berrymen's B-12 Chemcleaner, but I don't use FI cleaner very often. I also clean the throttle plate, twice a year. Have you done that? Fords will build up deposits there, which will hurt your MPG. good luck AerostarGal/.
PS if your Autozone tells you they don't have it, they can easily order some for you, and have it in 3-4 days. Try to find the oldest worker there, or the store manager. I asked a young "Autozoner" person, and they were absolutely clueless what Sea Foam is, what it is used for, and didn't even know the store stocked it.

 

To answer Ed's question-
I use Penzoil 10w-30

Picked up the last 2 cans of Seafoam Deep Creep that Autozone had on the shelf. Gonna run it through tonight and will let you know the results.

aerostargal