Hey guys, my buddy has an 89 or so ranger with the 2.whatever inline four. it knocks in time with the engine. I know its coming from a compression stroke cyliner, because when I had the valve cover off, it was in time with two valves that were closed. Now it does it with the ignition turned off. I think it did it with the plugs removed, but I can't remember now. could it be something in the valve seat? i removed the head, and its dirty, but I don't know if it would make this noise or not, what do you all think?
Timmy

 

Anyone have any ideas on this one?

 

What's the mileage that would be a good place to start. The 2.3 is extremely reliable and not well known for problems. But the mileage would give us a place to start.

 

Shes high milage, thats for sure. I'm guessing proaching 200k
But not totally sure as of yet
As it was described to me, it got louder with higher load on the engine. you know what. . . the plugs were in it when I did the test, I know that because the plugs are still in the head! So it was always under compression when the noise was happening. But not always under fire. Also, when I rotated the engine with the head off, no sound at all. We had antifreeze in the oil. Not sure if the two were connected. The gasget didn't look too bad, but looked like it was leaking in the main oil galley running up through the head to lubricate the top end. So that should give a little more info, back to my A&P study videos. . . boring!!!!
Thanks.
Timmy

 

we're going to say mileage is about 125000. . . lets go with that.
Timmy