Hi,
I I hit a deer and replaced my radiator about 3 months ago. Since then I thought I have smelled coolant when I get out of the car, but cant see any leaks. Today I was driving to work (180 Miles) and about 40 miles into it on the highway, I would press the gas to keep speed going up a hill and I could hear a clicking noise. (It was raining most of the way there). Once I reached the top of a hill I would let off the gas to hold speed and the clicking noise would go away or quiet enough so I couldn't hear it. It would also go away if I let off the gas while going up the hill. It would happen in over drive as well as the gear before it. I pulled over and checked everything, couldn't hear any clicking or abnormal noises at idle. Got back on the highway and it continued. Seemed to only happen over 35-45 mph. I also had checked the coolant reservoir and it seemed dirty and almost gone, but I just changed all the fluid and the radiator itself not too long ago. Again no leaks that I can see. What should my first steps be to diagnose this since I can hear the noise while under the hood? I have been told its possibly the water pump or even a spring in the fuel pump or something. Any help is greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
Kyle

 

Could it be that the fan is barely hitting the fan shroud?

 

I thought that too, but the shroud wont budge, and It sounds quiet when I look under the hood and rev it up.

 

What year Explorer?

Are you familiar with "ping" or "spark knock"? Those are the exact conditions that are most likely to produce pinging, which is a fairly common problem on the 1st gen 4.0 OHV.

 

Its a 96 Explorer. I am not failiar with those things. Is there something more I can read about it?

Thanks

 

V6 or V8 engine? "Ping" is usually described as a "marble rattling in a can" kind of noise. It can ruin an engine, so it's important to determine if this is what you are hearing. Put engine ping or spark knock or similar into your favorite search engine. You'll find plenty to read.

 

I would check the motor mounts, if the noise is only when you press the gas peddle, you might want to use the parking brake, set it to drag (load the rear end), then set on gas, listen for sound under hood. Worth a try, Good Luck

 

Okay, thanks. I like the parking brake idea. It is a v6 and I would call it more of a clicking noise coming from somewhere than a ping noise. I will be home friday and check it out.

Thanks for the help so far.

 

Is it soft and changing with the RPMs? I had an exhaust leak in another truck that I would describe as a soft clicking, only when the truck was under load.

And about the parking brake idea...please put someone in the truck to hold the normal brakes and lightly apply the gas, that way if something goes wrong your truck doesn't go for a nice little adventure by itself. Just have someone hold the brakes firmly, put it in drive, and lightly apply the gas. Don't do it for days on end, as it heats up the transmission pretty quick, but it simulates being under a load such as climbing a hill.

 

A bad motor mount can do that.

Another thought: check for spark leak. When the spark plugs and/or wires go bad, they can allow the spark to jump, which will sound like a clicking noise. It tends to be worse under load. If it will do it at idle, it's not hard to diagnose: simply open the hood while the engine is running and look for sparks jumping.

 

Okay, I drove it home from work tonight. I let it warm up for a bit and checked it out under the hood, but all sounded normal. I hit the highway and the clicking seems to be constant when the gas pedal is pressed a certain amount and the car is going 50mph or more. It will only happen at the position of the pedal, and is louder depending on how much depression of the pedal. I cannot get this to happen below 50 so I dont know how to show this to a mechanic because the closest highway is half hour away.


After listening to this after quite some time the noise sounds closest to a relay clicking. It gets loud at sometimes. I also noticed tonight that my heat is coming out warm but not hot. The thermostat seems to be funtioning fine, and the temrp guage is in the range it should be.

To answer some of your suggestions:

- I tried to rev the car up in drive with the break set, and no noise comes from the car.

- I checked the oil and there is no fluid of any type in it. Also the antifreeze seems to be at the same level since this all started.

Any ideas would be great. I am thinking like a fuel pump or relay. I have no experience with either of the two, but this seems related to the high demand of fuel at the time of the clicking.

Your help is GREATLY appreciated if you have any.

- Kyle

 

Kyle,

No change in performance, right? Aside from the noise, she stills runs strong?


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if there is, then its too slight to notice. At first I thought there was, but I think it was me letting off of the gas so the noise would'nt be so bad. Gas mileage is the same too.

Any ideas?

 

Well I was looking for a leak in the exhaust manifold and noticed some fresh antifreeze near the oil filter at the rear... I drove it down to the mechanic and they said the coolant system was being over pressurized because the head gasket was starting to go. They said its gonna blow any day now. Probably the case, but anyone got any thoughts on this?

Would you guys junk it? or fix the head gasket. They said the head could be cracked too, but hadnt looked of course.

The car has 135,000 has ran great up to this point, and the body is in great shape. Appreciate any thoughts.

- Kyle

 

Good God if it's only a head gasket, fix it. Gasket <<< New car.

Be SURE you really trust this shop before you do anything. Did they do a pressure test? How exactly did they determine that it's definitely the head gasket?

What is the ticking noise you're hearing?


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