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2.3L valve train clattering noise


XLTsplash

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My Ranger has a 2.3L with 132K miles on it. I use Valvoline 10W30 oil and a Motorcraft filter. About at 131K I changed the oil and filter and went with Valvoline Max Life 10W30 . I started to notice a valve train clattering noise only when hot and at idle. I have installed new Ford cam followers/rocker arms and valve lash adjuster/lifters. I changed the oil to Valvoline 10W40 and still have the noise. I checked oil pressure = 54 PSI hot at 2,000 RPM, 32 PSI at idle. I just changed back to the Ford recommended 5W30 and FL-1A. It still has the noise only at idle, I seem to hear it at a little lower temp with the 5W30. The wear on the cam and valve tips looked about normal. The engine looks nice and clean inside. Any ideas ? I would like to fix this. I was thinking new cam ? Or reman. head ? Or maybe new oil pump ? I don't want to throw parts at it and waste my time and money. Has any one seen this problem on a 2.3L and fixed it ?
 


tomw

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Does it seem that all the followers are clattering? If it were one, then I'd suspect the hydraulic adjuster of having too much leakage, and inability to maintain the clearance desired.
Your pressure seems to indicate the system is in pretty good shape. The clearance is maintained by the adjuster extending itself to push the follower against the cam lobe, forcing the other end to get tight to the valve stem tip. If you have clatter, either the adjuster is extended fully and cannot close the gap (does ok when cold) or the adjuster is allowing the oil to leak out too quickly and thus is can collapse a bit and allow more clearance.
On some of the Lima engines there was a 'slug' inserted into the underside of the cylinder head that was a check valve to keep oil up in the cam gallery. Oil pressure would displace the slug, and oil would flow past to the lifters and cam bearings. If the passage was constricted, not enough could flow perhaps. The other thing to consider is the cam bearings may be allowing too much to leak out when hot. Didja happen to check their clearance, or did you just replace without removing the cam?
tom
 

XLTsplash

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I sounds like maybe two of them are making noise. It's hard to tell for sure even with a stethoscope on the valve cover. The noise seems worst after driving, then idling. When I let the engine sit and idle for a while, yesterday I did this to listen with a stethoscope. It seemed to quiet down a bit after idling for a while. I didn't pull the cam out when I replaced the adjusters and followers. It's not a hard solid single tick noise, more of just a chattering. Kind of like marbles rolling around in a coffee can with oil in it. That's the best was I can think of to describe the noise. I can hear both inside and outside the truck. I looked at the cam a didn't see any major wear. I did feel a bit of a line on the rounded part of the cam off of the lift lobe, it wasn't anything I could see I could just feel it like a change from a flat part to the rounded part of the grind. Without another 2.3L roller cam to compare it to, I can't say if it was normal or not.
 

tomw

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If you want to know, you'll have to remove the cover and check the 'collapsed lifter clearance'. That means to collapse the adjuster by leaning on it with a long bar, and then measure clearance from the cam follower to the heel of the cam lobe in question. FoMoCo specifies how much clearance there should be as a max & min. I don't have it memorized, but on the old FE engines it was in the area of .060" fully collapsed. That allowed the valve to close completely, and kept the lifter bits in the middle of their possible travel, more or less. So they could take up the clearance and still allow the valve to seat.
You may have too much wear on the cam lobe, or not. I don't know. If too much, the adjuster cannot extend enough to take up the slack, and you hear the noise at idle, while the noise is there all the time, but covered by other engine and road noises.
Solution in that case is a new cam, or there may be different length adjusters, though I have not heard of them. In the old days, you could buy different length push rods to make up for slack or tightness in the valve train. Valve wear would shorten the 'path', while worn lobes/lifters/rocker arm tips & pivots could increase the path.
tom
 

XLTsplash

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I seems like it comes down to something worn in the valve train or a oil pressure problem. I did test my oil pressure and it seems fine at 54 PSI hot 2,000 RPM and 31 PSI hot at idle. So I was thinking of just buying a reman. Then I have this worry in the back of my mind. What if I replace the head and still have the problem ? I think of my Dads old 1989 Ranger with a 2.3L. It had over 200K miles on it and it lost oil pressure. I was able to drop the oil pan down enough in the truck to remove the oil pump and pick up. The pick screen was packed with factory failed oil pan sealer. I cleaned out the screen and installed a new oil pump. The engine was fine after that. I know my oil pressure tests good, can I have good pressure and not enough volume to get to the lifters ? I was thinking of dropping the oil pan on my 1997 to check the pick up screen like I did on my Dad's Ranger. I just don't know If I would have room to drop the pan enough to get the pick removed. I fixed my Dad's Ranger back in the mid 90's and a can't remember if I had a steel or aluminum pan. I know his 2.3L had the old shaft driven oil pump. My 97 has the belt driven pump and aluminum pan. Did the 1997's still have problems with the oil pan sealer plugging up the pick up screen ? I did try to look inside my oil pan with a inspection camera in the drain plug hole, I just couldn't see the screen. It did look clean inside the pan.
 

scotts90ranger

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You can't have pressure and no volume unless something in the top end is plugged...

If you're that worried, pull the lash adjusters out and put dimes under them then reassemble... personally I wouldn't worry about it, mine has made that noise for years and I've been abusing the heck out of it without problems for years :), when I pulled mine apart to rebuild it it didn't look all that bad inside...
 

XLTsplash

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You can't have pressure and no volume unless something in the top end is plugged...

If you're that worried, pull the lash adjusters out and put dimes under them then reassemble... personally I wouldn't worry about it, mine has made that noise for years and I've been abusing the heck out of it without problems for years :), when I pulled mine apart to rebuild it it didn't look all that bad inside...
When you rebuilt yours did the noise stop ?
 

Mark_88

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Mine used quite a bit of oil and when it got really low sometimes it would make a horrible clattering noise, there was no power, and I had to pull off the road and let it sit for a bit...and add oil...

I would start it up and it would clatter a bit for a few minutes and then go quiet...but it was still running...

I was putting 20w50 into it for the last year or so in the summer and the clatter didn't return...put 10w40 in the winter and used a block heater when it got really cold...no problems until recently when something gave way and the coolant/oil got mixed up so my rad is really well oiled and my pistons got a good steam cleaning...but I had to scrap the engine!
 

scotts90ranger

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When you rebuilt yours did the noise stop ?
Actually it didn't have any valvetrain noise until after I rebuilt it... but I'm running a different head than I was before, my engine is such a mixmatch of parts... but it's a big tall truck on 35" tires with a turbo 2.3L putting out around 200hp, so I don't blame it for being noisy :)
 

XLTsplash

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I pulled the trans out of my Ranger this past weekend to install a new clutch and I also pulled the oil pan to check the pickup screen. It was nice a clean. I did notice that the pickup tube bolts weren't very tight. I installed a new pickup gasket and my lifters seem to be making a lot less noise. I can still hear a little noise that sounds more like just one lifter. So I hope the cause of my valve train noise was just sucking air at the pickup tube. I will see if it gets better or worst with more driving. Pulling the trans and flywheel seemed like a easy to get the pan out. It gave my all of the room I needed.
 

XLTsplash

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Took my Ranger out for a few dump runs and a trip to Home Depot. It still seems to have a lifter or two making noise at idle. I saved my original factory lifters and noticed that two of them are not pumped up, the other six are. I have good oil pressure. Can the oil pump be sucking in air at a pump o-ring ? I've never had one of the belt driven oil pumps out to see how the oil flows into them. Because now I'm thinking of trying a new oil pump and or a reman. head.
 

tomw

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You can fiddle with the two that are not pumped up. Get a bucket of oil, and submerge the lifter. As you push on the support end, it will compress, and as you let go, the port will open for a bit and allow oil into the lifter. After doing this several times, the lifter should have filled its internal chamber that makes it work, and the lifter should not collapse. You should be able to bleed it down over time by pushing on the end. If it bleeds down quickly, that might be the cause of the noise when installed. The lifter is designed with a bit of leak, as that is the only way it can allow for valve seat wear which would close up the valve train clearance and keep the valve from seating.
tom
 

XLTsplash

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With all the work and money I've put into fixing the noise, It's still there. A new oil pump and new cylinder head that came complete. The cam follower noise seems to be loudest at number one cylinder. Before the new head I would have said it was loudest at number 3. when I pulled the old head off. All of the lifters seemed to be pumped up. It seems to be loudest during hot idle after being driven. Once it idles awhile it seems to quiet down. I'm going crazy trying to fix this noise. The new head was a all new casting with with remain valves, springs followers and cam. Could it be just bad luck and the new head as a lifter that is having trouble pumping up ?
Before I installed the new head, I tried new from Ford lifters and followers, they both had updated part numbers. The new Ford lifters had the oil groove and hold higher than the factory installed lifters. The updated followers had rollers that were more narrow than the factory installed parts. The new lifters and followers didn't stop the noise that's why I replaced the head. I know that the 95/97 2.3L head was different than the older 2.3Ls in that it had smaller valve stems and springs. If the updated parts I got from Ford were used on the 98/01 2.5L did Ford change the the heads and valve train in 98/01 because of noise in the 95/97 valve train ?
One other thing and lifter installation, Is it better to have the oil hole in the lifter line up with the oil supply hole in the head or is it better to have the holes 180 apart ? I have was always thinking it didn't matter because I never seen instructions for installing them a certain way.
 
Last edited:

tomw

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The lifter should have a depression all the way around the circumfrence in the area surrounding the oil inlet hole. The oil pumped will flow into the depression, all the way around the lifter, and enter through the inlet hole. Clocking is not required.
After you have spent all this moolah on followers & lifters and a new head, and still have the noise, but a bit different. I would be dragging out a piece of tubing and using it with one end held to my ear and the other passed over the suspect spots in an attempt to locate the source of the noise.
When I start the 2.3 after it sits for a few days, I will get a rap-rap-rap for ~2-5 seconds on some occasions. I think it depends which lifter is being used to hold a valve open. I would think one lifter has more leakage than the others (normal spec differences) and it just is the luck of the spot in the rotation of the cam when it comes to rest.
You may be hearing injector noise as injectors can be noisy. Or other engine noises. Try to locate the source.
tom
 

XLTsplash

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I have a stethoscope with a metal rod on the end. It's not the injector tick, and I can't hear it in on the engine block. It seems loudest on the valve cover above number one cylinder. I've talked to the guy I bought the new head from. He said the lifters are reconditioned original Ford lifters. He hasn't had any problems with the new heads or reconditioned lifters. He said I may have got a weak lifter. This weekend I will pull the valve cover off again and check for a weak lifter. I still have my original lifters and six of them are still pumped up solid. In all of the other engines I've put together I've just dropped the lifters in and they worked fine. Because of the problems I'm having with this one I'm thinking of indexing all of the lifter oil holes with the oil feed hole in the head. I'm thinking a direct blast of oil may help keep the lifters pumped.
 

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