At a crossroads? 2.9 lifter tick

[Nicholas D]

So I bought a 1989 ranger with the 2.9L last October for not too much money, not knowing the actual mileage and knowing it may be on borrowed time. My idea was to get it, work out the kinks over the next year or so and then give it to my son as his first car when he turns 16. It looks like the borrowed time may have run out. The other morning when I started it there was a noticeable "tick" which hadn't occured before and I believe has correctly been diagnosed as a lifter tick. I changed the oil and added an engine treatment yesterday but the tick hasn't changed at all. After briefly reading about cost/labor etc associated with lifter replacements I am trying to figure out my next step. While I am comfortable doing minor repairs and routine maintenance, I have learned to pick my battles and this one seems out of my league.

Which leads me here, to pick the collective minds of the experts, and see what may be my best plan going forward? Get rid of it altogether, pay someone to replace the lifter(s), try to source a "new" engine? As I said, I'm not very much into the truck currently, and I really do enjoy it so would love to keep it going, even if that means spending some money. I just don't really even have an expectation of what the cost may be? Any advice or insight appreciated. Thanks!

 

[rusty ol ranger]

2.9's tick.

Its what they do.

Lots of 2.9's lived happy lives of service ticking like a sewing machine...mine included.

You can hook a pressure gauge up and make sure the oil pressure is good...but if it were me id just run it and not worry to much about it.

 

[Nicholas D]

Awesome, thank you! I realize I didn't describe it too well, not sure if that would change anything. Ticks loudly at startup and fades away to completely nonexistent once it's warm. I've not noticed anything out of the ordinary on the oil pressure gauge on the dash but I'll look into a pressure gauge for a better idea. Thanks again.

 

[rusty ol ranger]

Awesome, thank you! I realize I didn't describe it too well, not sure if that would change anything. Ticks loudly at startup and fades away to completely nonexistent once it's warm. I've not noticed anything out of the ordinary on the oil pressure gauge on the dash but I'll look into a pressure gauge for a better idea. Thanks again.

If it only does it cold i really wouldnt worry.

Mine does it worse warm.

Lifter tick on startup is normal on any engine after its been not run for extended periods

 

[alwaysFlOoReD]

I believe that the oil gauge isn't real after a certain year. It turns on/off at around 5 psi. A tee fitting and a real gauge...

 

[rusty ol ranger]

I believe that the oil gauge isn't real after a certain year. It turns on/off at around 5 psi. A tee fitting and a real gauge...

mid year 87 is the general consensus on when it changed

 

[Shran]

Run it... keep the cooling system clean and the 2.9 will last forever. I might worry a bit if it does it all the time I guess, the lifters pump up with oil pressure. If they don't pump up, they are either gummed up, defective or there is not enough oil pressure to pump them up. There are some valve adjustments and you can mess with pushrod length as well... worn pushrods or rocker arms can make noise too.

Bottom line in my mind, if it's just making noise for a bit when cold and it goes away, ignore it.

 

[bcschief]

Pull and clean the rocker arm shafts pull the plugs on the ends and run a bore brush thru them reinstall the plugs. clean and inspect the rocker arms inspect the pads and have them machined if necessary, check the adjusting screws for wear. flush the pushrod oil passages with brake cleaner and reassemble making sure they are assembled in the correct order use white lube as an assembly lube. The reason for doing this is sludge can build up inside the rocker shafts and restrict oil flow. Remember that the oil flows from the rocker shafts and thru the rocker arms and down the pushrods to the lifters. Maybe someone on here has a part number for the rocker shaft plugs.

 

[Nicholas D]

Just to follow up - I am not going to say the problem has been solved, but the tick is gone. As I said above, I changed the oil and added Rislone engine treatment last Thursday and it continued to tick Thursday and Friday. I didn't drive it Saturday or Sunday and when I started it Monday, the tick has mysteriously disappeared. I've since driven it everyday, starting it both cold and warm and haven't heard it return yet. Maybe it took some miles to get the engine treatment or fresh oil worked around? I have no idea but for whatever it's worth, so far a $12 bottle of engine treatment is doing the trick.

 

[RobbieD]

Thank you for the follow up.

 

[gaz]

@Nicholas D ,
Why don't you just perform a rocker arm adjustment; in my experience, adjusting the rocker arms every 30k-35k, the lifters never make tick... it's why the rocker are adjustable, to maintain optimum performance.

You will need to learn how to adjust the preload on hydraulic lifters but you will only need to learn it one time. It requires no special tools, just a simple socket set and a little patience

It is possible, since you do not know the full history of your engine's maintenance that it could need new rockers and push rods. They are both very available and inexpensive from a variety of companies. I have always used Melling.

 

[Nicholas D]

I definitely plan to learn how to adjust the rocker arms. Although different altogether, I've been adjusting the valves on my VW's for years so I have to think I've at least got the capacity to learn?! I am so busy with work currently I'm really just trying to keep the ranger going and happy. Once I slow down a bit, in early April, I plan to spend some quality time (and patience) with it. Thanks for the suggestion.