Hey Guys,

I recently picked up a 1998 Ranger with the 2.5L I4 (166k miles) and I wanted to reach out to some folks who are experienced with these engines. I've never owned a Ranger before so I'm not exactly sure what the idle should be like but I personally feel like mine is idling a bit rougher than it should. I'm also not completely sure what these older Rangers should sound like but it seems like it is making a lot of noise.

I went ahead and recorded a video of my engine idling in the YouTube link here: .

Would you mind giving it a listen and letting me know if you hear anything weird please? Sorry if this seems like a weird request – I've worked on cars some in the past but I'm still pretty novice and just recently picked up this truck to gain more experience.

Thanks!

 

Sound like valve train noise or exhaust manifold leak

The 2.5l can run on just 1 coil pack, there is no "alternating"

After engine is warmed up shut it off
Unplug the 3 wire connector for the coil pack running the Intake side spark plugs
Start engine, it will idle a bit lower, but should idle smooth, if there is a steady misfire you have a bad spark plug or wire on that side
So lets assume it idles OK
Unplug 1 spark plug wire at a time(insulated pliers or glove!!!!!!)
And listen for the noise to diminish, if it does then its an exhaust manifold leak, valve train noise wouldn't change


Just FYI, you can also run the engine on just the intake side spark plugs to check if they are all working
The dual spark plugs add more power, but the down side is that you won't know if a spark plug or its wire fails until BOTH spark plugs fail in the one cylinder and cause a steady misfire
But easy enough to check that by unplugging each coil pack

 

i have almost the exact same noise. i pulled the valve cover and removed and inspected all 8 follower and lash adjusters. didn't find anything out of the ordinary.

Did you find the source of your noise?

 

I believe my issue is ultimately in the valvetrain somewhere. Unfortunately I haven’t had the time to pull the valve cover off yet to check things out but I changed the oil and added some Marvel Mystery Oil. That seems to have quieted it down a bit but I really need to try out RonD’s suggested steps above to see if it’s just a leak somewhere or if it’s actually the valvetrain.

 

After putting mine back together last night, the ticking noise is gone, so i am not sure what fixed it, or if its gone for good. We shall see.