4.0 motor making ticking noise at idle
#1
4.0 motor making ticking noise at idle
I have a 02 Ranger xlt with the 4.0 SOHC motor. A couple weeks ago I changed the oil in my truck and a couple days later I came home from work and noticed smoke pouring out from under my hood. I had a bad oil leak from the passenger side and it was burning off the top of the headers. I’m not 100% certain but several mechanically incline people that I trust told me I had a leaky valve cover gasket. I bought the gasket but haven’t had the time to replace it yet. Now I’ve noticed a ticking noise coming from the motor at idle. It’s loud enough to hear it over my exhaust which is broken in many places due to a minor wreck several months ago. My oil pressure gauge is where it has always been. What would the issue be? The truck is my daily driver. Should I stop driving it before I cause any major issues? Or is it something small that can be fixed by replacing the valve cover gasket?
#2
The valve cover gasket won’t fix the tick u hear......are u sure the tick u here is from the engine itself?.. oftentimes an exhaust leak will sound like a leak.....u may wanna replace the valve cover gasket then tackle the exhaust issues u have... very possible that’s where the noise is coming from.....
#3
I agree. A tick can come from a number of sources. It could be a valve, lifter, valve guide, injector, cracked exhaust manifold, or a number of other things. This is where an engine stethoscope will come in handy (a long screwdriver with the handle pressed to your ear listening to various parts while the engine is running).
#4
They also make automotive stethoscopes, Harbor Freight has them for under $5. They are amazing, and make pinpointing sounds/lack thereof very simple. I had a ticking coming from my engine area, and I was low on oil. I topped it off, ticking went away. My friend who was a mechanic recognized it as dry valves clicking.
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heaton84
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11-18-2007 10:52 AM