Hey All, new Ranger owner here looking for some help diagnosing a ticking noise on a 4.0 SOHC in my 2011.

Tapping has been getting progressively louder over the past 2k miles and is in sync with the engine speed. Noise is not present on start up but once it reaches operating temp the tapping comes in. My thought is that it is probably a hydraulic lifter that need replacing. Motor only has 68k miles on it. Tried changing my oil to a 10w-30 to see if that would make a difference. No change in ticking...maybe even a little worse.

Here is a link to a video of the noise:
Any thoughts? If I take off the valve cover on the suspected side how will I notice if one of the adjusters is broken?

Thanks!
Alex

 

I have not heard of this being a problem with the 4.0 SOHC engine. I have over 279K on mime have not experienced it. I am pretty sure there are no mechanical adjusters on the overhead cam. It is probably a collapsed hydraulic lash adjuster. I don 't know if you can feel the play in it but it is worth a try.

It could be just a gummed up hydraulic lash adjuster. I have heard of people using things like Marvel Mystery oil to free up hydraulic lifters. That could be worth a try before you remove the valve cover.

 

Thanks for the reply! Yeah more research shows that it is indeed a valve lash adjuster and not a "lifter"

I was going to pull the valve cover and see if I could feel around for anything loose. Assuming it would be feeling for some play in any of the rocker rollers. I'm also curious how much damage I could be doing to the engine if I continue to drive it just while I'm trying to diagnose the problem.

I'll grab some Marvel and throw it in there to see if it helps but probably just a temporary fix.

 

A hydraulic valve adjuster is part 'n parcel to a hydraulic valve lifter, no?
How long have you owned it? The new engine(?) could indicate that the vehicle was abused; possibly by one bad owner or family.
Try a good cleaner like Kreen on an engine with unknown maintenance history.

 

Yeah pretty sure the names are interchangeable but some people are adamant one way or another haha.

I get the impression that the truck was well maintained as I got regular service records with it and it's very clean. Could just have been a bad one in the lot. I've owned it only for about 2 months so kinda bummed that this is the situation but so it goes with used cars...

I would keep driving it to see if the new oil change/cleaners can help clean things out but I'm worried that I'll do damage to the cam or other valve train components.

 

I just realized that there may be a fundamental difference between an OHV engine's lifters and what's in our DOHC design.

Also, Mobil1 synthetic is praised on an oil board I read as a cleaning oil which is readily available and frequently on sale.

 

Out of curiosity, do you think this lifter install process will work on our 4.0L motors? Seems pretty straight forward to me.