I am in the process of rebuilding my engine from a '94 Ranger. It is the 4.0 OHV (vinX) engine. As I have never done this before, I have questions.

1. I purchased new pushrods, and the replacements have a ball welded to each end. These ***** are not centered and caused the rod to wobble when rolled across a flat surface (Note the rod itself it perfectly flat). Is this an issue? Can I use them? I purchased Melling and Enginetech and both are similar.

2. I had the cam bearings replaced and the new bearings don't perfectly line up with the oil channels. While there is a good majority of the channel shown through the hole, I am wondering if this is an issue? I can post pics if needed.

3. My machine shop did not replace the piston rod bolts and told me I can reuse the old ones. I have read that I should replace them. What should I do? If I should replace them, can I do them myself? I have a small arbor press that could likely do the job.

Thank you for your time!

Tim

 

Good read here on 4.0l OHV rebuilds: https://www.therangerstation.com/tec...0l-pushrod-v6/

#1, that is odd, pushrods should roll flat, do the old ones roll flat, mine do, never changed them
If the centers roll flat, ***** not touching surface, then that should be fine, it would promote rotation of the pushrods reducing the chance of wear in one spot

#2 that should be OK and normal, the 2 center cam bearings also feed the rocker assembly, one does left the other does right so the reasoning would be to keep more pressure in the passage for the rockers, the bearing clearance is pretty tight so doesn't need that much oil flow and cam only spins at 1/2 the RPMs of crank, so doesn't build up as much heat

#3 the rod bolts are not Torque to yield so can be reused, but that's up to you, change them if you would feel better about it, I have just reused them on older engines

 

The old pushrods are still good, but the ends were a little worn. I buffed them to make them shiny and remove the build-up crud. I still can't decide if I should go new or original. I might make a youtube video showing what the new ones do. I'll get back to you on that.

Thanks Ron, I appreciate the insight. Across multiple forums, you are the only one to reply. :-)

Tim