1987 TC, sounds like rod and main bearings but I don't have any experience with this motor, if it is the mains, can the oil pan be dropped with out removing the engine?
Checked oil pressure, it is about 60 cold and drops to about 30 warm and no sound of the knock till about 2000 rpm and the oil pressure gets up to about 40 at 2000 rpm, is this normal with 105,000 miles and do I have problems?
Could your timing be off? It would be alot easier to tell if you had a sound clip or a vid. Does it always do it, or only in certain situations?
Possibly cat convertor.
Sure it's not something in the belt line? Maybe a bad ac compressor bearing or something? I'd take the belt off and see if it goes away.
Those are some good ideas, what would it take to upload a sound clip?
Thanks
Removed the A/C belt, same noise, I did a video using my dig. camera and I can hear it...I have tried 6 times to upload this clip and it will not let me, it is a .mov file, anyone have a way to upload it?
Can someone who knows these engines at least tell me if this is serious or can the engine continue for years like I have read in a couple of the other threads here.
give us more clues as to what the rattle sounds like. will it do it when the car is stopped if you rev it to 2,000rpm? look under the car and see if you can hear the rattling on the cat it that is what it is? is the sound constant at 2,000 or does it come and go?
Diffently sounds like it's comming from the bottom of the engine, in park it gets louder after warm up and the oil pressure drops some due to I think thinning the oil, it is pretty consistant at 2000 and above, but there are times I don't hear it much and other times it makes me cringe...I have a short video with sound, but can't up load it is a .mov clip made from my dig. camera.
Not with the limited info you've provided.
Upload the video to Youtube and post the link to it here.
You'll probably be better off posting on youtube or similar then providing a link.
If it's valvetrain noise, make sure the cam gear bolt is properly torqued.
Every 2.3T I've ever heard rattles something awful. Not sure where it is, but it isn't the cat or cat cover. Maybe the wastegate assy?
Good idea...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LVzUjhh5ROg
check nd see if the timing belt is frayed
with the idle screw bump up the idle to above 2K, use a broom handle as a stethescope to find out where the noise is loudest.
Don't go messin' with the idle screw... Place a washer(or a couple pennies) on the set screw between it and the throttle lever and that will hold the idle up so it can be heard...
I dunno what it is, but doesn't sound like a rod bearing and I doubt it's a main... Could maybe a wrist pin...
Sounds to light to be a main or rod bearing. Are you sure it isn't coming from under the valve cover? That sounds alot like a bad HLA, or a cam lobe, or several lobes, that've gone flat.
if you keep the idle up we have found it useful to use a length of tube and point it around with the other end close to your ear.
if you open the oil fill hole and does the noise get louder?
I have tried the hose and cant tell, opened the oil fill and can't really tell, it does seem to echo through the hose more up top than when I put the hose on the block below the exhaust manifold...the noise is less when cold and the first start of the day and the oil pressure is highest then also...are they connected?...could it be that when the oil pressure is highest it gets more oil to the valves/lifters at the top of the engine and that's why it's quieter on the first start?
What type of oil filter are you running?
Can't tell, just got the car a few weeks ago and the previous owner did a oil change as the oil is pretty clean and not thick...he did not goop it up.
The more we listen to it and use the hose, the more it sounds top end, under the valve cover, oil pressure is best when cold, I assume because the oil is thinner then and less noise, I don't have lot's of $$, so what would be your plan?
Do I need to do the oil pump...at 2000 rpm and warm and knocking or chattering the pressure is right at 40lbs...when cold it's up around 60.
I have never done one of these 2.3 but think I can get to the valves by removing intake and valve cover and not pull the engine, can I check to see if this is where the noise is or do we just do the rockers and what else and hope this is it?
And...Thanks for all the help!
My dads 460 van does the same thing. It started when he put on the fram oil filter, but he is sure its cause he used slightly lighter weight oil. I would pull the valve cover if it were me and look for wear marks, and if its a fram filter, go get a moto-craft one and swap it on.
Oh also, there is a rubber gasket on the top of the filters that can sometimes get stuck to the screw part on the oil filter mount, I have heard that that can either bypass or stop oil off and on from recirculating through the system.
If what we are hearing is top end under the valve cover is this serious and needs to be fixed or can I just live with this?....or would you figure replacing the rockers, lifters...or what?...And since we would be that far would it be dumb not to do XXX because we are already there....I guess I am asking if it were your car and you had valve chatter and not loaded with $$$, what would you do?
pull off the valve cover and see what is under there. You'll never know till you get there. Your cam is not a roller, so oiling problems will hurt it faster then some cars. If you have an oil pressure gauge, hook on up, if not, pull the valve cover and see what you can see.
At idle the oil pressure starts out cold near the middle of the dash gauge (middle of normal range) and by the time it's warm it's near the low end of the "normal" range, I didn't like that so we hooked up a real gauge and it starts cold between 50 lbs and 60 lbs, by the time it gets warm it's less than 30lbs, but when warm you can rev it to 2000 and it reads about 40lbs...do you think the pump is ok or not?
Pull the valve cover and inspect the cam. Your video sounds like mine when I had about 4 lobes go flat on the stock slider. You'll be able to see the damage quite clearly with the valve cover off and you rotate the cam. If it is wasted, and I'm betting it is, replace it with a cheap ranger roller with followers, and replace the HLA's while you're in there. You'll lose a little top end power with the ranger roller, but they can be found cheap.
Mine is a auto and I guess the auto's are rated about 40 HP behind the manual and think I read the auto's have a smaller factory cam than the maunals, is the ranger cam a upgrade to what I have from the factory and what year(s) Ranger can works as a replacement and would I expect to pay?