87MJTIM Posted February 1, 2022 Share Posted February 1, 2022 My 87 has had a ticking sound for a while now. I thought it might just be an exhaust leak. A visual look at the manifold didn't show any large cracks. I then thought it my be a lifter tick. I pulled the valve cover and tugged and twisted the rocker. (I don't know what to look for.) None seemed excessively loose. I could twist two sets ever so slightly. I think those were not under load from the CAM. Last week or so, the ticking became louder. I took the truck to my mechanic to inspect. He feels the sound is coming from the bottom end. Rebuild or Reman - that is the question. It was rebuilt 50k miles ago. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DirtyComanche Posted February 2, 2022 Share Posted February 2, 2022 I'd be investigating the failure more before proceeding. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eagle Posted February 2, 2022 Share Posted February 2, 2022 It's not difficult to replace road and main bearings with the engine in place, just by dropping the oil pan. How' your oil pressure? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
89 MJ Posted February 2, 2022 Share Posted February 2, 2022 Would you be doing the rebuild or paying somebody to build it for you? If you were paying someone to build it and it didn't have a warranty, I'd probably be looking at a Reman unit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
87MJTIM Posted February 2, 2022 Author Share Posted February 2, 2022 1 hour ago, DirtyComanche said: I'd be investigating the failure more before proceeding. I was going to ask him to drop the oil pan and look at the bottom end. 1 hour ago, Eagle said: It's not difficult to replace road and main bearings with the engine in place, just by dropping the oil pan. How' your oil pressure? I know everything is do-able - with time. For the next three months, I am very busy. (I am a CPA. It's tax season.) The OP is approx. 60. I did see it running up above 70, but not 80. (If the gauge is correct.) 34 minutes ago, 89 MJ said: Would you be doing the rebuild or paying somebody to build it for you? If you were paying someone to build it and it didn't have a warranty, I'd probably be looking at a Reman unit. See above, re: my work. It was rebuilt about 6 years ago, 50k miles. It was done by a client (not the current mechanic) that ran an engine shop. He is no longer in business. My mechanic would get a Jasper. I've searched Jasper's before on the internet. There are some good reviews and bad reviews. Often, only bad experiences are given reviews. (That's not meant as judgement, just an observation.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete M Posted February 2, 2022 Share Posted February 2, 2022 these engines are very tough. if I was contemplating a whole new engine, I'd be running this one till it dies (or gets horrifically worse) and then get the new engine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
87MJTIM Posted February 2, 2022 Author Share Posted February 2, 2022 Pros? Cons? of swapping in a reman? What have others experienced with reman's? I am kind of sentimental and think keeping the engine that came with the truck is nice/cool. But, it is just a "consumable" like other parts on the truck. Already swapped/replaced: BA 10, for and AX15 (and proper tcase). D30 w/ CAD, for a D30 w/o CAD Sagging, broken leaf springs, for General leaf springs. Closed cooling system to open cooling system Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Strokermjcomanche Posted February 2, 2022 Share Posted February 2, 2022 Just get this : NOS Jeep renix 4.0 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete M Posted February 2, 2022 Share Posted February 2, 2022 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Minuit Posted February 2, 2022 Share Posted February 2, 2022 You said it's a tick, not a knock or rattle. That's good news. But everyone has different terminology for different sounds, so until we can hear yours, we're just guessing. In my experience, a "tick" is just as often an exhaust leak as valvetrain trouble and can sometimes sound very similar to one another. If it's an exhaust leak, the character of the sound can vary heavily depending on load. Rev the engine a bit by manually pulling the throttle body and listen. If the "tick" gets a lot louder, not just faster, as soon as you rev the engine, dollars to donuts it's an exhaust leak. An exhaust leak will also get louder as you give it more throttle at a steady rpm, going up hills for instance. You didn't note the "rate" of the sound. That helps to know too. If your engine idles at 700 rpm, here's what a half-speed tick such as a bad lifter or single-cylinder exhaust leak would sound like: Is there a chance you could upload a video? Much better to do some diagnosis before mentally condemning the engine. Here's a rod knock that I'm pretty sure actually is a rod knock. Lower end noises change by throttle too, but in a totally different way from exhaust leaks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cruiser54 Posted February 2, 2022 Share Posted February 2, 2022 Pinpoint it with a stethoscope yourself. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
87MJTIM Posted February 2, 2022 Author Share Posted February 2, 2022 41 minutes ago, cruiser54 said: Pinpoint it with a stethoscope yourself. I have a stethoscope. I used it previously, before the sound got louder. I could not detect a noticeable difference coming from any point on the head, on either the passenger's side or driver's side. This diagnosis first lead me to an exhaust leak, but no visible cracks. Some earlier observations: The sound is the same on the pass and driver's side. Wouldn't the noise vary from side to side if it were an exhaust leak? The exhaust is on the driver's side and would be blocked while listening on the pass's side. The sound is equal from underneath the truck also. I don't want to jump into a swap, but I also don't want to through money at it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cruiser54 Posted February 2, 2022 Share Posted February 2, 2022 If it stays the same and doesn't get worse, and isn't related to engine load, I wouldn't panic about it. Does it change with engine temp? What brand oil filter are you using? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
87MJTIM Posted February 2, 2022 Author Share Posted February 2, 2022 17 minutes ago, cruiser54 said: If it stays the same and doesn't get worse, and isn't related to engine load, I wouldn't panic about it. Does it change with engine temp? What brand oil filter are you using? The sound did get louder about 2 weeks ago. The speed of the sound increases with RPMs. As the engine warms up, the sound does get less noticeable, but does not go away. I have not noticed any change in performance. I have been using NAPA Gold for several years, at least since the rebuild. No FRAMs for this engine! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
87MJTIM Posted February 2, 2022 Author Share Posted February 2, 2022 Another observation: (I am the original/only owner. This is my daily driver.) The oil pressure (OP) used to run from 40 to 60 at idle and under load when "new". Not long ago (I don't remember when) the OP started running at a constant 60. I have seen the gauge up to 70 (the small dash between the 60 and 80 line.) Once warm, the OP comes down to 60+. Could there be a restriction limiting oil flow to a critical bearing? I have tried putting "snake oil" in the engine previously: MMM and Seafoam. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cruiser54 Posted February 2, 2022 Share Posted February 2, 2022 take a deep breath. get in touch with your inner engine and slowly go over the engine with a stethoscope. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
87MJTIM Posted February 2, 2022 Author Share Posted February 2, 2022 I don't want to rush in to a decision, but I don't have a lot of time to do any work myself. I will speak with the mechanic later this week. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scguy Posted February 2, 2022 Share Posted February 2, 2022 I've installed several Jasper engines/transmissions. They are generally solid and have good customer service. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WahooSteeler Posted February 2, 2022 Share Posted February 2, 2022 I have an exhaust leak tick, last mounting bolt closest to firewall is broken off. Do you hear it at idle? At idle and light pedal pressure/low rpm I cannot hear mine, once under load it's there and gets louder with hard acceleration or load. Since it's you DD, have you noticed a change in fuel economy? All of this, IMO completely limited knowledge would cast my vote for exhaust leak. Hopefully that's all it is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
87MJTIM Posted February 2, 2022 Author Share Posted February 2, 2022 58 minutes ago, WahooSteeler said: I have an exhaust leak tick, last mounting bolt closest to firewall is broken off. Do you hear it at idle? At idle and light pedal pressure/low rpm I cannot hear mine, once under load it's there and gets louder with hard acceleration or load. Since it's you DD, have you noticed a change in fuel economy? All of this, IMO completely limited knowledge would cast my vote for exhaust leak. Hopefully that's all it is. It’s loudest on first start up. The ticking varies with engine speed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
87MJTIM Posted February 2, 2022 Author Share Posted February 2, 2022 38 minutes ago, saveevryjp1998 said: I'd be dropping the oil pan and taking a look at the oil pump screen. I am going to talk with the mechanic about dropping the pan to look Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eagle Posted February 2, 2022 Share Posted February 2, 2022 4 hours ago, 87MJTIM said: It’s loudest on first start up. The ticking varies with engine speed. "Tick" is usually valve lifter-related, or exhaust leak. A bad rod bearing will be more of a "rap" or a "bang." Your oil pressures are very unusual. Even new, I've never seen a 4.0L engine with pressures that high. Have your mechanic check the oil pressure with a mechanical gauge. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EUREKA Posted February 3, 2022 Share Posted February 3, 2022 4 hours ago, Eagle said: "Tick" is usually valve lifter-related, or exhaust leak. A bad rod bearing will be more of a "rap" or a "bang." Your oil pressures are very unusual. Even new, I've never seen a 4.0L engine with pressures that high. Have your mechanic check the oil pressure with a mechanical gauge. High volume oil pumps can also increase pressure. But I've installed Melling high volume pumps in 4.0's and still didn't see pressure as high as yours. The stress of finding a concerning noise on your own engine can be a real factor. Tends to make you seconds guess yourself. Exhaust guys are sometimes better at finding exhaust leaks (or ruling them out) than non-exhaust specialists. If I felt I could not rule out an exhaust leak myself with a stethoscope, I would take it by an exhaust/muffler shop to see if they can find an exhaust leak. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
knever3 Posted February 3, 2022 Share Posted February 3, 2022 No one has mentioned a cracked flex plate or loose TC bolts? If the tick gets better when warm the flex plate expands and the noise if minimized. It will get worse the more it cracks though. This was my experience personally. I thought it was a bearing myself. Pull the cover and inspect with a good flashlight. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cruiser54 Posted February 3, 2022 Share Posted February 3, 2022 I almost did. Then I read in his signature that it was manual trans. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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