Ford Ranger 2.9l tick...Will ARX help at all?

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Yeh...I was kinda thinking that as well just trying to see if there was anyone out their with real world experience using it on this engine...10W30 was recommended oil iI believe...What recommended thicker viscosity/brand would help?
 
You could always try an HDEO oil in 10w30. Delo & Rotela makes some. Higher zinc & phos numbers than "gasser" oil...
 
I was thinking maybe a 10w40,15w40,5w50 if ARX couldn't do anything for this specific application. I imagine the best thing of course would be to replace/rebuild. Seems to be a common problem with this engine though, not sure if it would be money well spent to follow the replace/rebuild course
 
If its ticking from trapped dirt MMO might free it up. It has done so for many friends of mine who I turned on to the product over the years. Run a pint for the last 1000 miles of your OCI.

If it is from a bad lifter, a thicker oil might hide the noise.

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Originally Posted By: sprintman
Mazda lifter tick gone after 380 kms into a clean.


Nah, it just took that long for the thick oil you put in to work it's way up to the lifter
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Definitely worth a shot at ARX, if the tick is due to deposits. I don't know your motor intrinsically, but problem solved in many other platforms.
 
If your lifter tick is due to a dirty lifter, then it could help, but more than likely, your pushrods and/or rocker arms are worn excessively. I have the 2.9 in my 90 Ranger and it was still ticking after 2 treatments. The ARX helped in other ways tremendously with power improvement due to ring/piston cleanup. but the tick only got a bit quieter. Only after I replaced all of the pushrods and several worn rocker arms did my lifter ticking go away completely. These engines are sort of known for this issue.
 
Well I dumped a bottle of ARX in the oil. If it works great, if not well then I will look into rebuilding the motor. Afterwards I was wondering if I should have just put some heavy duty flush in, as its a lot quicker to see if anything changes. We shall see though.
 
Originally Posted By: bmwtechguy
If your lifter tick is due to a dirty lifter, then it could help, but more than likely, your pushrods and/or rocker arms are worn excessively. I have the 2.9 in my 90 Ranger and it was still ticking after 2 treatments. The ARX helped in other ways tremendously with power improvement due to ring/piston cleanup. but the tick only got a bit quieter. Only after I replaced all of the pushrods and several worn rocker arms did my lifter ticking go away completely. These engines are sort of known for this issue.


After I replaced my rocker arms and pushrods at 355,000 miles I no longer had any ticking noises. This was on a small block chevy. At 368,000 miles I took off my valve covers and with the Maintenance Dose of auto-rx they were spotless, meaning the rocker arms and pushrods.
 
You might see what the owners manual says about valve adjustment intervals. I almost positive these engines have solid lifters. If they've never been adjusted then there's your tick!
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Originally Posted By: bmwtechguy
2.8L in previous years had solid lifters, but the 2.9 has hydraulic.
Yep thanks. I googled it when I got home and that is correct.
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I'm looking forward to trying a number of things to clear up a lifter tick in my 351M V8. ARX is one of the last items on my list, mostly due to cost. A plain old LOF with a gallon of ST 5w30 I have left over from last summer will start. MMO will be next. Then I'll try a thicker oil after it's cleaned out. Then I'll get into the serious stuff. And if all else fails, a top end rebuild wouldn't hurt, along with a carburetor kit and new lifters/pushrods/rockers.

The 2.9 seems to be prone to ticking. I have rarely driven or seen a 2.9 Bronco II or Ranger that wasn't ticking. Then again, 2.3HSC Tempo engines, Escort 1.9/2.0 engines, and 3.0 Vulcans seem to be prone to it as well and I wonder if it has something to do with a lack of attention to maintenance by previous owners.
 
No ticking from my old 89 (my son traded it
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) ..the fears with the 2.9 were the routine head cracking ..and the A4LD trans ..which the OD was already not functioning in.

It had 135k on it in 2001.

For the top end rebuild cost, I would consider a pushrod 4.0 install ..maybe even a 5.0 install.
 
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