Replacing lifters in 4.0?
- Thread starter blkrubi88
- Start date
Bounty__Hunter
Super Moderator
Head should not need removed. Have you tried replacing a quart of oil with a quart of ATF? You may be pleasantly surprised.
SteelHeadz
Super Moderator
Yes.
blkrubi88
New member
Will this possibly fix the lifter that is ticking, or is it a band aid fix that will just make it not so noisey? I`m almost due for my oil change anyway, willing to give it a try. I use royal purple oil, so do I use syntheic atf? I`m not a mecanic. I didn`t even stay at a holiday express last night either.(lol):funny:
Bounty__Hunter
Super Moderator
My trusted mechanic does it to the 4.0L in his wife's Grand Cherokee. He originally narrowed it down to a certain lifter, and rotated that lifter 90º. It was quiet for a while, then the noise returned. Now he uses the ATF and the noise has gone away for good.
blkrubi88
New member
:beer: Thanks for the your input.I will give it try hopefully this weekend and post my results. So when your mechanic rotated the lifter 90 degress, was he able to do that without removing the head?
Crazy4diesels
New member
The pushrod should stay "stuck" into the lifter - if you pick it up so the lifter is off of the cam it probably will turn. BUT... The cam lobes are supposed to be slightly tapered so they turn the lifters while the engine is running. If you run the engine without the rocker cover you can often see the pushrods turning (blow out all dirt in the engine bay first so the fan doesn't get it into the engine. Yes, some oil will fly around but it's not too bad for a minute). If the cam is worn this taper could be nearly gone. The lifter bottoms (which ride on the cam) are supposed to be slightly convex - NOT flat. If you take two of them bottom to bottom they should rock slightly. If not, they are worn out.
A long time ago I had a Dodge Coronet with stuck lifters and got most of them freed up using Mystery oil (one quart in place of one quart engine oil). It took a few times but most of the lifters got quiet. The ATF might be safer to use (Mystery oil is pretty thin). After freeing them up I went back to regular oil. Best of luck - John
A long time ago I had a Dodge Coronet with stuck lifters and got most of them freed up using Mystery oil (one quart in place of one quart engine oil). It took a few times but most of the lifters got quiet. The ATF might be safer to use (Mystery oil is pretty thin). After freeing them up I went back to regular oil. Best of luck - John
blkrubi88
New member
Bounty__Hunter
Super Moderator
Leave the ATF in.
blkrubi88
New member
Thanks for the info. I have about a month to month and a half before I would have free time to replace if needed, so maybe it will clear out by then.
I had the same problem in my 85 CJ7, lifter tick was driving me crazy and no pour in remedy was fixing it. I've not had the valve cover off of a 4.0 so I don't know what the differences are but on the head for a 258 there is no passage to the lifter bores in the block. So I had to pull the head.
The hardest part was getting the exhaust and intake back on but it's not really that bad. While the head is out lay down some plastic, put on some rubber gloves and attack all of the built up crud in the head with a stiff bristle brush and a bucket of Kero (wear goggles). I went so far as to pull the valves, had the head cleaned and put everything back together with new valve guides.
Some say to soak your liters in oil for a few hours before you install them, others say that you don't have to. I chose to soak mine with no problems.
I put everything back together, fired her up and voila... no more tick.
To help keep sludge from building up I drop in a quart of diesel or a quart o Kero (which ever I have around) and let the engine idle or 15 or 20 minutes. I even take mine on a short easy drive. Drain your oil and refill. I've used the old trick of replacing a quart of engine oil with a quart of ATF, it's a good practice as the additional detergents will help to clean out sludge while you drive.
Plan a full day, longer if you are stripping the head to have it cleaned.
Good luck!8)
The hardest part was getting the exhaust and intake back on but it's not really that bad. While the head is out lay down some plastic, put on some rubber gloves and attack all of the built up crud in the head with a stiff bristle brush and a bucket of Kero (wear goggles). I went so far as to pull the valves, had the head cleaned and put everything back together with new valve guides.
Some say to soak your liters in oil for a few hours before you install them, others say that you don't have to. I chose to soak mine with no problems.
I put everything back together, fired her up and voila... no more tick.
To help keep sludge from building up I drop in a quart of diesel or a quart o Kero (which ever I have around) and let the engine idle or 15 or 20 minutes. I even take mine on a short easy drive. Drain your oil and refill. I've used the old trick of replacing a quart of engine oil with a quart of ATF, it's a good practice as the additional detergents will help to clean out sludge while you drive.
Plan a full day, longer if you are stripping the head to have it cleaned.
Good luck!8)
blkrubi88
New member
Thanks for the advise!
I will keep that in mind and maybe try that before replacing.
I still plan on giving it to the next oil change to see if it gets
better on it`s own!
