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  #1  
Old 01-24-2015, 08:49 PM
nickan2.3 nickan2.3 is offline
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Default removing valve cover stuck need help plz

Hi, I have an 04,2.3l 4cyl, 2wd ranger 127,000 miles , it started making a knocking noise/ ticking noise. I got worried know that's a bad noise, shut it off and had a buddy tow me home. I know a bottom end knock is bad news, im thinking its a top end knock, due to the fact iv heard a bottom end knock is much more violent than what I was hearing. so in hope that this is the problem, iv began to tear the truck down to take up the valve cover and examine the lifters/rockers and whatever else I can see on top end in hope its something up there I can fix, but to take off the valve cover in the ranger ya need to remove the intake manifold. its frusterated the crap outta me now. the bolts are very difficult to reach. any tips would be SO HELPFULL. sorry for the crazy long text. thanks for reading!
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Old 01-24-2015, 09:29 PM
floridacracker floridacracker is offline
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Default

Well you need to move the wiring harness, take spark plug wires out, remove ignition coil, camshaft position sensor, crankcase vent tube, then you should be good to unbolt the valve cover
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Old 01-24-2015, 09:31 PM
nickan2.3 nickan2.3 is offline
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Default Re: removing valve cover stuck need help plz

I have everything removed except the wiring harness that's in front of the bolt on the firewall side of the intake, what would the best way to go about removing that harness be?
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Old 01-25-2015, 01:36 AM
riscorpian riscorpian is offline
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Default Re: removing valve cover stuck need help plz

In order to remove these bolts, you must not look for them. You have to understand their general location, and then just "believe" they are there. Become one with the design. Embrace it. And then swear at it with every nasty word in your arsenal.

You can work an extension with a socket in between everything to grab onto that bolt, and then snap the ratchet onto the end. That's the easiest method I've found for removing it. Using a cell phone camera to scope out the location helps a bundle. You can also look in from just above the tire. Once you have that bolt out, you need to creatively wiggle the EGR tube out of the way while moving the manifold from there. Honestly, I don't know how to describe the procedure. You just have to keep yelling at it until it listens to you.

As for the tick, that's actually normal on this engine. It loves to make weird noises while everything is perfectly fine. Some later models do have broken timing chain tensioners though. One you have the valve cover off, check out the chain to make sure everything is cool. If there's any evidence of anything being off, replace the tensioner. But if that's necessary, do not touch anything without researching the proper procedure! This engine features a crankshaft that is not keyed to the crankshaft pulley. If you don't follow the exact steps to remove it while using the proper tools, it will almost definitely ruin the engine. It's a Ford engine, so you can BS your way around it and probably get everything right, but this is one of those rare exceptions. Don't touch any of that unless you know 100% what needs to be done.
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  #5  
Old 01-27-2015, 03:31 PM
nickan2.3 nickan2.3 is offline
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Default Re: removing valve cover stuck need help plz

Okay guys, I have the valve covers removed now and don't see any visible signs of something wrong on the top end just by looking, so I started turning the motor over by hand hoping to hear or see then what was causing the ticking/knocking and couldn't turn the motor over fast enough to make it happen really. what do I do now? I don't got a lotaa cash an cant jump to getting a new motor if this one is fixable...
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Old 01-27-2015, 03:42 PM
riscorpian riscorpian is offline
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Default Re: removing valve cover stuck need help plz

Take a look at that chain. See if you can peek down at that tensioner (it's on the passenger side of the engine) and make sure it's keeping tension. You can crank the engine a few times and look around, but be very careful to only turn it clockwise.

The other thing you can do is grab a feeler gauge and check the gap between the cam lobes and valve tappets. If any are out of spec, that's going to cause some noise. It's generally considered a non-issue though. Fixing it requires removing the timing drive components and installing new tappets. It's really not worth it.
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Sonic Blue Pearl with dark gray trim
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  #7  
Old 01-27-2015, 04:44 PM
Lariat Lariat is offline
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Default Re: removing valve cover stuck need help plz

did you by any chance drain your oil and look for anything that could cause issue? I mean if you have large enough problems metal shavings would show up in your oil...
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  #8  
Old 01-27-2015, 05:06 PM
riscorpian riscorpian is offline
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Default Re: removing valve cover stuck need help plz

I'd just do a visual look-over, drain the oil, cut open the filter, and give the computer a check for codes with a good scan tool. If all of those come up clean, put it back together and drive around a bit. Try to narrow down where the noise is coming from. Big-ass screwdrivers or stethoscopes are your friends here. The valve tappet tick and timing chain tensioner are the most common Duratec noise-causers I've heard of. Earlier years had nasty issues with the intake runner valves, but your 2004 variant doesn't have those.
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Sonic Blue Pearl with dark gray trim
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  #9  
Old 01-28-2015, 05:34 PM
nickan2.3 nickan2.3 is offline
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Default Re: removing valve cover stuck need help plz

first thing I did was check my oil for shavings and cut up filter, didn't see anything, oil looked very nice actually. Then after that I began tear down of valve covers. once they were all off, I examined everything visually. nothing wrong visibly, then I turned the motor over but was turning it over far to slowly to hear the knock. today I re assembled, and tomorrow Im going to do an oil change an put some Lukas oil treatment in with it... is this starting to seem like a bottom end knock to you guys to?? cuz that means new motor to me.
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