Hey guys,

So started a thread a little while ago about a suspicious engine tick and after good advice and plenty research I came to the conclusion it was either lifter tick or piston slap...decided to take it to a local mechanic, he confirmed lifers, but hard to pinpoint so I had him strip the head...it was driving me crazy.

He found squidgy valves and loose rockers and after taking apart the lifters found many of them were seized...so that seemed to be the culprit and I was happy...for a moment.

He later confirmed the pistons had play too, one of them rather bad. Really not what I wanted to hear as my budget does not allow for a bottom end rebuild at the moment.

He has highly recommended I either put the head back on and sell or rebuild the entire engine. The thing is, there is no scoring in the bores and I'm not burning oil so I'm really torn:
Do I rebuild the entire thing, break the bank and risk a divorce, or...
Do I put it back together and take a risk?
Have any of you guys seen this before or experienced a similar situation? - (with the head off if you push on the piston from the top, it moves ever so slightly side to side)

Obviously rebuilding the motor would be the best option here, but is it really necessary?

Any help would be majorly helping me out.

 

How was it running before you took it apart? Other than the noise.

Also, did you do a compression test before taking it apart?

How many miles on it?

 

I would break to bank and go for it.I did and I am happy I did.new motor means 200.000 miles of more fun. lifters mean you don't know when you have to pull it apart again.can you put it together cheap buy a spare engine and build on the side as time and money permit ?

 

If I was already in the engine, keep going and get it done.
In a year from now the money will be forgotten and the motor will be happily humming along.






By the way I'm in the same boat but just haven't taken mine part yet for inspection. But once I start I'll see it through to the end, regardless.
Good luck

 

if i really trusted a rebuilder id go long block. a high mile engine is worn EVERYWHERE, pistons,cylinder boring,rings,crank turning, bearings. all the seals and gaskets plus the head work. plus your time..
can you do an accurate comparison?
im facing that ? some day with a 331 head and some slap.
i quieted the slap ?for now with lucas oil additive that so far is working.
ill need to mark the date and report back!! on that but that sticky oil must be staying on the walls "for now".

i did the lb yrs ago after doing a comparison. on a 302 v8

 

I would throw the motor back together and build another one if you are capable of pulling and reinstalling a motor (the Jeep 4.0 is extremely simple)

Reasoning;
1. It's a Jeep 4.0 - it'll probably still last a while longer
2. You can have a shop build the block, install a new head and button it up yourself.
3. You are cutting out most of the shop labor, in assembling the full motor plus removing and replacing the original motor.

 

I would put it back togeather and see how many miles you can get out of it. You can always rebuild it later when funds are more available and your wife is on board. Especially since its not burning oil or anything.

 

Didnt do a compression test before, rookie mistake.

Other than the noise the engine seemed fine, perhaps a little under powered as the lifters weren't working properly, but the oil pressure was great and really didn't get too hot at all.

The vehicle has done 143000 miles.

 

Put it all back together with a new, quality head gasket, Rotella oil, maybe a quart of MMO if you feel like trying something new.

Then do a compression test and see what you get.

My engine is also noisy at times but it pulls real good, only 144,000 on it.

 

my 169000 mile 4.0 is almost silent with lucas add. first time i ever tried it.
jfwiw.

 

Before I decided to take the head off to change the lifters, I flushed the engine 3 times in 1500 miles.

I dont live in the states, so dont have those exact oils/additives, but I've tried various different oils and high quality additives like Liqui Moly noisy lifter additive, nothing helped.

But yeah, going to run a 15w40 heavy duty oil, put her back together as is and see how she goes.

 

Good luck.

 

Just to give you an idea, this is what it sounded like before I took off the head:

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=kUumkA5ajho&feature=youtu.be

will post a vid of the play on the pistons and then again a video of the rig running once its put back together so that anyone with similar issues will have a point of reference.

 

That's a lot of worry over not much noise.

Slap some lifters in it, fix the valves, and put another 200,000 miles on it.4

 

As the status below my name confirms, I am indeed a Jeep "newbie". I'm also totally incapable of ignoring a petrol engine that sounds like a diesel, but I will admit a lot of people have advised ignoring it as it is pretty common.

Yeah cleaning everything up nicely, new lifters and gaskets, pressure testing and skimming the head and once its together gonna do a compression test just for certainty.

I live in South Africa so I Jeep parts aren't as readily available. I wanted everything to be as good as possible before I started taking it out exploring, but I reckon I'm just gonna get some comprehensive offroad insurance and drive it until it dies