Questions and Answers

Tapping Explorer Q. Dear Vince, I recently purchased a 1991 Ford Explorer 4WD 5 speed and I am really enjoying the vehicle but it is giving me some troubles. I recently replaced the radiator myself and had a mechanic replace the front seal to fix some major coolant leakage.

About one week after this was complete, the car has developed a ticking noise that is 1) acceleration dependent (ie, the ticking is faster as the car speeds up), 2) not constant, and 3) is sometimes a single tick-tick-tick and at other times is a double tick (almost overlapping). It does not stop after the engine warms up, but like I say it comes and goes.

The previous owner used Mobile 1 synthetic oil. I have a bad feeling that the mechanic I went to for the front seal repair did not use synthetic oil. Could this be the cause? What could this switch do? Any advice as to what to look would be most appreciated.

Thanks for your time.
Lisa

A. I think it is very likely the cause of the ticking noise. A synthetic oil is, basically, thinner than a natural oil and because it is thinner, it will get inside the lifters better. In essence, it was covering up the weak lifters.

To get rid of the noise, you would need to go back to using the Mobil 1 and use it from here on in. Of course that will not fix the weak lifters, but it will enable you to get some more miles out of them.

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