98-f150-kid

well i think my motor is about to go.. it still runs fine but i think the oil pump is going if its in gear and stoped then my oil pressure moves all over and goes to about nothing and every time you get on it alittle or drive it allot theres a tick. im pretty sure its a lifter but i was told there hard to change .. i love the truck tho, this has 185k but the tranny is newer and is in decent shape. the body work is going to be fixed so i think i want to rebuild my motor i dont want anything aftermarket really just put back stock and ill put header on it but how much money am i going to be looking at to have the motor redone. im sure ford parts are higher so im not going with that but id like new barrings,seals, heads redone and new pistons and rings. so what would you think its going to cost me? i just want a idea on what im going to be spending

lifted97

A lot of it depends on what you wanna do?? For example do you just wanna drop off the truck and have them do everything or are you willing to do some work and take the motor out yourself and drop it off.... My buddy had is 89 ranger v6 rebuilt and he pulled the motor and had everything done for right around a grand... It would be more because of a v8 but it all depends on if your willing to do some labor and pull the motor yourself cause thats a lot of the price right there

98-f150-kid

id be pulling the motor and putting it back it sorry. i dont want to re do it but i have no clue whats going on when the tick starts and you shut it off and let it cool down it goes away, the way it runs stays the same. plenty of power and it doesnt change at all i just dont know what to do. does anyone know what it might be? how hard is a lifter to change??

98-f150-kid

also wondering what motors i can use?? i found a 2002 5.4 would that work in my truck?? or would it just be a huge hassle??

FordmanUGA

Try running an engine cleaner through it first. Sounds like a lifter is stuck. Happened to my '89 inline 6, ran the engine cleaner through it and changed the oil, ticking sound went away. Cheap option to try first anyway. Not sure on the oil pressure gauge. Engine temp stay constant?

1997FordF150XLT4.6V8

I own a 97 and a 98 f150 with the 4.6L just like yours. The ticking noise is very common my 97 had it and now my 98 does. I replaced the manifolds on my 97 and bam no more ticking. I have to do the same with my 98. Second your oil pressure guage bouncing up and down could be the oil sending unit. Which im sure is likely to go out at 185k along with your exhaust manifolds. Also remember the oil pressure guage does not tell you actual pressure is just basically an idiot light it just tells you whether you have it or not. Also depending on how bad your manifolds are (if thats the source of the ticking) when the truck gets warm its going to sound worse because they expand. And worse case senario sounds like you just need a new oil pump. Lot cheaper than a whole rebuild. Hope this helps -Zach

cbholt

Reman. Long blocks go for about $2600 at o'reillys. Might be cheaper in the long run. And get a 3 year warranty.

blackbetty

Bingo was his name-o.

Two issues here, tick and gauge.

Tick-you could be right but its more likely a crappy seal on your manifold or a cracked one. Check for carbon emissions on the side of the block above the manifolds.

Gauge-it doesn't read variable pressure. If its windshield wipering then it's likely a sending unit. If you want, a oil pressure gauge is easy to install. You just T it in line with the sender.

blackbetty

The gauge shows normal at 6 psi. Anything higher than that and it just stays normal. Anything lower than that it just stays out of position like when your vehicle is off.

1997FordF150XLT4.6V8

That's what i meant. The gaskets could be the only problem. But also if studs are broken the manifold could warp thats what happened on my 97. And he said he wants to put headers on it so hes gonna be replacing them anyway. But yeah could be as simple as the gaskets/seals. -Zach