Thinking
Yes, but first, find a product the cleans out hydraulic lifters. Keep a light foot until the next oil change or at least a few hundred after the tick leaves. Not sure seafoam would do that - though I like it for cleaning out a crankcase. But other old products will. I wouldn't use a cup of kerosine but I believe that was shade-tree, before these modern products came out decades ago.
The problem with the Cologne's and their noisy lifters is, it is really hard to get that stuff to go into a collapsed lifter that is making noise all the time. If it gets quiet after the motor runs, then that stuff might help. But in my experience, they are almost always too collapsed to accept oil without you pulling them out - and then you may as well replace them.
Buck0, somewhere I have a Popular Mechanics from 1989... it was celebrating the 25th anniversary. It had a foldout Shelby that I have somewhere. Then in 91, they had a blue GT convertible foldout poster. My Grandma used to sign me up for Popular Mechanics as a kid.... she knew I liked to tinker.
This is it: https://www.ebay.com/itm/Popular-Mec...-/293570835840
This is it: https://www.ebay.com/itm/Popular-Mec...-/293570835840
Yes, but first, find a product the cleans out hydraulic lifters. Keep a light foot until the next oil change or at least a few hundred after the tick leaves. Not sure seafoam would do that - though I like it for cleaning out a crankcase. But other old products will. I wouldn't use a cup of kerosine but I believe that was shade-tree, before these modern products came out decades ago.
Marvel Mystery or Rislone will help those old 2.9's rattle. We had a case on hand of Rislone just for them. We had a crapload of them running around here. Now they all seem to be at one guy's backlot up in Fairbanks. Last I heard it was 48 of them. Wall to wall Bronco II's. Some old Rangers I was told, but won't be able to see until summer when his lot isn't full of snow (deep as hell right now up there)
The problem with the Cologne's and their noisy lifters is, it is really hard to get that stuff to go into a collapsed lifter that is making noise all the time. If it gets quiet after the motor runs, then that stuff might help. But in my experience, they are almost always too collapsed to accept oil without you pulling them out - and then you may as well replace them.

I had a 2.9 in an '87 Ranger with way too many miles on it, and used either Rislone or B-12 Chemtool on it to quiet the lifters.
EDIT: Correction... It was an ' 88. I owned it back in the early 2000's. I guess I liked DSG back then, too.
Last edited by OhioLariat; Jan 24, 2021 at 04:43 PM.
My Buddy had an 89 with the 2.9 and the Mitsubishi FM146 5 speed. That thing was a wheeling machine. We went all over the place in that thing. I remember pulling out full size trucks when we would go wheeling.
His developed that aforementioned lifter tick, and he pulled the valve covers off.... he started tinkering under there and "discovered" that the rocker arm bolts could be much tighter, LOL. Soooo, he tightened them up. Sounded a lot better for about 2 minutes..... you can guess the rest.
His developed that aforementioned lifter tick, and he pulled the valve covers off.... he started tinkering under there and "discovered" that the rocker arm bolts could be much tighter, LOL. Soooo, he tightened them up. Sounded a lot better for about 2 minutes..... you can guess the rest.










