I apologize in advance for this newbie Q.

was given an '89 Ranger that has pronounced oil pump knock.

I know nothing about Fords- it appears to me that you have to raise the freaking engine in order for there to be enough clearance between pan and front frame cross member to take the pan off.

Is this true? what a pain! jeez.

any tips or tricks out there for me regarding this?:(

Never worked on that end of a ranger, but given the fact that it is either twin i beam, or TTB, i assume the big ass crossmember is still there. If this is the case, then you have to raise the engine a damn long ways, maybe easier to pull it to gain clearance to get to the oil pump.

thanks for your reply, ya it's looking like I will have to do that raise the Titanic thing with the engine.

My original plan was to just loosen up the bolts that hold the cross member on, but then when I looked closer, the freaking thing is bolted AND riveted on.:( why on earth would Ford have done that? sigh.:rolleyes:

Famous Ford Frame Flex . Ford trucks get 2" of flex threw these rivets . In doing this they take stres off the frame rails . Most all 80-96 models have this ( rangers f150 bronco bronco2). 97 and up are a little stiffer due to the car like suspention . So actualy rivets are a good thing .

just be glad its not a s10 . 4x4 .

are you sure its the oil pump rattling .

well...........only due to the mechanics this truck was taken to originally, claimed it was the oil pump.
They said if they were to do it, the labour would be prohibitive $$$ because of fuss of getting at this pump.:(

it's only a matter of an inch or so I believe. Can I just loosen the bolts where the tranny frame mount is, the engine mounts, and lever the engine up a little bit to get the pan off?

It's a little more than a matter of 1 inch you gotta clear the pick up too! It's probably easier to pull the motor to work on it.

if you are really desperate to change the oil pump and find out its not your problem you can lift the motor a couple of inches, unbolt the pickup (asuming its a rear sump) and unbolt the oil pump. You then might be able to pull the pan away from the motor and look for the real culprit of your problem, bad bearings. For now, hook up a cheap mechanical oil pressure guage and see where your oil pressure is at. You should have 10 psi for every 1000 rpm the motor turns. The pressure should be steady. If there is any wild fluctuations, you might have serious probs.

Run the motor till it dies, meanwhile, find another block and rebuild it while you are waiting for it to die.

Time: lots

Money: not so lots:D

If I can weasel the engine up without too much grief and hassle, pop the pan and have a peek, I'll be happy. That's all I want at this point is to get the pan off with the minimum hassle I can.

I just didn't want to do *Too* much and then find out :"you idiot! you didn't have to do this or that-you could've saved yourself time by doing this:..........." :rasta:

I will look and try to see if it's bearings first, before proceeding further into this with new parts like a pump. (Even though the mechanics did say that's what it was.)

:D thanks