"old engine" noise, but only when warm?

i have a 1997 explorer e/b with about 78,000 miles on it.. 4.0L SOHC V6, well maintained and taken care of.. however, the engine has been making noises immediately after starting up, but only when the engine is already warm.. the noise literally sounds like an old-engine noise something along the line of "chitter-chatter-chitter-chatter" for about 2 minutes, then it disappears.. during this time, nothing is changed.. driving impressions remain the same and unless you pay close quiet attention or the windows are down, you have no idea it's doing it (but it IS loud from the outside).. i have no idea how long this has been going on since i rarely put down my windows, only recently after the weather got a little more forgiving.. i haven't been able to find an answer yet, and hope its just something that needs some quick easy adjustment.. is there anyone that has experienced the same problem or know how to fix it? thanks for any help..

Michael N.

i have a 1997 explorer e/b with about 78,000 miles on it.. 4.0L SOHC V6, well maintained and taken care of.. however, the engine has been making noises immediately after starting up, but only when the engine is already warm.. the noise literally sounds like an old-engine noise something along the line of "chitter-chatter-chitter-chatter" for about 2 minutes, then it disappears.. during this time, nothing is changed.. driving impressions remain the same and unless you pay close quiet attention or the windows are down, you have no idea it's doing it (but it IS loud from the outside).. i have no idea how long this has been going on since i rarely put down my windows, only recently after the weather got a little more forgiving.. i haven't been able to find an answer yet, and hope its just something that needs some quick easy adjustment.. is there anyone that has experienced the same problem or know how to fix it? thanks for any help..

Michael N.
sounds like timing chain guide problems.

sounds like timing chain guide problems.

timing chain guide.. i'll look into that, thanks.. :)
i'll re-post once it's fixed..

Michael N.

timing chain guide.. i'll look into that, thanks.. :)
i'll re-post once it's fixed..

Michael N.
look into campaign 01M01. it may be covred under warranty. eventually there will be complete failure requiring replacing the engine. better check with a dealer to make sure.

look into campaign 01M01. it may be covred under warranty. eventually there will be complete failure requiring replacing the engine. better check with a dealer to make sure.

oh wow :eek: , thanks for the info manuel.. i had no idea that this was a design flaw.. i just bought this car a little less than 2 years ago, so unfortunately i don't know which recalls it's been brought in for :uhoh: .. i'm past the 6 years/72,000 miles the recall is good for, but i'm reading that it was "silently extended" to 7 years/100,000 miles.. even so, i'm still over by 2 years despite my 78,000 miles being within the new time frame.. but i'll definately look into that.. thanks so much! :)

Michael N.