anyone ever fix a really bad ticking lifter?

[cam98aro]

for some reason my car started to have a nasty tick and after about 15min of warming up it goes away.. if it is already warmed up, it ticks for about 5 seconds and goes away

i personally dont need to heartache to change the lifters/pushrods (whatever the problem is)

im going to change my oil tomorrow, but im not sure if i should try seafoam first or not.. you guys think seafoam will help get whatever might be stuck out.. or maybe even just an oil change?

im pretty against putting seafoam in a crankcase

im also assuming a fuel injector tick wont go away after the car has warmed up?

edit* and i just replaced my rear main seal.. do you guys think its safe to run synthetic on a 140k engine that has seen regular oil for the past 50k miles (changed every 3000 miles)

i would never consider that, but since the rear main is new.. i cant see where else it could leak

[cam98aro]

Re: anyone ever fix a really bad ticking lifter?

ok, well i changed my oil 500 miles early, and the noise has stopped.. so i am positive it is/was a lifter

its always something, but hopefully the problem doesnt come back

[ssms5411]

Re: anyone ever fix a really bad ticking lifter?

I never had a lifter go bad but I have had the Balancer go bad from dry rotting from the inside out and that sounded like a really bad lifter going out, also my belt tensioner was bad and that sounded like a bad lifter, but at idle I could see the pulley on the tensioner go up and down, so I fixed that. So there are other things that might make your car sound like a lifter is going, if your oil pressure is around 60-75 psi on start up and when hot stays around 30-40 your looking good.BTW I use RP 10w/30 and so far I like it more than the Mobile Clean 5000 I was using.

[cam98aro]

Re: anyone ever fix a really bad ticking lifter?

I never had a lifter go bad but I have had the Balancer go bad from dry rotting from the inside out and that sounded like a really bad lifter going out, also my belt tensioner was bad and that sounded like a bad lifter, but at idle I could see the pulley on the tensioner go up and down, so I fixed that. So there are other things that might make your car sound like a lifter is going, if your oil pressure is around 60-75 psi on start up and when hot stays around 30-40 your looking good.BTW I use RP 10w/30 and so far I like it more than the Mobile Clean 5000 I was using.

see, i just got done doing my clutch.. and i dont know if it was something i did wrong with it, or if it is a coincident

the tick is coming from the drivers side valve cover, it ticks upon startup, and after about 15min of idiling it just goes away, the exhaust note is changed and the car runs very rough when it is ticking, when it goes away, the car acts 100% normal

it started this after about 100mi and 2 days after the clutch change

i changed my oil today, and upon the first startup, i heard the tick, then it completely went away.. until i let the car sit for a few hours, and on the next startup it started again

at a cold start, the psi is around 60, and after a bit of driving, at idle it is around 40-45psi.. 2000rpm brings it to 60psi

im thinking of running some seafoam in the crank to see if it fixes the problem.. what do you think about that? should i drive with the seafoam in, or should i just let it idle for 15min and change the oil?

i just put some pennzoil 10w30 in, which is what i have been running for the past 3 years with no problems

any thoughts?

edit* could this maybe coming from the pilot bearing?.. but i did use a screwdriver to listen to parts of the engine, and it was the loudest against the drivers side valve cover

[ssms5411]

Re: anyone ever fix a really bad ticking lifter?

Sounds like either the tick is from your EGR or exhaust gasket on that side, when it is cold and start it up move your hand around the EGR and the header gasket before it gets to hot to see if you feel any exhaust coming out.

[ssms5411]

Re: anyone ever fix a really bad ticking lifter?

I'm thinking EGR because it opens for a peroid of time then closes.

[cam98aro]

Re: anyone ever fix a really bad ticking lifter?

I'm thinking EGR because it opens for a peroid of time then closes.

my sound completely goes away after the car warms up though and does not come back

after it is warmed up, if i shut the car off, it will tick for 5 seconds, then stop for the rest of the driving

i can change the egr, as i have an extra one laying around, but im doubting thats the problem

[cam98aro]

Re: anyone ever fix a really bad ticking lifter?

ok, i just swapped the egr really quick, and it is still ticking

feeling around the engine with a long screwdriver, there is no noise coming from the EGR, but it is coming from the drivers side valve cover

[ssms5411]

Re: anyone ever fix a really bad ticking lifter?

Need to feel with your hands when it is cold , so you don't burn youself. Just move your hand around the EGR and around your header gasket , or where your egr connects to the manifolds. I'm done, good luck finding it.

[Frechles71]

Re: anyone ever fix a really bad ticking lifter?

It very well could be a lifter tick.

Got that problem with mine. Everytime I change the oil it goes away/ gets barely noticeable. As the oil gets older, the tick gets worse.

I looked this up about a year ago when mine started and there were different opinions on the sea-foam idea. Some said they did it and problem was solved. Others did it and the problem would only go away for a while - probably connected to the oil change involved. Others would do it and the problem would never go away. So I would say that sea foam doesnt have the best probability.

Many have done it so if you feel like its worth the time/$$ then go for it. Let me know how it works out.

If you dont want to and are like me and do not want to pull the lifters out, turn the radio up.

[cam98aro]

Re: anyone ever fix a really bad ticking lifter?

It very well could be a lifter tick.

Got that problem with mine. Everytime I change the oil it goes away/ gets barely noticeable. As the oil gets older, the tick gets worse.

I looked this up about a year ago when mine started and there were different opinions on the sea-foam idea. Some said they did it and problem was solved. Others did it and the problem would only go away for a while - probably connected to the oil change involved. Others would do it and the problem would never go away. So I would say that sea foam doesnt have the best probability.

Many have done it so if you feel like its worth the time/$$ then go for it. Let me know how it works out.

If you dont want to and are like me and do not want to pull the lifters out, turn the radio up.

you dont understand, the ticking is VERY LOUD

i guarantee you would be able to hear it with open exhaust at 5000 rpm

its not just a tiny tick, i have always had a tiny tick, this sounds like there is a half inch of play in my valvetrain

i know it is a lifter because it goes away after the car warms up and only does it (when its warm) on first startup for a few seconds

its hard to describe how loud it is.. but i can tell you when i was driving everybody was turning around and looking at my car

[97RSRPV]

Re: anyone ever fix a really bad ticking lifter?

that doesnt sound good man... i have the same noise but its not THAT loud. Mines quite noticable at start up and when the car gets hot "sitting in traffic for a while" the tick gets very noticable. Ive heard exhaust leak, lifter, or possible timing chain... if you got a ton of miles on your car mabye you could check in to that? just a thought.

[Rob Bell]

Re: anyone ever fix a really bad ticking lifter?

Have you considered pulling the valve cover and then running the engine to see what exactly it's doing? Maybe the lifter is so bad that the the pushrod is being slammed around. If so, it would probably be pretty easy to see. Then you can go from there. I just wouldn't run it too long or you'll have oil dripping everywhere.

[mrhobbz]

Re: anyone ever fix a really bad ticking lifter?

Just out of curiosity what weight oil are you using?

[cam98aro]

Re: anyone ever fix a really bad ticking lifter?

well, i fixed that problem a loooong time ago.. well, i guess it fixed itself actually.

something must have got jammed in one of my lifters during my clutch change, i changed the oil to try and force it out when the new oil runs through the system, but it didnt work, it stopped about 5 start ups after i changed the oil, i would just let it idle until the ticking went away and drove the car normally, it eventually started to tick for a few seconds on startup then went away, and now everything seems fine, havent heard it for months.. even with 5F degree cold starts

thankfully it went away, because i did NOT want to use seafoam in my oil, and thankfully i didnt have to

but my lifter was so clogged that i wasnt getting full valve lift and my idle sounded very lopy and the car shook when running.

i use 10w30 oil