Lifter/push rod ticking

[ViperRider]

The past couple of days I had a ticking on startup for a minute or so and it went away. I checked the oil and it was a little low. I added half a quart, and the ticking was fine for a few days. Then the other day it came back randomly. My dad had this oil stuff called Motor Silk that says it helps with knocking/ticking lifters. We put it in and it was fine. I went to work, when I drove home it was ticking the whole way and louder. This morning I changed the oil with a fresh batch. The ticking still won't stop after about 10 minutes of running.

Now I coming to terms with the fact I have to get them replaced. How much does a job like this cost? Really bad timing for this **** to happen. :mad:

[cam98aro]

Re: Lifter/push rod ticking

are you doing it yourself, or paying a shop to do it?

and that "motor silk" is probably the reason why it worsened the problem.

i will never recommend someone to use a product like that in the crank case unless it is absolutely necessary.. but you can try running some seafoam in there, it might free up a clogged lifter

but how loud is the tick? or is it rather quiet?

[ViperRider]

Re: Lifter/push rod ticking

How hard is it to do myself? I was just going to take it somewhere.

It's rather quiet but when you give it gas it's louder.

I know stupid oil additives....ugg

[cam98aro]

Re: Lifter/push rod ticking

How hard is it to do myself? I was just going to take it somewhere.

It's rather quiet but when you give it gas it's louder.

I know stupid oil additives....ugg

you have to take your intake off, and everything that associated with that, but once you get it off, your lifters are right there, just loosen the rockers a bit and the pushrods should be able to come out

personally i think it sounds like a clogged lifter.. i had a similar problem, i dont think they will need to be replaced, but is this on a 3.8 or 3.4?

i will tell you what i would do.. im not recommending it to you, because there is a chance you can mess your engine up, but i would start the car, and let it idle for 10-15min and see if the ticking goes away.. the fact that your ticking went away before tells me a clogged lifter.. changing the oil, and having the noise stop for a while also screams clogged lifter

what i did with my car, is i would let it idle until the ticking went away, then i drove it, and got the rpms up a little high and kept them there for a few seconds, to try and get the oil o force the dirt out.

i was just ready to seafoam my crankcase, but it stopped ticking.. i would pour some seafoam in the engine, and start it up, and see if the ticking goes away, if it does i would go for a drive, but keep the rpms as low as you can, you dont want to break up all of the crud in your oil pan or you are gonna give yourself way more problems in the future (ever hear of people's transmissions dieing after they do a flush? same concept here)

change the oil, and use some cheap crap oil and run it for a few hundred miles, then change it again with your regular oil

that is what i would do, everyone has different opinions though..

[niik000]

Re: Lifter/push rod ticking

Iv'e got the same problem with my 3.4, along with some wight smoke. Haven't tried changing the oil yet though. Is there a chance that will fix it?

[ViperRider]

Re: Lifter/push rod ticking

Iv'e got the same problem with my 3.4, along with some wight smoke. Haven't tried changing the oil yet though. Is there a chance that will fix it?

Yea it should. For some reason mine won't unclog.

[LETZRIDE]

Re: Lifter/push rod ticking

Iv'e got the same problem with my 3.4, along with some wight smoke. Haven't tried changing the oil yet though. Is there a chance that will fix it?

you might wanna check your headgasket

as for changing the lifters....pull of the upper and lower intake manifolds unbolt the rocker arms...then there are 4 bolts holding the lifters in...you'll see like a plastic cover....


you will need new lifters if you are replacing them, new UIM/LIM gaskets, and new rocker arm bolts...and some fresh oil...

[syrus323]

Re: Lifter/push rod ticking

I have that same problem and i recently sea foamed my engine but the weird is that it just got rebuilt. I dont know if I got screwed over with the labor or something, anyways I changed the oil and the noise is gone but I could still hear a little ticking you think is that same problem?

[cam98aro]

Re: Lifter/push rod ticking

Iv'e got the same problem with my 3.4, along with some wight smoke. Haven't tried changing the oil yet though. Is there a chance that will fix it?

it may fix it, how loud is the ticking noise?

what is the temperature outside when you are seeing this smoke? check your coolant and oil to see if it is brown (coolant) or milky (oil)

also if it is possible, pull your plugs and see how they look, very clean and almost white plugs usually indicate a coolant leak

you might wanna check your headgasket

as for changing the lifters....pull of the upper and lower intake manifolds unbolt the rocker arms...then there are 4 bolts holding the lifters in...you'll see like a plastic cover....


you will need new lifters if you are replacing them, new UIM/LIM gaskets, and new rocker arm bolts...and some fresh oil...

the 3.4l engines have lifter boxes in them? i was under the impression that they used hydraulic flat tappet cams in them, there is no need for a lifter box

the lifters should just slide right out once the pushrods are removed

I have that same problem and i recently sea foamed my engine but the weird is that it just got rebuilt. I dont know if I got screwed over with the labor or something, anyways I changed the oil and the noise is gone but I could still hear a little ticking you think is that same problem?

did this problem happen before or after you seafoamed? seafoam can break up crud that is stuck at the bottom of the oil pan, and destroy your lifters by clogging them, i would never recommend using it in the crank case unless it is absolutely necessary.

how loud is the new ticking? if it is very minor it might not even be a lifter, could be an exhaust leak, or even an injector

a quiet ticking is nothing to be worried about IMO, its when it is very loud and your engine starts to run rough you should start to worry, it means the lifter has totally collapsed and you have a huge gap between your pushrod and rocker arm.. an easy way to bend a pushrod or cause other bad valvetrain damage

[ViperRider]

Re: Lifter/push rod ticking

I dropped the car off at a shop Wed. They called Thursday and said the oil pressure and all is fine and asked to start taking the valve covers off to see what the problem is. They called today and said that there is a lot of sludge in the oil. He says the only way to get sludge is racing or lack of or improper maintenance. I bought the car two years ago from a middle aged women which gave me tons and tons of receipts for oil changes. I doubt this lady raced or had a lead foot. I baby this car and have the oil changed on time..everytime.

So what's the deal..what else can cause sludge. He also said a lifter is bad. I feel like I'm about to get raped by this guy.

[ViperRider]

Re: Lifter/push rod ticking

$1400 to replace all lifters. :cry:

[cam98aro]

Re: Lifter/push rod ticking

I dropped the car off at a shop Wed. They called Thursday and said the oil pressure and all is fine and asked to start taking the valve covers off to see what the problem is. They called today and said that there is a lot of sludge in the oil. He says the only way to get sludge is racing or lack of or improper maintenance. I bought the car two years ago from a middle aged women which gave me tons and tons of receipts for oil changes. I doubt this lady raced or had a lead foot. I baby this car and have the oil changed on time..everytime.

So what's the deal..what else can cause sludge. He also said a lifter is bad. I feel like I'm about to get raped by this guy.

sludge can be caused by many things.. but mostly due to lack of oil changes

how often did she get it changed? did she use syn. or dino oil??

racing isnt going to cause oil sludge

but anyways sludge can be caused by water in the oil

and $1400 to replace the lifters??

wow, you can buy a good junkyard engine and throw it in for cheaper than that, i personally would do it yourself or take the car elsewhere

you can do it yourself in about 2 days and about $200

[ViperRider]

Re: Lifter/push rod ticking

I didn't go through all the receipts but I would guess she got it changed every 3 monthes/3,000. He said he was going to clean the engine out and replace all the lifters and thermostat. My dad said just to get it done.

I'm seriously contemplating just selling the car after this and buying a Honda. My wallet can't keep up with these repairs.

If I knew what I was doing underneath the hood I would defiantly do it myself, but I don't.

[cam98aro]

Re: Lifter/push rod ticking

I didn't go through all the receipts but I would guess she got it changed every 3 monthes/3,000. He said he was going to clean the engine out and replace all the lifters and thermostat. My dad said just to get it done.

I'm seriously contemplating just selling the car after this and buying a Honda. My wallet can't keep up with these repairs.

If I knew what I was doing underneath the hood I would defiantly do it myself, but I don't.

yeah, i understand how you feel.

since you bought the car off of a little old lady, i would bet that she rarely drove the car, or drive in small amounts, not letting the engine burn off all of the condensation inside can really mess it up

thats why i said i wouldnt recommend seafoaming the engine.. just imagine at all of the sludge and crap that could have gotten into all of your lifters, could have done way more damage to your engine

[ViperRider]

Re: Lifter/push rod ticking

Well I just started going to college around the corner. My commute is only about a mile and a half...and not much further for work. I probably caused the sludge myself.

How many miles did your car have on it when you had the problems with your lifters?

Mine is 2001 with 58k on it.