Tick, Tick Tick tick..........

hey guess what?? theres a ticking sound coming from my engine. woo hoo. oil pressure gauge a lil screwy. not off that bad but bouncin around a little. more than normal. could i just need to change the oil and filter again since the gasket repair(intake manifold). still runs good. i let it warm up 15-20 minutes. somedays u just cant but 99% of the time i do. or should i go synthetic all the way. color me clueless??????????!!!!!!!!

I have a ticking/tapping sound at start up. Goes away after it warms up. But, hey, I have 236K. Mechanic told me what it was, a valve tappet going bad.

My guess that it's lifter noise GirlBear.

Since if I remember correctly you recently had the intake manifold off I would almost think that one of your valve adjustment nuts might have backed off. That is if you have to mess with the valves while doing a 4.3L intake manifold.

I'd say your oil may be diluted with antifreeze. Did you change the intake gaskets because of coolant loss?

You changed the oil before cranking up after the intake gasket change , Right . I use synthetic in everything now , even my lawn mower. In your cold climate , my opinion is you should go synthetic . I just bought a jug a couple of hours ago for my next change . See if you can round up one of those mechanics stephascopes(?) to try to pinpoint the tick . Could be something as simple as an injector.since I removed my troublesome throttlebody F.I. , My computer clicks loud and varies with engine speed . I think it misses the injectors and sensors . I don't miss the problems . Rob:evillol:

GirlBear, I can't believe that this didn't occure to me right away.

most motors that I see with what sounds like valve tick noise ends up being a small exhaust leak. Always somewhere at the exhaust manifold, and usually the gasket or a loose bolt.

do they engine gunk flush and convert to full sythetic... see if it works wouldnt hurt... i get higher oil pressure with synth. maybecause its thinner and more slippery

GirlBear, I can't believe that this didn't occure to me right away.

most motors that I see with what sounds like valve tick noise ends up being a small exhaust leak. Always somewhere at the exhaust manifold, and usually the gasket or a loose bolt.

GirlBear, If OverBoards hunch is wrong. And it is in fact coming from your motor. Try this. Using a large screwdriver. Hold it up to your ear and touch around the valve cover while the motor is idling. See if the noise is in fact coming from your lifter. If so, when you did the lower intake gasket replacement. There is that possibility that some small pieces of debris were left inside, and made its way to one of the oil galleys or just got stuck in one of the lifters. You can try using a can of engine flush and run the motor for about 20 or 30 miles on the freeway, then do a complete oil change with filter. Synthetic oil would be preferred. I've had that happen once, and it worked for me. Good Luck and let us know how your doing, and what you find.

Every car that i've ever owned that has fuel injection has a tick tick to it. I'm told thats the injectors working, hondas and acuras really tick. I never listened to my blazer though to see if that does it, i just thought i'd throw that out there. Good luck :lol2:

Sounds like it could be a stuck lifter. Especially since its been getting really cold out. From inside the truck, does it sound kinda like someone tapping a pencil under the hood somewhere and it goes away after your engine warms up?

GirlBear, If OverBoards hunch is wrong. And it is in fact coming from your motor. Try this. Using a large screwdriver. Hold it up to your ear and touch around the valve cover while the motor is idling. See if the noise is in fact coming from your lifter. If so, when you did the lower intake gasket replacement. There is that possibility that some small pieces of debris were left inside, and made its way to one of the oil galleys or just got stuck in one of the lifters. You can try using a can of engine flush and run the motor for about 20 or 30 miles on the freeway, then do a complete oil change with filter. Synthetic oil would be preferred. I've had that happen once, and it worked for me. Good Luck and let us know how your doing, and what you find.


Make sure your hair is up if you're gunna try the screwdriver method!

Make sure your hair is up if you're gunna try the screwdriver method!

It's a good idea with any car repair.

Also don't wear loose clothing and take all jewelery off including rings

Girlbear, what oil filter do you use?

after i did the intake i flushed the coolant and drained/changed the oil/filter. When i start it it always ticks a lil. but as it warmed up the ticking would stop. last night after drivin all day and night(xmas shopping) on the way home i noticed the ticking. im gonna flush it. im thinkin cause the galley was soooooo shitty sumthin must have fell in there. thanx guys im gonna go the synthetic route. ill keep ya's up to date.

Girlbear, what oil filter do you use?
advance auto's brand i think maybe ac/delco. not sure tho. 2maro im gonna lift'er up and check it out. shes been sittin all day.

This is an oil flow problem at startup and usually is caused by a bad anti-drainback valve on your filter.

Does the noise go away after it warms up?

This is an oil flow problem at startup and usually is caused by a bad anti-drainback valve on your filter.

Does the noise go away after it warms up?
yes... but yesterday it started tickin after it was warmed up?? doesnt make sense to me?? im pretty sure its the lifters. but Why? u think bad filter. i think the shit that fell into the galley that i couldnt clean out, is the cause. now solution? sea-foam? ive heard some good things about it. also not so good. my mechanic friend never heard of it alltogether. def gonna do oil-to-synthetic and a new filter. what do you suggest all around hit me with proper products to buy. but again i am broke as a street bum. xmas wiped me out!! it'll be like a week, til payday. im tryin not 2 charge ne thing. u know get the balance down a bit. lol

yes... but yesterday it started tickin after it was warmed up?? doesnt make sense to me?? im pretty sure its the lifters. but Why? u think bad filter. i think the shit that fell into the galley that i couldnt clean out, is the cause. now solution? sea-foam? ive heard some good things about it. also not so good. my mechanic friend never heard of it alltogether. def gonna do oil-to-synthetic and a new filter. what do you suggest all around hit me with proper products to buy. but again i am broke as a street bum. xmas wiped me out!! it'll be like a week, til payday. im tryin not 2 charge ne thing. u know get the balance down a bit. lol

Ok, do yourself a favor.

Go get some gunk engine flush and put it in a hot engine and let it sit there and IDLE for 20-30 minutes. This will allow it to do its job properly, the bottle says 5, but 5 minutes isn't enough time to get the flush everywhere to do its job. I have done this three times and nothing bad has come about. I also let mine idle for 40 minutes as well, you don't have to go that long.

Then drop the oil and add the synthetic oil and a NON-FRAM oil filter. Anything other than fram is best, penzoil are frams too so don't use them.

Use 5 quarts of Mobil1 5w30 synthetic and for the love of god don't just go out and buy any synthetic on the market seeing they all aren't the same and most are synthetic knock-offs.

The only ones to buy are Mobil1, Redline, Amsoil. And make sure you use 5w30 as well, nothing else.

The ticking might get better but you will have to be patient and allow the Mobil1 to do its job, might take a couple 1000 miles. Synthetic will really scrub that engine out.

Ok, do yourself a favor.

Go get some gunk engine flush and put it in a hot engine and let it sit there and IDLE for 20-30 minutes. This will allow it to do its job properly, the bottle says 5, but 5 minutes isn't enough time to get the flush everywhere to do its job. I have done this three times and nothing bad has come about. I also let mine idle for 40 minutes as well, you don't have to go that long.

Then drop the oil and add the synthetic oil and a NON-FRAM oil filter. Anything other than fram is best, penzoil are frams too so don't use them.

Use 5 quarts of Mobil1 5w30 synthetic and for the love of god don't just go out and buy any synthetic on the market seeing they all aren't the same and most are synthetic knock-offs.

The only ones to buy are Mobil1, Redline, Amsoil. And make sure you use 5w30 as well, nothing else.

The ticking might get better but you will have to be patient and allow the Mobil1 to do its job, might take a couple 1000 miles. Synthetic will really scrub that engine out.
Thank you very very much. I wish the AF would reinstate you, cause baby ur the best! lol

Thank you very very much. I wish the AF would reinstate you, cause baby ur the best! lol

Hey thanks for the appreciation of the advice.

You know I wouldn't steer you wrong.

As for the other thing, with some of the uber whiners on here, they don't like how I don't put up with crap.

You know the deal, but hey........guess they have some new guys coming in, hope they are no one we know.

I have the same lifter noise at start up and after 5 minutes or so it goes away, only happens in cold weather. But on a side note, I couldn't get Mobil1 5W-30 but they did have the 0W-30, since then the noise has gotten quieter and disappeared all together, go figure! Engine warms faster to and is a hell of a lot quieter.

If you can find 0w-30 Castrol Syntec with print on the back of the bottle that says "Made in Germany" - you're in for a real treat. It has completely silenced up and has been doing a great job of cleaning out the engine even further than the flush and then run on synthetic Rotella. It's already black as ebony from it's radiator like green when it pours straight from the bottle - but "dirty looking" oil is a good indicator to me that the lube is doing its job.
Might want to consider what I am doing:

Run your first fill of synthetic for about 6k miles, drain and refill, replacing your filter, etc. The first few changes of a good synthetic oil's going to clean stuff out of the engine you never thought was there and will get dirty pretty quick....it will not all be used up or needing to be changed as often after that first 6k run, but I want to get all of the crud out so I can go for a year or so between oil changes. (I still change filters according to the user manual) The oil I found and use is really tough stuff and the 4.3 is very easy going on the oil though they use a timing chain.

wolfox, Can you tell that to the guy on this thread
http://www.automotiveforums.com/vbulletin/t497276.html
He's about to do the lifters on his S10, and your info might just help cure his lifter noise as well

Thanks man

Done! :)

wolfox, Can you tell that to the guy on this thread
http://www.automotiveforums.com/vbulletin/t497276.html
He's about to do the lifters on his S10, and your info might just help cure his lifter noise as well

Thanks man

Thanks once again, and merry christmas

Also, I don't recommend the German Castrol Syntec anymore.

They changed formulations this year and it is not as good. For the money, get Mobil1.