Lifter Tick!! Nooooooooooooooo!!!

I've been dreading this day. I always read on here how some people are dealing with the annoying lifter tick and want the 99 lash adjusters. But I never had the problem...until today :angryfire For the past week when I started up my car w/ the engine cold, I could hear the lifter tick for a few seconds, and then the oil would hit it and it went away. But this morning it didn't go away :(. So i've seen that an oil change takes care of it temporarily so i'll do that, but are there any additives that help?? like maybe that Lucas oil stuff, or the Castrol start-up protection. I've determined that start-up is what hurts our lifters, idk if that's been said but thats the obvious reason so I thought i'd be Captain Obvious.

Redline! Put that in there and it'll eleviate some to all of the ticking.

I will try that thank you.

what kinda oil are you using

hold on. I use Pennzoil 10W-30 every time with a stock Mitsu oil filter and I have lifter tick. But I can use ?Redline? and it will make some or all of it go away? Where do I buy this Redline of which you speak? The local Autozone, perhaps? Is it expensive? synthetic? b/c I was told that switching from non-synthetic to synthetic isn't good on high-mileage cars.

Right now i'm using 20W-50 Castrol GTX I believe...either that or penzoil, one of the two. As far as switching the synthetic everyone has a different opinion...if your car is a POS and you switch w/ high mileage, then it probably isnt good, but for a high performance sports car it would probably be fine. But no one has proved that it can be harmful or helpful yet that I know of.

Oh yeah and BTW the lifter tick went away again...but i'm sure it's just getting worse and worse with every cold start.

I'm starting to get it a little now that its colder outside and I switched to mobil 1 10W30 from what I think was non synthetic and no leaking or anything.

why are you running 20-w50 when its cold out?

I'm running 20W-50 because of 2 reasons:

1) This weather here is all screwed up, one day its 70, and then next it's snowing.

2) I haven't changed the oil to 10W-30 yet.

I got it a couple of months ago too, its on and off. I deffenetly will change the lifters to the 99 ones soon. Oh and does anyone know how much the dealer might charge to change them???

Musashi - see the FAQ. It talks about the lifter replacement in there as well as $$$.

Where do I buy this Redline of which you speak? The local Autozone, perhaps? Is it expensive? synthetic? b/c I was told that switching from non-synthetic to synthetic isn't good on high-mileage cars.

Redline is an oil treatment. It puts a coating on the internal parts of the engine which helps in getting the clogs out of the lifters (which is the source for the ticking sound). You can pick up a bottle at just about anyplace that sells motor oil (beyond a gas station).

Another alternative is to use a real lightweight oil. Run the car for a few days, drain that oil out and then put back in your regular oil. I've heard of this working.

As for switching to synthetic. There is nothing wrong with switching to synthetic at any time. The only time you'll have problems (potentially) is if you switch back to regular oil from the synthetics. Once you go synthetic - never go back.

Oh yeah and BTW the lifter tick went away again...but i'm sure it's just getting worse and worse with every cold start.

Although the ticking noise might appear to get louder, nothing 'worse' is happening. Lifter tick will not harm your engine, it is just simply a very annoying sound. So don't spend too much time worrying.

Oh and does anyone know how much the dealer might charge to change them???

I was quoted a price of $51.99 per lifter by Don Herring Mitsubishi in Plano, TX. That would put the price of a set of 24 at around $1200. So DO NOT go to the stealership for lifters. Rather, check the FAQ, there are 2 aftermarket options, and i've posted an addendum in the FAQ of 2 other places you can get 3rd gen lifters for a very fair price.

I've seen them on ebay for around $300 for the full set...and thanks I won't worry about it so much, I forgot it didn't really hurt anything...but i'm sure with every cold start there's a better chance the tick will want to stay around.

put some 5-w30 in and i bet it goes away.

yep, or 5w40 synthetic

the 5 means that the oil will circulate through the engine faster during cold starts

thanks for the help Yogs (and of course others)!! I love this forum! :grinyes:

ok i use 5w30 quaker state high mileage and it still ticks like mad all day when i drive it. how much will they charge at the dealership if i have them put the lifter adujuster in for me? if they wont do it is there step by step instructions on how to do it?

ok i use 5w30 quaker state high mileage and it still ticks like mad all day when i drive it. how much will they charge at the dealership if i have them put the lifter adujuster in for me? if they wont do it is there step by step instructions on how to do it?

the dealer will install the 3rd gen lifters, however they will charge you out the ass to do it! and i'm not sure, but they MIGHT require you to buy the lifters from them as well (which would cost you around $1200 for lifters alone)!!! i HAVE found step by step instructions on how to do it yourself, however, i have that info on my hard drive back at school. i'll post it later today.

The DSM Tick... All Mitsubishi do it... mostly when the oil level gets low or the oil get old and dirty. Don't worry almost all stock Mitsubishis do it though its more domenent in Eclipse and Talons.

here's the instructions for installing new lifters. once again, thanks to Jeff Lucius!

www.stealth316.com/misc/installing_new_lifters.doc