clicking sounds ?

i have a 2004 crown victoria sport with 8900 miles on it. today i noticed this noise it sounds like a clicking sound coming from the engine. someone told me its the valve lifters or something i dont know. i want to know what this noise is and if its common. i run 87 octane fuel, its probably got 5w-20 oil in it because this dealership used it before us. im thinking about switching over to the new mobil 1 ep oil at either 5w-30 or 10w-30 which do you think would be better and would this make the difference ? this car is really clean and the engine looks really really relaly good. any one have any suggestions ? :frown:

8900 miles, I would just take it back under warranty. Chances are its the fuel injectors. They make a ticking noise and one in a thousand is a little out of spec. Let them worry about it :)

we need this car pretty bad right now because its the only car a family of 4 shares. do you think this fuel injector problem is severe enough to take in right now or can we wait a few months until we find something else that will get us around while this one is in the shop?

You can drive it without further damage, be it an injector or valve train noise. But I would try to get it in soon in case it is something more serious. Clicking is rarely anything serious.

Make the dealership supply you with a vehicle. when the rear end went out on our trailblazer it wasnt anything but a clicking noiese then eventuallly the spline gearsh demeshed or something and the whole friggen thing blew out and the trailblazer would still move but it felt muddy because it was missing a few teeth.

Public is right. Not usually serious unless it changes for the worse.

It is possible that it is a valve tick, although highly unlikely. If its an injector tick, there is a 50/50 chance that it is damaging. On the one hand, its only damaging itself and an injector can be replaced. On the other hand, if its damaged beyond proper operation, you'll have other engine and catalytic converter damage from an improper fuel metering. Rarely that serious, though.

In my experience, some service departments are pretty easy-going with rental cars and loaner cars. It completely depends on the dealer, but some will even give you a car off the used lot. The good news is that if its a bad injector it should take an hour to fix.

I would call the service department and let them know your quandry. Make a real sob story and ask if a loaner vehicle is available because you can't afford a rental car that size, your family needs the car... blah blah. See if they step up to the plate. If not, you can try other dealerships.

If its a one-hour problem, they have shuttle services or a salesman would be happy to take you to an appointment in a new car. If its an all-day thing, they can step up with a loaner or rental. The only reason it should be a multi-day task is if they tear into it and discover they need to order parts.

If they tell you its a multi-day task, then certainly you can wait a little while, just keep tabs on that sound and see if it changes.

That was a long-winded way of saying, there is no reason to rush, but if they're willing to give you a vehicle to use, there is no reason to wait.

thanks for all the help guys i really appreciate it