Very Loud Engine noise..what going on!??

I have 1997 Mitsubishi Galant. It has 140,000 miles on it right now. Lately I have been hearing a lot engine noise from the car, so I took it to the mechanic and he said something about the engine valves waring out! HE said he couldnt really tell how long my engine would last and it might run for 5000 - 10,000 miles more but he wasnt sure.

What is going on? Is there anything I can do about it. Can't the valves be replaced? He said the only way to prolong the life of the car was to use some "engine honey" and heavy synthetic oil. I was hoping I could use the car for a year more atleast, is there any way I could get the problem fixed? And how much would it cost me? What are the other ways of saving the engine?

Thanks everyone.

i think he is trying a fast one mate. for one i have never heard of valves wearing out, maybe a valve guide but you would have to remove the cylinder head. 2 if there was a problem with the valves it would either burn oil (alot of blue smoke and spark plugs would be black) or possibly loss of compression. what kind of noise is it . does it do it all the time.

Its a ticking sound. Pretty loud if you open the hood. It comes from the engine.

could be hydraulic lifters or even a plug lead tracking out. is it using oil?

Its a ticking sound. Pretty loud if you open the hood. It comes from the engine.
ticking noises is common for problems with the tappet. most commonly ur gaskets has sprung a leak somewhere. look around the head for any oil leaks and if u find one u'll need the gasket replaced. u can but gaskets seperately or in a kit. i wood take the kit my self as then u know all ur joints are sealed. make sure to use proper gaskets and not liquid ones. liquid gasket make it very difficult to remove components as they form a solid seal rather than a breakable seal and they morph out of shape when the engine expandes from the heat

I have 1997 Mitsubishi Galant. It has 140,000 miles on it right now. Lately I have been hearing a lot engine noise from the car, so I took it to the mechanic and he said something about the engine valves waring out! HE said he couldnt really tell how long my engine would last and it might run for 5000 - 10,000 miles more but he wasnt sure.

What is going on? Is there anything I can do about it. Can't the valves be replaced? He said the only way to prolong the life of the car was to use some "engine honey" and heavy synthetic oil. I was hoping I could use the car for a year more atleast, is there any way I could get the problem fixed? And how much would it cost me? What are the other ways of saving the engine?

Thanks everyone.
Hi Karan,

If it's a ticking or tapping noise it may be the lash adjusters, It's certainly not the valves worn out. This issue is fairly common, dirty oil or of course low on oil can cause this.

Air trapped inside the lash adjusters will not allow oil flow causing the tapping noise.

Try this procedure--change oil and filter.

Start the car and bring up to about 3000 rpm's for approx 1 minute, shut the engine off for another minute, restart and do the same procedure, try this several times. It will sometimes purge the air and stop the noise.

This one worked for me, except I had been told to bring the RPMs to 3000 over a 15 sec period then let off the gas completely. Repeat as necessary. It took me 5 times, but the ticking went away completely.

Hi Foyle,

Your right, sometimes it takes sveral shut downs and restarts.

Glad it wworked for you.

Jerry Christopher
www.usedcarwise.com