99 Jeep, oil leak, lifter/valve noise
Jeep 99
08-09-2006, 06:43 PM
Hello, so happy to find this forum. I have a 99 JeepGC with 104k on it. Admittedly I was delinquent in changing oil in the past. About a year ago I noticed a clicking sound coming from underneath the valve cover on top of engine. Noise increases in speed when I step on the gas.Six months ago My mechanic said that we could try frequent oil changes with synthetic oil to see if the detergents wouldn't help clean the gook that may cause the lifting/valve noise sound. Well, I am about to change the oil again (this is the third change)after 2000 miles, the sound is still there, and I notice and ever so slight vibration at certain times and for the first time ever I noticed a small puddle (maybe 20 drops total)beneath the car yesterday. (Warning: extremely ignorant lingo ahead): The oil is dripping off the power-steering-fluid-metal-tube-line, however that is not the orginal source. The original source seems to be under the passenger side of the engine and is traveling towards the Power Steering line and then dripping off that. The oil is relatively clean. When driving, The oil pressure is consistently at midrange "40" during idle and a notch above that when accelerating. The oil level dipstick is at "safe." Temp is always steady at approximately mid range "210".
It will be two weeks before i can afford anything more than another oil change. My questions are -- what's the worst possible thing this could be? How much will it hurt me financially and how much time do I have? My friend says the car needs a valve adjustment and that should be no more than a few hundred, but that was before the leak. I should mention that I put about 250 miles a week on my car.
I m grateful for any advice here.
-Danielle
It will be two weeks before i can afford anything more than another oil change. My questions are -- what's the worst possible thing this could be? How much will it hurt me financially and how much time do I have? My friend says the car needs a valve adjustment and that should be no more than a few hundred, but that was before the leak. I should mention that I put about 250 miles a week on my car.
I m grateful for any advice here.
-Danielle
Bob D.
08-10-2006, 08:12 AM
Assuming your mechanic is correct in diagnosing a noisy lifter, there's not much you can do until the bad lifter is replaced.
Hydraulic valves/lifters are self adjusting - there is no manual adjustment.
I would stop the frequent oil changes - there may be something to it but I've never heard about it. Synthetic oil is not cheap, you can try an oil additive that you add once at oil change time, (every three thousand miles) but if it's going to be worked on soon, save the money.
There are decarbonizer products that can be used on high mileage or poorly maintained motors that sometimes help.
The oil pressure and engine temperature are both normal.
As for the vibration, that could be many things---misfire, out of balance wheel etc.
If the oil leaking is red in color, the leak could be power steering or transmission fluid--- check the level of these.
As for your specific questions; noisy lifters usually do not cause any serious problems, and $200-$300 sounds about right to fix.
It doesn't sound like there is any reason it can't be driven normally - just keep an eye on all fluids.
One caveat...when you finally hand over your Jeep to the mechanic, make sure he will guarantee that the work will fix the problem, otherwise you'll be out $$$ and still have car problems.
If he/she is a competent mechanic, they should not have a problem with this.
Hydraulic valves/lifters are self adjusting - there is no manual adjustment.
I would stop the frequent oil changes - there may be something to it but I've never heard about it. Synthetic oil is not cheap, you can try an oil additive that you add once at oil change time, (every three thousand miles) but if it's going to be worked on soon, save the money.
There are decarbonizer products that can be used on high mileage or poorly maintained motors that sometimes help.
The oil pressure and engine temperature are both normal.
As for the vibration, that could be many things---misfire, out of balance wheel etc.
If the oil leaking is red in color, the leak could be power steering or transmission fluid--- check the level of these.
As for your specific questions; noisy lifters usually do not cause any serious problems, and $200-$300 sounds about right to fix.
It doesn't sound like there is any reason it can't be driven normally - just keep an eye on all fluids.
One caveat...when you finally hand over your Jeep to the mechanic, make sure he will guarantee that the work will fix the problem, otherwise you'll be out $$$ and still have car problems.
If he/she is a competent mechanic, they should not have a problem with this.
pistoff
10-06-2006, 04:45 PM
they all leak dumb ass!!!! :eek: :screwy: :cwm27: :rofl:
dksob81
10-06-2006, 05:00 PM
Hello, so happy to find this forum. I have a 99 JeepGC with 104k on it. Admittedly I was delinquent in changing oil in the past. About a year ago I noticed a clicking sound coming from underneath the valve cover on top of engine. Noise increases in speed when I step on the gas.Six months ago My mechanic said that we could try frequent oil changes with synthetic oil to see if the detergents wouldn't help clean the gook that may cause the lifting/valve noise sound. Well, I am about to change the oil again (this is the third change)after 2000 miles, the sound is still there, and I notice and ever so slight vibration at certain times and for the first time ever I noticed a small puddle (maybe 20 drops total)beneath the car yesterday. (Warning: extremely ignorant lingo ahead): The oil is dripping off the power-steering-fluid-metal-tube-line, however that is not the orginal source. The original source seems to be under the passenger side of the engine and is traveling towards the Power Steering line and then dripping off that. The oil is relatively clean. When driving, The oil pressure is consistently at midrange "40" during idle and a notch above that when accelerating. The oil level dipstick is at "safe." Temp is always steady at approximately mid range "210".
It will be two weeks before i can afford anything more than another oil change. My questions are -- what's the worst possible thing this could be? How much will it hurt me financially and how much time do I have? My friend says the car needs a valve adjustment and that should be no more than a few hundred, but that was before the leak. I should mention that I put about 250 miles a week on my car.
I m grateful for any advice here.
-Danielle
Does the engine have a rough idle or anything. lifter noise could be casue by just normal gunk in the engine, which could be flushed out with an engine flush, Could be a sticking valve due to a bent valve or carbon build up, carbon build up could be fixed by using some SEAFOAM, bent valve will need to be replaced. Even a colapsed lifter would cause lifter noise.
You might want to try to use a bottle LUCAS or HYPER LUBE to help with the noise.
It will be two weeks before i can afford anything more than another oil change. My questions are -- what's the worst possible thing this could be? How much will it hurt me financially and how much time do I have? My friend says the car needs a valve adjustment and that should be no more than a few hundred, but that was before the leak. I should mention that I put about 250 miles a week on my car.
I m grateful for any advice here.
-Danielle
Does the engine have a rough idle or anything. lifter noise could be casue by just normal gunk in the engine, which could be flushed out with an engine flush, Could be a sticking valve due to a bent valve or carbon build up, carbon build up could be fixed by using some SEAFOAM, bent valve will need to be replaced. Even a colapsed lifter would cause lifter noise.
You might want to try to use a bottle LUCAS or HYPER LUBE to help with the noise.
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