2003 startup tick

Hello me again. When the car first starts it has a tick sounds like the good ole chevy tick. The wife brought the car in and asked back when it was under waranty and the dealer said they all do that and not to worry. I couldnt be there so she believed them. I was wondering if it is true does alot of grandams have this problem? If so, is it the tappets? are they hard to tighten and whats the easiest way to do it?

A start-up tick is usually caused by a lifter. The noise is annoying but usually causes no damage or loss of power as the tick goes away after the lifter fills with oil and the components warm up and expand. The best way to fix the problem is to replace the offending lifter but it can be costly. You didn't state what engine you have but it can probably be fixed by adjusting the rocker arm by tightening it down slightly. In order to give you more advise you will need to post the engine size.

I agree with GTP Dad, we need to know what engine & aprox mileage to say for sure.

But lifter tap is pretty common with newr GA's.

Another problem is piston slap :eek:
Kinda does the same thing on start ups and is hard to diagnose with out pulling the heads and measuring the bore(s).

I believe my GT has this on pistons 3 & 4 :rolleyes:

Sometimes seafoam can make them clear up.

Sorry guys it has the 3.4l engine and also has 100k KM just turned about a week or two ago. It has been doing this tick since about 57000 KM it is either starting to get worse now or I am just getting really annoyed with it!