02 Impala ticking

I recently got my oil pan gasket changed at the dealership, not my car is ticking. I was told that it was my lifters and was given some things that I could do i.e., put in engine treatment and then get oil change adding Lucas Oil treatment. I did all of this and it is still ticking. Does it go away automatically or does it take a while? Do I have a major problem and should I take it back to the dealer? Help as I do not want to be taken advantage of. Thanks in advance for any and all help

Welcome to AF, is the ticking from the valve train, no way to tell from here. Ask them what changed doing an oil pan gasket, that would account for this. Also what engine size? Was there any sludge in pan?

I'm no mechanic, but my '02 Impala (3.4l) had the famous intake gasket leak and had been getting increasingly louder/rougher-sounding inside the engine compartment somewhere between 65k when I first noticed the coolant loss and 104k when I finally replaced the gaskets. The final straw - which scared me into finally replacing the gaskets - was when the loud metallic ticking noise started. To get me to the weekend when I could start the project, I ran SeaFoam through the engine to quiet the ticking noise. But the noise actually stopped BEFORE the SeaFoam treatment, so I can't recommend this as even a temporary remedy. All I can tell you is the loud ticking only happened for a couple of days and it hasn't happened again since I replaced the intake gaskets 11k miles ago (at which time I also replaced the lifters with new ones from AutoZone ... Melling?). This car takes 12 lifters which cost me $100 at AutoZone. The dealer wanted something like $350 for them.

If you've been losing coolant and haven't replaced your intake gaskets, you may (or may not) have stuck lifters due to coolant contamination. If you're not going to address the coolant leak problem right away (and I certainly didn't), then I would at least make sure to change the oil every 3k miles so that if there IS any internal contamination, damage will be minimized.

By the way, when the old lifters came out, I couldn't see anything wrong with any of them, but then again there could've been internal damage not visible to the naked eye...

I have not had any coolant leakage. I also have a 3.4l engine. I was told that there was no sludge in the pan. I did not have a intake gasket leak, just the oil pan leak. I was also told that it does not clear up immediately. That it has to work through for a while. I am going to wait for a few days and see if it clears up. Thanks for all you guys help. I will still accept any other advice that you have for a single mom, trying to save money and not get jipped. My son-in-law works in the service department of a Chevy dealer so I get good rates, just don't want one problem to lead to another problem, if you get my drift. Thanks again.

Solana27,

I didn't think I had coolant leakage either. I remember coming out of an Advance Auto store one night when another customer asked me if my engine was leaking coolant. I said, "no - I don't think so". To which he replied: "I'm a technician and they ALL leak". I didn't believe him at the time, but I do now. It's a sneaky leak. Mine leaked VERY slowly until the end when I started putting several ounces of fluid in every couple of weeks or so.

Look in the plastic overflow coolant bottle. If it's greasy-looking in there, I think this is an indication of a leak. Take off the radiator cap and look at its backside. If it's got a fudgicle-like sludgy buildup on it, that's an indication of a leak. Lastly, look at the side of the engine block on the coolant bottle side along the black diagonal seal. If it's wet or damp and there is a muddy mix immediately below where the shape of the block forms a gulley, you've got a leak. Others have also reported leaks on the opposite side of the engine under the throttle body/accelerator cable assemblies, but it's very hard to see into that area because of all the junk in the way.

On my car, there was more of an indication of oil into the coolant rather than the other way around. I would do an oil change and sample the oil but would never see any coolant in there. I still have about 6 1-Qt samples of oil from 6 oil changes I did just before I finally changed the gaskets. The plan was to ship the oil off for testing to detect coolant, but I never did that. I DID once put bright green dye into the radiator ($2 from NAPA) - and then watched it subsequently bubble out of the side of the block on the coolant bottle side (confirming the leak in my mind). Since replacing the gaskets, both sides of my block are showroom clean, shiny, and leak-free. I DO have a slight leak below my throttle body which I thought was the new gaskets leaking, but I think it might be my thermostat housing...

I'd make absolutely sure you're not losing coolant. I'd bet that you are but the leak is so small right now that nobody is really noticing it.

I want to thank all of you who replied to my request for help. Found out what the problem was yesterday. I was on my way home and the car really started make noise and shaking and jerking. I pulled into a collision shop that was near and they discovered that one of my plugs had worked its way loose. They replaced it and I was on my way. The ticking noise apparently came from the air pushing through the plug hole or something like that. But, I am again riding smooth and silently. Thanks for all of your help. This is a great service.

From here we could never had diagnosed that without hearing it onsite. Happy New Year!