ticking noise

[dsrtfox1942]

Hi all,
I have a 1993 Talon DL with the 1.8l engine. There is an annoying ticking noise coming from the engine. I was told be my friend that has a 98 eclipse GSX that it is a valve sticking. Is there any way to get rid of this?

[MrZ]

While it could be a valve sticking, it is more proabable that it is a faulty lifter.

Does it do it at all speeds, or mostly at idle?

Mark

[96TSi]

mine used to do it till i changed the oil.


check your oil

[MrZ]

Hydraullic valve lifters are sensitive to oil pressure, and yes, can be effected and make noise if the oil in the car is old. Often times lifters will make noise because contaminants from dirty engine oil have collected inside them over a period of time and have caused them to "leak". Sometimes oil changes and additives can clear this problem up, particulary if you only notice the noise intermittently, and it isn't that loud.

If the lifter noise is constant, I wouldn't count on oil changes or additives to clear up the problem. If the noise is only evident at idle, the problem could be a clogged oil passage, or low oil pressure, or both. Usually though, if the noise is the result of low oil pressure at idle speeds, it wont be just one lifter making the racket.

Mark

[96TSi]

good info

90% of the time you can save your car if you find the problem before it gets bad. Even though the visor and manual of your car say change the oil every 5k miles, change it on a good 3k rotation and the life of your engine will be longer

[dsrtfox1942]

Thanks Guys. It seems that it ticks mostly at idle and speeds up a bit when I give it gas but then fades away.