Valve Train Ticking Advice

[eerkes]

1997 Trooper V6 3.2L SOHV, 162,000 miles, no issues other than below ...




I need some expert advice. Here's the situation.

• well known lifter ticking started about 4 years (45,000 miles) ago
• initially ticking only occurred when oil needed changing and when this was done ticking quit
• over time problem got worse but still was not constant being louder at times and then quieting down
• one day when it was at its loudest a guy came over from about 5 bays away in a big gas station and told me I better add some oil before I destroyed my engine. I mention this as a gauge of how loud it was. No, I was not low of oil at the time.
• one year (12,000) miles ago I decided to try the Mobile-1 0w-30 synthetic recommendation. Initially no change but have noticed last couple months that noise has quieted down. Currently it is so quiet that I cannot really hear any ticking when driving on a smooth road, no radio and no fan. No, I am not hard of hearing. When I pull into our garage and idle the engine I can still hear a little ticking but so little that I'm almost wondering whether this is the normal sound of this engine.

Here's my quandary. Since I have never had a constant level ticking I am assuming that I have more of a lifter tensioner issue than worn lifters or rod. My reasoning being that worn rocker arms/rod should result in a relatively steady ticking level.

What do you recommend? I was planning on tearing the engine down and replacing what was needed (rocker arms, rod, and tensioners). I might still do that but am now wondering whether I should hang tight and and see what happens. One problem I have is that I would only be able to do this work during the summer and the cost of having this work done by a someone else is prohibitive. I do not want to push the engine until I'm in a bind and forced to sell the vehicle because the problem became critical during the fall, winter or spring.

WHAT WOULD YOU DO IN MY SITUATION? THANKS!

[boritz]

I would hang tight and keep up a regular quality oil change schedule.

I have the same year & motor as you and about the same mileage. Very robust and reliable vehicle - daily driver (rural not 'burbs).

I change at least quarterly (do quite a lot of towing). Been using Castrol Magnatec 10w-40 for several years. Our air temp range is about -2C to 45C.

A lot of USA folks use the 5w-30 spec - I guess it would depend on locale.

Never had the tick.