Tapping Hydraulic Valves

[daigo3d]

Hey all,
Been reading these posts and there is alot of great information here for Metros. My problem is that my girlfriend's father has recently purchased a 97 Metro LSI with a 1.3L, 4 cylinder engine. Car runs great, EXCEPT for the tapping from the hydraulic lifters. We have replaced the lifters with new ones, and I have changed the oil to a higher viscosity, and the noise is still there.

I have been looking around at some of the junk yards for another head to possible replace and alleviate the problem, but I can't find any with hydraulic lifters. I am unsure if heads with regular lifters can be swapped out. I am also unsure if the camshaft might have some worn lobes, and if the camshafts are all the same, regardless of the lifters being used.

Any help and information would be greatly appreciated.

[geozukigti]

It's not a Mercedes, it's always gonna *tick*. It shouldn't be very loud, but they love to tick. 10w30 is what I would recemmond for oil.

[daigo3d]

Unfortunately, the ticking is VERY loud It taps until you get to around 2000 rpm, then it goes down. My girlfriend's father says that it also gets louder when going uphill, when there is a load on the engine. I have pretty much hit a wall with this. The consideration now is to either replace the head, or replace the engine.

[geozukigti]

Have you checked your oil pressure? You may not be getting enough oil to the head. You may need to run an engine flush solvent (similar to kerosene) in your crankcase, or replace the oil pump. Severe clicking means your lifters are running somewhat dry, and they are not able to pump-up with oil to adjust the valve lash.