valve or lifter noise

[cheboing]

When i start my 84 fiero i hear noise that sounds like a valve or lifter . It goes away until the engine warms up and then i hear the ticking noise . Is there any kind of oil additive out there that might help stop the noise ? The car has only 105000 kms on it ... thanks .

[Ragtop_Renegade]

Oil additives do nothing but hide the problem. At some point, the noisy component will fail, and it's usually a very dramatic, messy scene when it does.

Note that a VERY VERY VERY common issue on high milage (and some low mileage) 2.5L L4's is worn timing gears. The sound is similar to bad lifters but when listening cafefully, sounds more like raka-raka-raka instead of valve train tick-tick-tick. The sound comes from the timing cover on the crank pulley side of the engine instead of the tappet cover under the intake manifold. Timing gears, while high on the pain-in-the-ass list, can be replaced without pulling the engine.

Connecting rod failure was an issue on early model Fieros. While I doubt defective rods would have lasted 105,000KM, it's at least worth mentioning a bad rod goes knock-knock-knock and has bit of an echo to it.