Define Lifter Tick + other nosies

[Knight2040]

Alright, my VR4 has always had a slight ticking noise from the engine ever since i bought it (4 months ago) and i have always confermed that this noise was lifter tick. The noise is just a slight rattling\ticking type noise that is slightly noticble but not too loud and i have always wondered how this annoys everyone, but yesterday when i driving home from school, i hammered it while in 2nd and then had to slow down for traffic and while in the the process my car shut off while i was driving and i rolled it to the shoulder and looked under the hood. nothing looked wrong so i shut it and started it up. It started up no problem but a LOUD and i mean loud ticking nose was heard under the hood. The car ran fine, i actuallly drove it home no problem but it was ticking loud all the way home. now three days before this i was blocking off my EGR and i forgot one plate that blocks the EGR pipe from the rear turbo and it made a similar metallic ticking nosie, but it went away after i blocked it off. Now thats what i immidiatly thought it was, just the EGR seal went bad, but i resealed it and the ticking didn't go away, then i checked my Stillen downpipe which had a leak already but i just checked if it got worse, but it was fine. Then i started to think what else it could be and i was thinking, that this was REAL lifter tick, but not sure. Exaclty how loud can lifter tick be?? My tick is pretty loud, i can hear it clearly from like 10 feet away. how loud are yalls tick? other things i'm thinking it could be is a collapsed lifter, Rod knock??, piston rings...what else makes loud ticks? what exactly does rod knock sound like? isn't it more of a thud then a tick? like i said, the car drives fine just a really conserning and loud tick, also my tick doesn't go away when i rev it or raise the oil pressure like others. thanks guys

[Igovert500]

What gets me is that the car died...lifter tick wouldn't do that. Quick thought...make sure both terminals on your battery are tight...I've had the car die on me from that...and it can cause ticking noises from the fuse box or something...just a random thought.

[Im2Fast4U]

Might be a stupid question but have you actually checked the oil level? I would drive the car and there'd only be a faintly noticeable tick (been there since I bought the car 2 years ago.. that sound I can hear almost all teh time but it's not too bad. My new exhaust covers up the sound sometimes) but after I had it in the shop, I was driving it and me and a friend were driving out in the country to his house and we decided to mess around. I floored it up from 30ish to about 90 or so and let off and heard a really really loud ticking sound. It kinda scared me so I stopped and turned the car off. Everything looked fine in the engine bay so I restarted it and it was still ticking LOUD. Drove to my friend's house (about 5-7 min) and it was still doing it. Luckily his dad has a lift and we decided to look underneath and there was oil everywhere. I checked the oil and there was barely a drop on the dipstick :22yikes: . We found the oil leak, fixed it changed and refilled the oil and haven't had the problem since (minus the old tick again ).

And if it was rod knock, your engine would most likely already be toast, especially since you drove it home. Rod knock tends to progress bery quickly.

[Knight2040]

yeah there's plety of oil in it. altough i poured half a quart of oil in it and after 10 mins it went away for like 20 seconds but came back aftwards but with less tick, so what do you think it is?

[sLADe781]

I don't know if this is the same thing as what you guys are getting but I have this small rattling sound around the manifold area that I still haven't been able to figure out. It's usually there when I first start up the car but it's usually gone by the time the car is warmed up. So yeah, I'm thinking it's just because the car's cold....what do you guys think?

[stealthspeed]

Originally Posted by sLADe781

I don't know if this is the same thing as what you guys are getting but I have this small rattling sound around the manifold area that I still haven't been able to figure out. It's usually there when I first start up the car but it's usually gone by the time the car is warmed up. So yeah, I'm thinking it's just because the car's cold....what do you guys think?

I had a rattling sound kind of near my front manifold, and come to find out...it was my waterpump..might wanna check that out...just a guess though

[sLADe781]

Originally Posted by stealthspeed

I had a rattling sound kind of near my front manifold, and come to find out...it was my waterpump..might wanna check that out...just a guess though

How/what would I be looking for when checking? Leaks?

[Knight2040]

well the weirdest thing happend, i was driving and my car shut off agian like when the ticking started, i was like crap....then when i started it the tick was gone! + the car ran smoother. so i'm like cool and drove off lol. i still wanna know whats with thease random cut offs. glad it's gone

[stealthspeed]

Originally Posted by sLADe781

How/what would I be looking for when checking? Leaks?

well, yeah you should check for leaks (antifreeze)...check under the car next to the timing belt, you can also check under the coolant fill cap, which is next to the upper intake plenum, on the left hand side. But to be positive, id bring it to a mechanic, and they could diagnose it further...

[Linebckr49]

Originally Posted by Knight2040

i still wanna know whats with thease random cut offs.

for the engine to randomly cut off...its almost GOTTA be electrical. check your battery terminal connections, make sure they're secure.

another thought, it could be your fuel system. when's the last time you changed your fuel filter? that's something that quite a few people overlook, and can cause major problems down the road. some fuel injection cleaner couldn't hurt. your fuel pump could not be getting enough voltage-->stealth316.com has a very useful mod that sets up a separate fuse dedicated to the fuel pump, and allows you to get the most out of your fuel pump.

[gonsvr4]

i have a 1988 red mitsubishi galant vr4 with forged pistons garret t/4 hybrid fully recond. air filter injectors lightened flywheel 3" exhaust from turbo with 3 1/2" tip new clutch new gearbox with evo 4 running gears and evo 4 front mount and many more with gauges leatha int and syt...high 11 qmt...not n e more

it happind wen i doubled(pumped my clutch) in first gear at 5000rpm reved it out to 7500 then slammed it to 2nd when it started ticking... the ticking gets louder as u floor your car and gets louder at high revs ??? i was told that it was a transfer case then driveshaft then gearbox and alota bull.... duz n e one hav n e ideas to help me wit dis problem fanx still kicking

[Igovert500]

First suggestion...post in teh correct forum, this is for 3000gts...2ndly don't pump your clutch at 5500rpms...why would you do such a thing to begin with? You do know double clutching(if that is what you were attempting) if for downshifting...not upshifting.

[Linebckr49]

if you shifted at around 7500rpms, you might have floated your valves (lifters actually, but its called 'floating the valve'). if you have the 6G72 engine, then you might look into upgrading the the 99 lifters (if you feel that you have lifter tick). BUT, if you're floating vavles from revving too high, or b/c you rev high b/c your power band is pushed back with all your mods, then look @ www.3sxperformance.com--> i think they have some adjustable vavle lifters which are great for high revs and other such super mods. but you'll need the titanium spring retainers, and all the other beefed up head components. you're wallet's gonna have fun with this one!

[pr0ject01]

Originally Posted by stealthspeed

well, yeah you should check for leaks (antifreeze)...check under the car next to the timing belt, you can also check under the coolant fill cap, which is next to the upper intake plenum, on the left hand side. But to be positive, id bring it to a mechanic, and they could diagnose it further...

well if anything, if it shut off once, and the tick came.. then shut off again and the tick left... im kinda thinking your car might die again... well thats what would happen to me anyway.

[Im2Fast4U]

2ndly don't pump your clutch at 5500rpms...why would you do such a thing to begin with?

Because Vin Deisel said to do that....
"Look at you, granny shifting. Not double clutching like you should...."


Man I have no idea what could be giving you tick and also making the engine cut out at random times. As others have said, check all your electrical stuff (battery connections, alternator, etc), check for any fluid leaks, make sure no vacum lines are dissconnected ,etc. But I'm kinda stumped