classic 3.0 ticking

[dazedream]

I have a 99 Caravan 3.0 with the classic ticking I have heard so
much about.The difference I see is that it has a definite pattern to it.
It will be pretty quiet,then A slight ticking,then a loud ticking before
going quiet again.About 30 second to 1 minute intervals.Any Clues!?!?

[vipergg]

Originally Posted by dazedream

I have a 99 Caravan 3.0 with the classic ticking I have heard so
much about.The difference I see is that it has a definite pattern to it.
It will be pretty quiet,then A slight ticking,then a loud ticking before
going quiet again.About 30 second to 1 minute intervals.Any Clues!?!?

HEYYY I think you have my van !!! Mine does the same thing , disappears within a couple minutes usually at least in the summer months ,we'll see when it gets cold . Use Exon 10W30 with a purolator oil filter . Have tried different brands of oil to no avail . Doesn't affect how it runs, still pretty good at 108000 miles. gotten conflicting opinions on whether to use a lighter 5w-30 oil or 10w to try and fix it. I don't think either one will fix it though , probably a lifter rebuild is the only way.

[yogi_123rd]

The ticking comes from worn valve lash adjustors. The valve lash adjustors are on the contact tips of the rocker arms and act like a shock absorber to keep the rocker arm from flapping. They are hydrolic using the engine oil. Over time, oil is no longer is retained by them.

You will notice the ticking is loudest when just starting the car, and it quiets down abit after oil gets pumped up to the valve cover area and the valve lash adjuster gets refilled with oil.

The noise is more of an anoyance than a problem.

[dazedream]

Originally Posted by yogi_123rd

The ticking comes from worn valve lash adjustors. The valve lash adjustors are on the contact tips of the rocker arms and act like a shock absorber to keep the rocker arm from flapping. They are hydrolic using the engine oil. Over time, oil is no longer is retained by them.

You will notice the ticking is loudest when just starting the car, and it quiets down abit after oil gets pumped up to the valve cover area and the valve lash adjuster gets refilled with oil.

The noise is more of an anoyance than a problem.

the ticking seems to come from only one valve lash adjustor and
really doesn't have anything to do with start up,it will continue to
rythmically go from soft/none,loud,louder.It will continue at highway speeds
and never goes away.The oil is clean,I could try 5-30 oil.I could live with it but othert family members are embarassed by the noise,I suggested turning up the
radio : )

[BenHertz]

I usually need to add a quart of oil whenever I hear the ticking sound (my Caravan used to use/burn 1 qt. every 1K-3K miles). I've been putting "High Mileage" oil (Valvoline Maxlife, non-synthetic) in my Caravan lately, and I rarely hear it ticking now.
I might switch over to synthetic oil soon.

[neon_rt]

BenHertz,
If your engine is worn out and using oil, if you put Synthetic in it, it will all go down hill from there. The synthetic oil will clean out all of the carbon deposits in the engine. In a worn engine, those carbon deposits are holding the rings in place and acting as a plug for the valve guides. If you wash out the carbon, you may lose compression and start burning a lot of oil. I had a high mileage Plymouth Arrow PU that I put synthetic in and it started burning oil to the tune of 1 quart every 100 miles. When I floored it, the cars behind me would have to slow down because they could not see through the black clouds of smoke.
BTW I use Synthetic in vehicles I buy new or low mileage used.

[pderbidge]

I have a 97 Dodge Grand Caravan that had the real annoying tick. It has 91000 miles on it and the ticking started just after getting the Transmission rebuilt. Everyone told me that it was not a big deal and to deal with it but it annoyed me to all end so I paid a guy 800+ dollars to replace all the lifters plus some seal replacements, new timing belt, water pump etc etc... and the tick still did not go away. I had some friends that worked on their own cars tell me about Lucas Oil products but I was leary because I know that the majority of addiditives out there are not that great and may even dirty up your engine, but I had heard enough good stories from a number of people that the Lucas products work and do not hurt at all. It better work, I thought, because it costs twice as much as other products out there. Anyways, I decided to try it and the tick is gone. I live in cold, cold Utah and even in the cold it has worked fine with no tick. This is what I did. I drained the oil and replaced it with 3 quarts of high mileage Valvoline oil 10w-30 and 2 quarts of Lucas oil treatment. Now the tick is gone and the engine is even quieter. The only thing is I will probably have to continue to use lucas oil at every oil change in order to keep the tick away. Basically the Lucas treatment is making sure the oil flow is moving through all the parts so everything is getting lubricated properly as well as doing other good things for the engine. I hope this helps. To comment on the Synthetic oils, I have heard that you don't want to use them for older engines for reasons already explained in this forum, so I stayed away from the synthetic types on mine.

P.S. I am no expert mechanic, this is just something that worked for me.

[drumman2112]

I can attest for the Lucas stuff. I use it every time I change the oil in my cars. It made a huge difference in my chevy and it did help my caraven run smoother and quiet down the valves. It's worth every penny!

[dazedream]

Originally Posted by drumman2112

I can attest for the Lucas stuff. I use it every time I change the oil in my cars. It made a huge difference in my chevy and it did help my caraven run smoother and quiet down the valves. It's worth every penny!

I have since changed my oil again and added the Lucas oil treatment.
It seems to help but the engine is still rather noisy.Now is the 5-30
10-30 question.I live in Minnesota and it is known to get A bit cold in
the winter.The Lucas product seems to be very thick and goopy,so I figured
the thinner oil would be best suited.Other than start up,would 10-30 be
better at quieting the engine?

[brandoncrone]

There is a service bulletin from Chrysler on this concern. It says a warm engine, but the bulletin will fix the cold start tick (which will turn into a non-stop ticking noise). No mystery oils to fix this one!

NO: 09-01-98 Rev. B
SUBJECT: Engine Ticking Noise While At Idle
DATE: Nov. 13, 1998
THIS BULLETIN SUPERSEDES TECHNICAL SERVICE BULLETIN 09-01-98 REV. A, DATED APR. 10, 1998, WHICH SHOULD BE REMOVED FROM YOUR FILES. THIS IS A COMPLETE REVISION AND NO ASTERISKS HAVE BEEN USED TO HIGHLIGHT REVISIONS.

NOTE: THIS INFORMATION APPLIES TO 3.0L ENGINES WITH AN ENGINE BUILD CODE OF AUGUST 15, 1998 (JULIAN DATE 2278) OR PRIOR. THE BUILD CODE IS LOCATED ON A STICKER ATTACHED TO THE TIMING COVER (FIGURE 1).

SYMPTOM/CONDITION:
Some vehicles may have a condition where the valve train makes a ticking noise similar to valve lifter noise, but not as loud. This noise is heard in a fully warmed engine between 500 and 1000 rpm. The ticking noise will disappear as the engine rpm is raised above 1000 rpm. Customers may describe this condition as lifter noise.

DIAGNOSIS:
Drive the vehicle to warm the coolant and engine oil fully. With the engine at idle and the hood open, listen carefully for ticking noises coming from the rocker covers. Raise the engine rpm and listen for the noise again. If the noise is heard at idle but not at higher rpm and is pinpointed in the valve train, perform the Repair Procedure.

NOTE: MAKE SURE THE TICKING NOISE ORIGINATES IN THE VALVE TRAIN. USE A STETHOSCOPE OR OTHER LISTENING DEVICE TO PINPOINT THE NOISE SOURCE.

PARTS REQUIRED:
Qty Part No. Description
1 MD361652 Spacer Kit, Rocker Arm
(AR) 2 MD120091 Gasket, Valve Cover
1 04883971 GEN II Silicone Adhesive Sealant


REPAIR PROCEDURE:
This bulletin involves removing components to gain access to the upper valve train, taking measurements, removing the rocker assemblies, and replacing the springs with specified solid spacers and washers.