http://s1235.photobucket.com/albums/ff429/xxsoccerguy55xx/?action=view¤t=video-2011-11-06-08-35-04.mp4

I have been hearing a kind of ticking since my rebuild. I was just a stock build with new bearings because it spun a bearing. Did the basic stuff (water and oil pump, piston rings, crank and bearings). I left the head the way it was. The car has 110k on it. The ticking is only when the car is first started and when it is warm it almost goes away completely. I am not 100% worried about it because the car runs fine, should i be worried? I was thinking it was the lifters. If it is should i put a additive or just replace them with the pt lifters.

Most likely lifter tick. I had that after I took my car out of storage, run a thicker oil and that should do the trick.

Some people were saying if you run thick oil then it takes to long for the oil pump to pump oil to the head. I am still thinking about trying it.

Could be lifter tick, could also be exhaust leak. Check exhaust for leaks also.

Im going to change the exhaust mani gasket. Also the Valve cover gasket. Since my valve covers going to be off, do you know how to check the lifters without taking the cams out? Should i clean them or something?

From what I know, the lifters in this motor are pretty basic. So long as they don't bind up or stop compressing during engine rotation. Move smoothly & free through the entire compression stroke. They can't be loose, missing, nor damaged.

Pretty much a wiggle test with the Valve Cover off, & rotate the engine a few times to physically see everything moving In place, & again nothing binding. If the noise gets worse, one of them is probably on its way out, though some people try, "re-priming" them, before replacing.

You may want to look into that aswell.

BUT! Did you at least have your head cleaned/hot tanked during the rebuild, I mean if not. All that spun bearing, gritty metal Oil is floating around in your head. Simply could be metal stuck in a lifter, though, that is a major NO NO. The bottom end may be clean now, but if the top end hasn't been cleaned, who's to say it Does or does not have metal shavings left behind from the spun bearing? Just wondering.

Jeff.

i did have it cleaned. alot of break cleaner on top of that. i realized i have the wrong bolts on the exhaust manifold. im not sure if it matters. but im going to get a new gasket and bolts... you mentioned priming them. What is involved in priming them. I filled them with oil when i put them in. i do not recall priming them because i thought they would have adjusted themselves. The motor doesnt even have 1000 miles on it yet. you think i should give it a little more time and see what happens?

Your lifters don't need priming after 1000 miles.

thats good news, ill wait it out a little longer and check out my exhaust again, see what happens.

Originally posted by JoshDSM
Most likely lifter tick. I had that after I took my car out of storage, run a thicker oil and that should do the trick.

You say run thicker oil. I live in Mass where it gets pretty cold. I let my car warm up every morning before driving. What you think would be a good weight?

Well, even here in WI. I run 5W-30 anytime temp reaches 35 or less for extended periods of time.

That way, I know if I wake up the next day & its below zero, "nothing new in WI nor East Coast", I'll be good not running such a thick weight on cold startups.

I always run 10w 30 because its my summer car, But synthetic oil should take car of the tick. Did for me. Ever thought that you might have a bad lifter?

Originally posted by JoshDSM
I always run 10w 30 because its my summer car, But synthetic oil should take car of the tick. Did for me. Ever thought that you might have a bad lifter?

Yes, I have thought about it. I had my valve cover off not too long ago and i was turning it over and it all looked okay. When its spinning fast it might not be though. Do you know a way to check a bad lifter when the valve cover is off?

you should be able to use a cloth wrapped screw driver and press down on the rocker. There shouldn't be any movement you can make downward by hand, if so something is wrong with that lifter. They become oil filled and usually require a vise to expel the oil if that paints a picture.

Just speculating, other than bent valves, the only other issue would be if the lifters head and the rocker were worn enough to create a gap between the roller and the cam lobe. Maybe even worn out roller itself.

This summer I finally saw the demise of one of my oldest engines, a 95 n/a, w/264,xxx original miles, and never a tick ever, then one morning start it up and two lifter head broke off and the rockers got mangled in the mix bending a few valves.. rebuilt now, @ 400 miles, brand new everything, still no ticks, ever.

No one did answer the lifter "priming" question, I too would like to know what that is.

I believe this write up on rebuilding lifters shows the priming. Though I could be mistaken... I'm assuming it's when he fills the lifters with oil before reassembly.
http://www.gtrpwr.com/showthread.php?t=726

Not to bring back an old thread, but i got a quick question. I am looking to take off the valve cover in a few days again, because it is leaking. While the valve cover is off do you think i could run the car? Do you guys think it is a bad idea. But i cannot get this lifter tick to go away and there is no visible problems with valve cover off. Let me know if you guys have any other ideas while i have the valve cover off.

Lol, yeah, go ahead. Just be sure to video it :P

While it probably won't hurt anything for a little bit, it WILL make quite a mess.