[white-lightning]

Well after searching for an hour or two I still don't have the answer I am looking for. Monday I removed my timing cover and trimmed it and reinstalled it to keep the crank pulley from rubbing it. No more noise from the timing cover at all now. Now I hear a lifter ticking load upon starting. Once the oil pressure comes up it quiets down significantly, but still is present. I only think it is one, on the intake side, from listening to it. I put some CD2 engine detergent in it assuming it is a sticky lifter. Everything I read from searching seemed to point that I shouldn't worry, but is there any possibility that is doing enough damage to warrant replacing the lifter(s)? How would I find the noisy lifter with out replacing all the lifters or should all be replaced at the same time?

Patrick

 

[denisond3]

The only scheme I could think of would involve taking the cam cover off - after getting the engine warmed up. Then starting it and letting it idle; while you pushed down on the rocker arms at the lifter end, one at a time. This might cause the ticking noise to stop when you were putting a load on whichever rocker arm the lifter was beneath. When the cam lobe has let the lifter all the way down and the valve is fully shut, the stuck lifter would be the one that allowed some space between the top of the lifter and the rocker.
Doing this will likely involve getting spattered with some oil though.


And though Im sorry to mention it....
Hopefully the noise isnt the beginning of the dreaded 'inlet valve guide' failure. This might also quiet down when the engine warmed up, due to the slightly loose guide valve getting warmed up and not moving in the head. I havent had that happen to my Escorts (I own two 1.9L's, am working on fixing up a 3rd), so Im no expert on what sort of noise it makes. There was another member who had it happen, after thinking he had a lifter that was making the noise.

 

[white-lightning]

Well I'm hoping it is just a lifter. Last night when I left work I didn't hear it really loud at all. It just made the sound it had been doing after the pressure had came up.

 

[dave8338]

Nothing to get too worried about. :roll: Something that you may want to try is to run a little Sea Foam in the oil for a few hundred miles BEFORE your next oil change. IF there is a little crud causing some blockage in the lifter, often times, the Sea Foam will lossen it up and all is well.

After the 250K mark, ALL of my Escorts have developed a slight lifter tick upon start-up or just after an oil change. If this is the only time you hear it...it'll run for years without any problems. If it is a valve seat letting loose (never had a valve guide problem that I'm aware of) the noise will continue to get louder and at that point, it is time to decide wether or not to do the head. :wink:

 

[white-lightning]

I know what the valve seat sounds like. I had that happen a few years back.

 

[dave8338]

I know what the valve seat sounds like. I had that happen a few years back.

SUCK ARSE! I've been one of the lucky ones and over the course of about 1 MILLION miles +...I've yet to loose a seat. :?

One other thing to think about: I use Motorcraft filters or Wix filters ONLY!

 

[racethisescort89]

ive got a problem on cold startup my motor ticks for about 10 seconds i know its lifter BUT it just recently started to do it now granted i drive the poor whore HARD and im almost sure im killin her slowly but shes strong for now can someone confirm it for me please

 

[Egnorant]

Every engine is different.
My 91 Pony just passed 300,000 miles and uses no oil and never ticks. I use it for pizza delivery and have for the last 170,000 miles.
Bought it from another driver that put 60,000 hard miles on it.

95 LX with 90,000 ticks on startup, but this engine is on its 3rd car and had 2 episodes of sitting for at least 2 years.
The engine it replaced was at 74,000 miles and was totally blown by a little old lady who drove it to church, the grocery store and bingo for 12 years.

I think these engines thrive on abuse (with regular oil changes).

Bruce

 

[kendogg]

I think these engines thrive on abuse (with regular oil changes).

Bruce

Every engine does.

 

[pell]

If the first 10 seconds of starting are killing you put a remote start in and drive the hell out of it. :lol:

 

[white-lightning]

Well on the way home from work tonight the ticking seemed even worse. That leads me to think that torquing the rockers to spec. of 18-22 ft/lbs maybe in order. Shouldn't take to long to do since the hardest part is removing the valve cover itself.

 

[UnexplodedCow]

There might be a little piece of debris inside the lifter body. Basically what's going on is the check valve inside isn't seating properly and the lifter is leaking down. I've seen new lifters do this...I put a set in my rebuild a few years ago, and have one randomly tick at startup, but it goes away in about 2 seconds with oil pressure. Leakdown is actually normal for a hydraulic lifter, and doesn't mean they're bad, as long as they're not ticking during operation (startup is fine in other words).

If they're ticking while you're driving, find out precisely which lifter it is and replace it. If you don't, and it gets worse, you'll be looking at valvetrain damage, ranging from rocker arms warping, or even the bolts ripping out of the head due to impact damage. I've actually seen this happen in a pushrod engine. The rods didn't bend, but the impact was so severe that it broke a rocker boss off the head and lunched some stuff. Obviously that's the worst.

The cheapest replacements I've found are from a company called PBM. I contacted them a couple months ago at most, and they sell the roller lifters for $8.60 US. That is much cheaper than parts stores by a long shot (most want $25 a lifter). PBM's website is below. The lifters aren't listed, so you'll have to contact and then order, I guess. I've used their lifters before and they're fine; as good as anything else I've used.

http://www.pbmperformance.com/splash.php

 

[97DragScort]

Cow, valve tick on a self adjusting roller system needs one thing - retorque. Also called maintenance. I have 0 tick, torqued to spec, oil changes every 3k, 3 months. When I do tick, I back the rocker off, retorque and no more noise, just a basic re-adjustment. Simple motor maintenance. Adding a stabilizer, like Lucas, will also help quiet down a noisy lifter aswell as keep it lubed at all times.

I run my car like I stole it - and she performs well - just do a retorque white-lightening and go from there... back them off 2 full turns and retorque to 20 ft/lbs.... start it with the valve cover off and do increment adjustment as neccasary until all are quiet.

 

[UnexplodedCow]

I switched to rocker studs to prevent having to re-torque them...it made no difference than before. I had the problem with a higher mileage engine, isolated the lifters that were causing it, tried re-torquing and it made no difference. I did that 3 different times, even trying them on a different lobe...same ticking on startup. I ultimately took them apart, cleaned, and reassembled. Magically, the tick on startup went away. The culprit..the lifters had a higher leakdown rate than the others. Also, this is the idea behind an anti-pump up lifter..it just has a higher leakdown rate.

 

[97DragScort]

the valves in lifters tendo to blow out in a few 1k miles - design flaw in cheap manufacturing. Ive grown to love Lucas stabalizer - its been a life saver in a few ways.. but it does work fantasicaly in keeping the lifters well lubed.

Im trying to get my hands on some of the new roller lifters out - needle bearing FREE - oiled bronze floating bushing, can take revs into 10k rpm sustained. NHRA tested with 0 failure thus far.

 

[UnexplodedCow]

That would work well for high revs, but I wouldn't trust an oillite bushing for longevity, unless it had a special method for oiling. Also, how are they preventing pump up issues in the hydraulic lifters with high revs and oil pressure, or do they just have a crazy leakdown rate?

 

[97DragScort]

they were still in testing - but under 12k rpm NHRA tests, they performed better than any leading needle bearing on the market- no fragmentation, no cracking, no wear. And they tested against there own needle bearing lifters aswell. Consesus was a bronze bushed oil impregnated roller lifter will out perform any needle roller - more surface area, overall cooler ops, no lift at hi rpm.

NHRA testing was multi pass with no lifter swap -

testing concluded after 5 passes at 200+mph - multiple cars - 9k+rpm - no wear on bushing - same runs on needled lifters concluded wear after 2 passes.

 

[white-lightning]

When you saw back them out 2 turns and torque you mean when the engine is not running correct? Then re-torque when the motor is running correct?

 

[97DragScort]

motor OFF - back out 2 turns and retorque to 20ft/lbs - start motor and adjust as needed in small inch pound incrememnts to quiet any noisy lifter.

 

[white-lightning]

Ok gotcha!