Ticking Noise After no Oil Pressure - Lifters? (Page 1/2)
willyt JAN 16, 11:10 AM
Hi all,

As seen in my previous thread, I recently replaced the oil pan gasket and lost oil pressure. I got the system primed again, but did run the car for a few seconds without oil pressure.

I now have a ticking noise that sounds like it is coming from the lifters. I am curious what the best course of action is.

It has been recommended to me to try and use thicker weight oil and see if that quiets it down. I would like to let the car warm up and see how the noise changes, but I'm hesitant to run the car with it ticking like it is.


Will I hurt anything by running it in its current state?
What is the best course of action if it is ticking now - thicker oil and ignore it? Or is there anything I can do?
How long will it run with it ticking? Is this a large problem or a slight annoyance?

Thanks!
steve308 JAN 16, 11:40 AM
Are you sure it's the lifters? Sometimes the injectors make a loud ticking / clicking noise. A cheap harbor freight tool may help.
willyt JAN 16, 11:50 AM
Thanks for the suggestion, but I am pretty confident it is the lifters. It seems far too loud to be an injector, and the noise is coming from the rear valve cover.
theogre JAN 16, 01:26 PM
⚠️ Do Not use heavy oil. More so in "Winter" where engine gets below 32°F or more when parked.
See my Cave, Oil and Filter

Run a few sec w/o oil pressure generally won't cause lifter noise and if does then should go "quiet" very fast. And when does this, This will kept happening every time you parked overnight or longer.

Lifter noise is often problem(s) w/ iffy lifters, worn parts, or bad adjustment.

Valve rockers on Hydro lifters need 0 or very close to 0 so hydro has 0 play or is Very slightly compress all the time when engine warms to op temp.
This is Why Intake and Exhaust valves often have different lash on a cold engine because E side valves get hotter and sooner.

So May just need "Fiero" V6 and others to run long enough to reach normal op temp to silence the valve train.

Even then just having change the oil and doing other work, can "wash" crap out oil "pipes" and lifters can take a long time or never get quiet that's if really was quiet to start but didn't bother you.
Most people have no clue how much crap is in the engine even if oil was change 3,000 - 5,000mi after 50,000mi yet alone 100,000mi driving...

Note: Lifters have a Clip on top to keep parts together. This chip doesn't like to be beaten w/ bad adjustment etc. and can fail.
But "dirt" in a lifter can cause same noise as iffy adjustment or wear problems because inner parts won't move right and act like system w/ too much valve lash.

I recently replace lifters on a Duke w/ no valve adjustment allowed and that was night/day difference on noise. Old lifters had varnish and dirt causing lifter binding and while often can clean that, no time to do it for all lifters. You can't just pop the clip etc or very likely to loose very small parts. If binding have to let carb cleaner etc to work into the parts just to get inner piston out w/o damage. Is harder to work on Roller lifters too because roller tip wants to roll when trying to remove/install the top clip.

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Dr. Ian Malcolm: Yeah, but your scientists were so preoccupied with whether or not they could, they didn't stop to think if they should.
(Jurassic Park)

The Ogre's Fiero Cave

willyt JAN 16, 02:08 PM
Thanks Ogre for your reply.

If I'm understanding you correctly, I should let it warm up and see if the noise goes away? If so, just ignore it?
Raydar JAN 16, 04:08 PM

quote
Originally posted by willyt:

Thanks Ogre for your reply.

If I'm understanding you correctly, I should let it warm up and see if the noise goes away? If so, just ignore it?



I believe that's what I would do. A lifter ticking for a few minutes shouldn't hurt anything. Especially if it stops.
willyt JAN 16, 04:25 PM
Perfect, thanks for your help. I'll check it out next weekend and see if it improves as it warms up.
Patrick JAN 16, 04:50 PM

If a lifter has gummed up and gotten stuck, it might be worth your while to add Marvel Mystery Oil to the crankcase. Do a quick search on YouTube and watch a few videos regarding its use.
sanderson231 JAN 16, 05:24 PM

quote
Originally posted by Patrick:


If a lifter has gummed up and gotten stuck, it might be worth your while to add Marvel Mystery Oil to the crankcase. Do a quick search on YouTube and watch a few videos regarding its use.



I bought a 3/4 GMC truck with 175.000 mile on it. It had a bit of lifter tick. I changed the oil and used an additive - don't remember which for sure. It might have been mystery oil. The tick did go away after 500 miles or so.

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formerly known as sanderson
1984 Quad 4
1886 SE 2.8L
1988 4.9L Cadillac
1988 3800 Supercharged

willyt JAN 23, 09:43 AM
Just a quick update for anyone who might have the same issue.

The ticking went away as the car warmed up. I'm sure that it will come back when it is cold started again, but I added some MMO, so hopefully it will fade away.

Other than the slight noise, the car runs great, there doesn't seem to be any loss of power etc.

Thanks for the help on this thread.