Valve tick/ Lifter noise.... Gone?

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looking97233

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Well, I just picked up the car from the dealer. Was having a few minor things fixed. When I dropped it off, it had the dredded valve tick, the service writer heard it too. When I picked the car up today, the service writer said that the tech. could not hear or find the valve tick. We went out to listen for it. The valve tick was gone. I have been listening to this for almost a year. The service writer said it could have been a stuck spring in a lifter that finally came loose so the lifter could properly fill with oil. I just wonder what the odds are that after listening to this grow progressively woorse for a year it would pick the day I drop it off at the dearler to heal itself.

Anyway, I just wanted to hear other peoples thoughts on this.
 
I didn't think the DOHC heads had lifters. Don't the lobes on the cams work directly on the end of the valve stems? I haven't had the valve covers off so I don't know for sure.
 
I haven't unpacked the service manuals yet since my move, but I'd imagine our engines have 'lifters' to soak up the tolerances between the camshaft lobes and the valve tips (or rocker arms, I forget if we have them or not). Otherwise, we'd have to keep adjusting the valves every so often, just like the old solid-lifter days...
 
We call that "Divine Intervention" in the business. But seriously just make sure it has been documented on your repair order so if it becomes a consistent problem they willl stand behind it. Good luck.
 
Also there is a known concern for a similar problem on the '03 Mach !'s. I think there is a fix in developement that may carry over to the Marauders.
 
Let me see! Lifters, I don't think so. The cams ride directly on the valve stems via adjusting shims, I believe. The shim can be replaced if needed to adjust for valve clearances. Some of th efolks here had there cams retorqued, which took care of the valve ticking. Others needed head replacement......
 
Perhaps not lifters in the traditional sense (pushrod to camshaft contact) but there appears to be some sort of hydraulic lash-soaking items. I don't have the service manuals handy, but is there any prescribed mileage for having our valves adjusted for cam/valve-stem wear? This would be the type of work necessary if there was only a purely-mechanical contact between the cam lobes and the valve stems.

Ford refers to them here:
http://www.fordvehicles.com/Cars/mustang/features/specs/
 
The "lifters" are called lash adjusters. I'll try to describe the valvetrain.

The cam lobe pushes on the roller finger follower. It's basically a bar with a roller in the middle. One end of the follower is supported by the lash adjuster, the other end of the follower rests on the valve stem tip. The cam lobe pushes down on the roller (middle), the lash adjuster holds up one end, the valve is pushed down by the other end.

The lash adjusters are fed pressurized oil from the head, which holds up one end of the follower, taking up any lash there may be (due to wear, or part to part size differences). Very similar to a lifter on a pushrod motor.

Most of the Ford overhead cam engines have this set up. Only a few have the "direct" acting type. Ford calls those "Direct Acting Mechanical Buckets" (DAMB). Some Jags use it.

Hope this helps.
 
I guess what I am wondering is: My regular service dept. is no longer a L/M dealer. they now sell nissans and kias. So I had to find a new dealer to work on the car. This is the first time I have been there. I was just concerned that my car has been doing this for almost a year, the old dealer said "Ford is working on a fix, just have to wait." Now the day I give the car to the new dealer it decides to experience "spontainious vehicle healing." I guess it is possible, it could have been a piece of grit or such partially blocking the oil passage to the lifter/lash adjuster. It just seems to concidenital, and raises a red flag with me. Maybe I am too suspicious.
 
Some dealer technicians are stuck in the old days and might be in the habit of adding some additives that might have been popular in the old days (STP, etc.). Maybe you came across such a technician... maybe this additive cleaned something out, maybe it's a temporary thing... maybe it was a simple case of using the wrong viscosity... just wild guesses.

Best to keep an eye on it over the next few oil changes and see if it comes back... if it doesn't, rejoice and be happy. If it does, find out what was done differently.
 
Curious.....

I've had a "noise" since day 1 on mine. The Ford techs said it's the EGR system and "eventually" it will go away (Yeah right...)

So I did my own oil change yesterday and behold. It's gone. This is my second oil change (dealer did 1st) but I used Mobil 1 0W-20. Noise is gone. I had to drive it several times to believe it myself.

I don't totally understand but am not about to look a gift horse in the mouth.
 
My driver's side tick has subsided almost 100% over the past few months... I'm not complaining either, but:

this past week I brought my MM to the dealer and provided (instead of my usual 5W30 Mobil One) my own stash of Castrol Syntec 5W-20 (proudly displaying that they conform to Ford's spec). This was the first synthetic 5W-20 that I could find up here.

Still no tick from the driver's side, but now I get a rapid ticking on the passenger's side upon startup that subsides as the engine warms... usually gone by one or two minutes after startup. This is a rapid-fire metallic hollow ticking...

I was present for the whole oil-change job so I know nothing funky was done.

Oh well...
 
TripleTransAm said:
...and provided (instead of my usual 5W30 Mobil One) my own stash of Castrol Syntec 5W-20
Click to expand...

:eek: Heretic!!!...Blasphemer!!! :shake:

now I get a rapid ticking on the passenger's side upon startup that subsides as the engine warms
Click to expand...

Such are the wages of sin...(Romans 6:23)

Seriously, Steve, Castrol is one of the only companies that refuses to publish their product data sheets, so it's hard to tell if this might be oil-related...did you by any chance use a different brand filter this time?
 
RF is not home a full day yet and is already responding to an Oil Thread. It must be a sixth sense. :lol:
 
Ford oil filter. It's what is usually used whenever I bring my own oil in for an oil change, although previously always used with the Mobil One 5W30. And whenever I do my own changes, I use a premium Wix filter.

What's been bugging me is the insistence by many on Mobil One 5W30 NOT meeting Ford's specs (whatever that may be) and not being able to find Mobil One's 0W20 (which supposedly does meet Ford's specs). So I found this Castrol 5W20 which proudly proclaims meeting the Ford specs. If anything, it should be more appropriate for my engine, regardless of my opinion of Mobil One products.

Had something been recently discovered with respect to Castrol? I've used conventional GT-X (10W30) in my GTA for the 11 years I've owned it, and it doesn't leak or smoke or burn any oil (in fact, the valve seals were exhibiting their typical Chevy smoke on startup when I bought the car and over the years it healed itself, go figure).

(and if an oil meeting Ford specs incl. viscosity range is responsible for causing a ticking sound within a Ford engine, then what good is Ford's specs anyway?)
 
I have the intermittant tick too. 300B, December 02 build 15,000 miles. When I drive it easy, the tick gets progessively louder, and only at idle. Then 2 or 3 wide open throttle runs and the tick is gone for a day or two. Maybe the tech "tested" the engine that way (wink). Oil changes or outside temperature seemed to have no effect on when it does it. So, when I get tired to the tick, I just kick in the a** and ahhhh....silence...

go figure.

I can only speculate that the hard runs loosen up the sticking valve guide. Maybe the running hotter than the other valves makes it get more deposits sooner and the hard run take it off.
 
RF Overlord said:
:eek: Heretic!!!...Blasphemer!!! :shake:



Such are the wages of sin...(Romans 6:23)

Seriously, Steve, Castrol is one of the only companies that refuses to publish their product data sheets, so it's hard to tell if this might be oil-related...did you by any chance use a different brand filter this time?
Click to expand...


Alright STEVE you've done it now.....this is all your fault!!! :banned:
 
Vegas, It sounds like your noise may be a tolerence issue. Some members have had positive results with having the camshaft supports on the cylinder head retorqued. That might fix yours.
 
Guess I'm lucky.... after break-in oil was dumped i have ran with Mobil 1 ....no smoke on start & heaven forbid... no tick. MM is serviced every 3000 miles. Kennyrauder.
 
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