So lately been having this ticking noise coming from the top end of the motor, so it seems. I put a wooden handle up to where I thought the tick was coming from "lifters" so I checked all around the valve cover and it wasn't evident that the lifters were the cause, I then unplugged each injector, the motor sank and so did the sound but it was still the same pitch and loudness, did this to all 4 injectors and acquired the same results. I held the wooden handle to the intake manifold and I could hear it like no other!

I've read up that it could be the evap solenoid on the firewall, when I touch it, I don't feel any clicking, then I realized I don't have the purge control solenoid valve in place.. See picture..



This isn't right to me, I'm using this picture as a reference below.


Rights to the above picture go out to http://members.shaw.ca/dsm.1000q/Engineprimer/2G/solenoids.htm

I also notice some of my vacuum lines are not routed properly, or are they properly bypassed?

A little off topic, but anyways, I'm trying to figure out this noise, it sounds like a lifter tap, but races with rpms, and it doesn't happen all the time. I added some 20-40 to see if it was a lifter, and there was no changes.


So here is what it sounds like.

and another


Any idea's or help is appreciated! I've spent countless hours searching, browsing, watching, reading, and I've not seen any issues like mine where it goes away and comes as it pleases!

Thats lifter tick. Sounds exactly like mine does now and the past couple Ive had. Replace with some new revised lifters and should go away.

Or simpler fix. Go to the stealership and get an OEM oil filter. Mine used to be real bad. I have long forgotten about it till I saw this post. Just buy the filter. It about $7 and it's absolutely the best filter you can use on a dsm hands down.

I hope it's lifter tick, should it quiet down with 10 40 or 20 40 weight oil? Till I can get the revised 3g lifters?

Only 7$ for oem filter? And that helped with the tick?

Thicker oil isnt really recommended in these cars. They were made with tighter clearances to run thinner oil. So Im not going to say it works or that it doesnt work. Its something you can try at your own risk for Im not going to tell you something that could possibly cause damage. This is first time I have ever seen or heard of someone saying that an oil filter can help with the tick. So I cant comment on that either.

Sounds like lifter tick. Does the sound go away after a long drive and start to return at idle? I don't see how a filter would help with lifter tick

Oh yea thats lifters 100%. Have you checked your oil? What kind is currently in there? Go with synthetic mobil 1. Works good for mine. My gsx has it but only for a short time on pretty cold mornings.

Lifters develop varnish over a period of time which reduces the travel of the valve inside of the lifter. This creates slack and leads to the tapping noise you have encountered.
Sometimes changing oil to Mobile 1 full synthetic with Lucas Oil Stabilizer cures the ticking. But a very inexpensive, easy, and effective way to eliminate lifter tick is add a can of "Engine “Restorer"” to oil (Walmart or any auto store has it). It works every time on 4g63 engines and is the great "Wiseman Defiant" blessed”! A more permanent solution would, of course, be to replace or clean them (see: http://www.vfaq.com/mods/lifters.html). But if you don’t want to deal with the time, effort, and expense of replacing or cleaning, just put a can of Restorer in. It’s so cheap you can afford to put one in after each oil change should the tick return. On my GST it lasts for 2-3 oil changes before the ticking returns. Other reported cures are adding Rislone or Sea Foam.

Engine Restorer (old can): http://www.dsmtuners.com/attachments/restore-jpg.77837/
Engine Restorer (new can as of 10/2014) attached:

1990dsmkid said:

Thicker oil isnt really recommended in these cars. They were made with tighter clearances to run thinner oil. So Im not going to say it works or that it doesnt work. Its something you can try at your own risk for Im not going to tell you something that could possibly cause damage. This is first time I have ever seen or heard of someone saying that an oil filter can help with the tick. So I cant comment on that either.

Click to expand...

I've read somewhere on here that these were race engines, and using 10/20w 40 was the way to go because of the coverage, would this cause oil pressure to rise to high not lubricating the motor enough?
Winter is Coming and I'm in Southern Indiana, we get lot's of snow, so would 10w 30 Mobil 1 Synthetic be Ideal?

I've never heard that about a filter either, but I've heard that FRAM is the satan of all oil filters!

Dxc545 said:

Sounds like lifter tick. Does the sound go away after a long drive and start to return at idle? I don't see how a filter would help with lifter tick

Click to expand...

It does, sometimes! In the video, it's the loudest and longest i've heard it. It will almost always do it on startup now for a while if I idle. Once I go out and drive it does seem to go away!

jimsgsx said:

Oh yea thats lifters 100%. Have you checked your oil? What kind is currently in there? Go with synthetic mobil 1. Works good for mine. My gsx has it but only for a short time on pretty cold mornings.

Click to expand...

Oil has about 500 miles on it now, I used Amsoil, but I will try Mobil 1, From some current readings, Mobil 1 is the way to go as the amsoil, royal purple tests are all biased.

luv2rallye said:

Lifters develop varnish over a period of time which reduces the travel of the valve inside of the lifter. This creates slack and leads to the tapping noise you have encountered.
Sometimes changing oil to Mobile 1 full synthetic with Lucas Oil Stabilizer cures the ticking. But a very inexpensive, easy, and effective way to eliminate lifter tick is add a can of "Engine “Restorer"” to oil (Walmart or any auto store has it). It works every time on 4g63 engines and is the great "Wiseman Defiant" blessed”! A more permanent solution would, of course, be to replace or clean them (see: http://www.vfaq.com/mods/lifters.html). But if you don’t want to deal with the time, effort, and expense of replacing or cleaning, just put a can of Restorer in. It’s so cheap you can afford to put one in after each oil change should the tick return. On my GST it lasts for 2-3 oil changes before the ticking returns. Other reported cures are adding Rislone or Sea Foam.

Engine Restorer: http://www.dsmtuners.com/attachments/restore-jpg.77837/

Click to expand...

I've used the sea foam many times, never to fix an issue like tick!

Going to change my oil to Mobil 1 Synthetic, any specific weight? Odometer has 100k on it, and I"m sure everything inside the block is untouched.

Should I use the Mobil 1 and Engine Restorer with the Lucas? Or should I wait it out, and add lucas later on?

Going to pick up some engine restorer in a bit, you have me sold on it!

Time to further my research into lifters!

It is a relief to hear everyone say that it's the lifters!


I appreciate everyone's feed back! I really do!! Thank you!

I would run 10w-30. I run that weight all yr and I live in central PA. Ive never had a problem running this weight. Yes heavier oil will raise your pressure which isnt good and some use it as a bandaid fix. Others use it because its diesel oil and contains higher zddp levels which is good for the turbo and bearings. I run rotella t5 i believe it is. Its synthetic 10w-30 and has higher zddp levels. A plus is its cheaper then other oils too. Has your head ever been milled down and if so was the oil mod done to the tear drop? This can cause lower pressure to the head causing tick aswell.

I would definitely do as above stated, with the engine cleaning. Before your next oil change, run the seafoam for 15 minutes. It will thin the oil, remove deposits, generally clean everything up.

I used to use this:
http://shop.advanceautoparts.com/p/...oz.-0116/7040112-P?searchTerm=b-12#fragment-1

Drop a can in the valve cover, run the engine for 15 minutes or so, then drain the oil while it's hot/warm. If it's never been done, I'd also drop the pan and thoroughly clean it and verify the oil pickup screen is clean. Doing the flush could jar loose larger deposits which you wouldn't want clogging the oil pickup.

As far as oil goes, our turbo'd engines will love zinc.

Here is a quick, great read for you (and everyone else):

http://store.forcedperformance.net/...Performance Recommendations for Motor Oil.pdf

1990dsmkid said:

I would run 10w-30. I run that weight all yr and I live in central PA. Ive never had a problem running this weight. Yes heavier oil will raise your pressure which isnt good and some use it as a bandaid fix. Others use it because its diesel oil and contains higher zddp levels which is good for the turbo and bearings. I run rotella t5 i believe it is. Its synthetic 10w-30 and has higher zddp levels. A plus is its cheaper then other oils too. Has your head ever been milled down and if so was the oil mod done to the tear drop? This can cause lower pressure to the head causing tick aswell.

Click to expand...

Thanks for that information! I think the motor is bone stock from the factory. The PO couldn't really give me a lot of information, but by the looks of everything, the most that's ever been done is a valve cover gasket!

tmoney20g said:

I would definitely do as above stated, with the engine cleaning. Before your next oil change, run the seafoam for 15 minutes. It will thin the oil, remove deposits, generally clean everything up.

I used to use this:
http://shop.advanceautoparts.com/p/...oz.-0116/7040112-P?searchTerm=b-12#fragment-1

Drop a can in the valve cover, run the engine for 15 minutes or so, then drain the oil while it's hot/warm. If it's never been done, I'd also drop the pan and thoroughly clean it and verify the oil pickup screen is clean. Doing the flush could jar loose larger deposits which you wouldn't want clogging the oil pickup.

As far as oil goes, our turbo'd engines will love zinc.

Here is a quick, great read for you (and everyone else):

http://store.forcedperformance.net/merchant2/graphics/news/Forced Performance Recommendations for Motor Oil.pdf

Click to expand...

Thanks for that read! I plan on doing this in the spring! I've heard of the oil pickup screen/tube falling off and I want to double check that as well.

I have a can of seafoam ready to go, just need to get the oil/filter for the change, and another bottle of this 4 cylinder engine restorer![DOUBLEPOST=1413988526][/DOUBLEPOST]

luv2rallye said:

Lifters develop varnish over a period of time which reduces the travel of the valve inside of the lifter. This creates slack and leads to the tapping noise you have encountered.
Sometimes changing oil to Mobile 1 full synthetic with Lucas Oil Stabilizer cures the ticking. But a very inexpensive, easy, and effective way to eliminate lifter tick is add a can of "Engine “Restorer"” to oil (Walmart or any auto store has it). It works every time on 4g63 engines and is the great "Wiseman Defiant" blessed”! A more permanent solution would, of course, be to replace or clean them (see: http://www.vfaq.com/mods/lifters.html). But if you don’t want to deal with the time, effort, and expense of replacing or cleaning, just put a can of Restorer in. It’s so cheap you can afford to put one in after each oil change should the tick return. On my GST it lasts for 2-3 oil changes before the ticking returns. Other reported cures are adding Rislone or Sea Foam.

Engine Restorer: http://www.dsmtuners.com/attachments/restore-jpg.77837/

Click to expand...

Thanks so much luv2rallye !!! I just went and picked up a can of that Engine Restorer, no more tick!! It was gone by the time I got back to work, approx 2 mile drive!

Now that I know it's for sure the lifters, time to order some new parts!!

I plan on running this engine restorer in every oil change, 8$ is nothing for what I've seen/hear/felt from just adding that one can to the oil!

I can feel more power, it's running so much smoother, and no TICK!!!!

Thanks again!!
And thanks to everyone else for your idea's!
I hope this helps someone else someday!

Napa/Wix filters are of the best quality and easily found if your mitsu dealer is too far away (I found a 6-pack of the Wix on ebay for 1g for $1 each!). And I've always had good luck with the Valvoline VR1 oil, which is normally priced compared to the others available, but most stores only have the 20w-50 of that.

I wonder if there is any tests like the amsoil or royal purple comparing mobile 1 to Valvoline?
Thanks for the filter tip, I've never heard of wix, going to check them out!

From what I read, mobile1 'used' to be good, but they've watered it down to meet emissions standards. Its not something I'll ever put in my dsm.

tmoney20g said:

From what I read, mobile1 'used' to be good, but they've watered it down to meet emissions standards. Its not something I'll ever put in my dsm.

Click to expand...

What i believe Mobile1 did was lower the zinc content (ZDDP) In order to make it more emissions friendly.

That Vr1 oil was on the spread sheet, is it hard to get?
So no on mobil 1 because it's not got above the 600ppm quota,

I use Brad Penn as it was recommended by my engine builder recommends. I have heard the same about Mobile 1 changing recently.

All this stuff.... it's all good stuff that you should do anyway. But seriously man, just replace your oil filter with an OEM one... it's like $7 and it CURED mine. I don't have revised lifters. It didn't it constantly until about a day after changing my oil... that was a year ago... i haven't heard it once since... maybe once or twice...

I added the engine restorer and it fixed the issue, I will do my research on mitsu's oem filter vs wix/napa
OEM filter might help with oil pressure!

You will be hard pressed to decide between a napa gold/wix or the OEM. Rockauto sometimes has really good deals on OEM filters though, so you might check there.

Probably going this route
http://www.ebay.com/itm/WIX-OIL-FIL...Parts_Accessories&hash=item53ed66cce1&vxp=mtr

Should be enough filters for a few years

Some interesting oil filter info:

Fram vs Wix cut away:
http://www.dsmtuners.com/threads/oil-filter-cut-away-fram-wix.433196/

Oil Filters revealed:
http://www.minimopar.net/oilfilters/