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Lifter Tick [merged] Revised lifters 3rd Gen Generation 3g

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95talontsi

20+ Year Contributor
275
0
Jun 29, 2002
Princeton, NJ_Montgomery
I am fixing my valve tix by taking out the lifters or the auto valve lash adjusters. I have the valves cover off, the engine is at top dead center and I am on 3# cylinder. I got instructions off the net, now with either a tool or a standard screw driver press down on the valve and remove the rocker arm then remove the lifter. Which then I will clean out.
The question is where do I push down, The valve has the spring around is and the metal cap on top of that( forget the name of that) where do I push down with out damaging anything, I will probably have to push a bit so I do not want to damage anything. please help?
 
ive got a 91 eagle talon and i get a pretty mean lifter tick plus to top it off i the other night i was out driving and got another noise that sounds more like metal on metal but i don't think that it is the lifters it sounds like its coming from around the alternator or the powersteering pump but i can't find it any advise on what that noise is or how to just lose the lifter tick would be a lot of help.
 
i took the advice of a few here and put a can of Restore in my oil over 3 diff changes and have noticed a reduction in noise
 
That's a good temp solution but you will have to upgrade the lifters of you truly want it gone for good.
 
Ok this post is sorta long but if you have either of the 2 problems listed in the topic you might want to read it.

I've been reading ALOT of why does my car bog down, why does my car have knock, why does my car run like such ass posts lately and I thought I would share the problem I've been having lately. Maybe the info I found will help some of you.

We have a couple DSM's. One of which is an automatic. Don't knock on the car btw ;) My girlfriend bought it.

Ok we got this automatic for $300 bucks. Leather, fully loaded and very clean for a Michigan car. No bad rust or anything. The only thing wrong was it needed a touch up on the clear coat and a new engine. Engine was a timing belt victim.

Anyway we get the thing home and rip out the engine that was in it. Total loss. When we took it apart we learned the turbo was pretty much fried too. It worked but the inside of it was so fried. Being that its a 13b it wasn’t even worth messing with.

We had a 91 TSI 5speed we were parting out so we took the engine out of that and put it into the automatic. We kept the 5 speed cams in the engine then tracked down a 14b stock 5 speed turbo for it. Bought that for $75 bucks. Then we put on a full 3 inch exhaust with no cat and a magnaflow muffler just cuz we happened to have this complete exhaust sitting in the shop and the stock one was all rusted out.

Threw in an A/F gauge and a Boost gauge. Car complete. Pretty much stock but complete.

So anyway the car was running fine for a while then it starts to get a slight lifter tick. Didn’t think much about it. Winter comes and its got KNOCK LIKE BEOCH!!!

First thing we think is ok winter, dense air, knock, ok that normal for this weather and car setup. It was so bad the car wasn’t drivable.

We kept trying to tweak the fuel system to make the car drivable without anything working. The exact problem was the car would get like 43+ knock on my PocketLogger, the ECU would then try to save then engine by retarding them timing to like 0 and the car would be so bogged it would hardly move. Left off the gas and the knock would go away for a few seconds until you reapplied gas then it would quickly return and retard the timing again.

One day being stick of that slight lifter tick I decided to run some tranny fluid and water threw my engines intake. I'm sure some of you have heard of this old school trick. Its also listed in the VFAQS for those of you who haven't. DO NOT TRY this is you don’t know what your doing as you can blow up your engine. If your not careful you will break something. Tranny fluid and water wasn’t meant to be put into an engine.

Anyway we run half a quart of tranny fluid and half a quart of water threw the engine. Lifter tick all gone.

I go for a drive around the block and guess what? The knock was gone too. My PocketLogger was no longer reporting any knock. Timing wasn’t retarded or anything. So I get on the highway in the car. OMG NO KNOCK and the car ran better then it ever had. It was about 2 degrees outside and no knock.

I drove the car for almost a week with no knock other then a few lil blips on the PocketLogger of like 3 knock which went away as fast as it came.

After about a week the tick started to return along with it the knock and other problems.

Ok.. Seems the lifter tick was just bad enough that the knock sensor is mistaking it for engine detonation and in return retarding the timing.

I ran a little more tranny fluid and water then and it went away again. Came back about a week later.

In my case I think this pretty much solves my knock problem. Now I just need to figure out why my lifters keep sticking and ticking. I know the fuel map is slightly messed up. Sometimes the A/F gauge sticks in the green sometimes when you really get on the gas you smell a lot of raw fuel. Its been suggested to me that the car running to rich could make the lifters tick so I'm getting an AFC II from EDO Performance to try to tweak the fuel system a lil bit. Beside I have a larger set of injectors I want to throw in the car anyway.

If any of you guys are still getting the knock for no reason and cant figure out why or the cars bogging down bad check and see if you got lifter tick. I have seen a lot of posts lately about people saying they had problems like knock and bog and couldn’t figure out why. It could be you also have lifter tick and the knock sensor is mistaking it for knock and retarding your timing.

Worth looking into. Turned out to be my problem for the most part.

Now I just need to figure out the lifter tick problem.

Anyone have any thoughts on this issue? Sorry for the long post.
 
I just ran some tranny fluid and water threw the intake to clean them off. Problem it comes back in a week or so. Cars runnin a lil rich too though so hopefully after I get the AFC II installed and lean out the fual a little bit they wont get that build up so fast.

I can live with slight lifter tick but not when its so bad the knock sensor thinks its engine detonation and retards the timing to like 0. Messed up part was its not that loud. I cant hear it hardly over the exhaust.
 
Hey guys, Please tell me this is an easily fixable lifter tick, heres the story. Its been a LITTLE over 3k miles since i've changed my oil..and today..on my way to get it changed actually...i hear this weird tick coming from the head...its not at idle..just when im running between 1,500rpms and 3k rpms then i'll bring it up to 5k, and the whole way back down to idle i wont hear it. My mechanic, that doesnt know DSMs that much, says because i had low oil in it, and maybe i reved to high once, i damaged connecting rods and its rod knock But my god it doesnt sound that loud, much more like a tick. He told me its just a matter of time before the engine blows and i'll need a new one. NOW this wasnt the best news for me, i was 10 seconds away from buying new rims, which im holding off on until i get a second opinion from this other mechanic that works on DSMs alot around here. So what do you guys think? rod knock or lifter tick? sorry for the long post, but i'm sure you guys can help. Thanks
 
Good god, get a real mechanic. If he can't tell a rod knock from a lifter tick, he should be damned to work on Ford Escorts for the rest of his days.
Your oil being "a little low" won't really matter- did your oil pressure light ever come on? And despite what they say here in church, 3000 mile oil is still BRAND-NEW, especially with all the fancy synthetic hooey we run. Ever read the FACTORY recs for TURBO oil changes? FIVE THOUSAND MILES.
Non-turbo? Yes, it's a matter of time before your engine blows. Probably on the order of ten years. Luckily, your mechanic blows NOW.
Ask around on the board, there has to be a DSM-competent wrench within 30 miles of you. Despite our desires, they are just cars.
 
Well I brought it to another mechanic that works on DSMs alot today. He said its all lifter tick. SOME rod, but nothing serious. HOWEVER, it's going to cost me 300 bucks in labor, and 120 for new rods and bearings, and 10 dollars per lifter if i need any replaced...so Now i get to go into work and ask them for my weeks paid vaca pay so i can fix it...my god i love this car. Thanks for your input man, i'm staying away from "escort Guy" Maybe my car will be nice to me now that i've put 1,000 dollars a month into it. Rock on haha lata:talon:
 
Wil lifter tick set of the knock sensor and back the timing off?? I was just wondering this because mine is lackin in power and i was wondering if it was lifter tick that is causing my loss of power?? If so what can i do un hook the knock sensor and go for a little drive and if it works fine i know its gotta be knock right??? And what to do about the lifters??? Clean em, or new ones??? Thanks!
 
Only way to completely eliminate the tick is to replace the lifters with the new upgraded ones. I put 1/4 quart of Lucas oil stabilizer in and the thing only goes tick tick when I start it and thats the end of it. :D
 
The new "revised" lifters "valve lash adjusters" are supposedly awesome. The oil passage is much larger than that ridiculkous pinhole sized one the stock ones come with. The lifters I think are from the 3000GT engine's, not sure on that. I bought my set of 16 and am having them installed as we speak. They go for $7.78 a piece, well worth it. I don't remember the thread, but there's a guy on here that sells them. Just search for "lifters 7.78" that'll prolly turn them up for you.
 
Alright I had a horrible ticking noise coming from my engine and i did research and asked around and come up with lifter tick. Well I went to the Mitsu. dealer and they told me thats it. I asked them how much to replace them and they said they r $38 a piece and he told me I needed 16 so that would a total of $608 and the per hour labor charge is $83. I think thats an insane amount and wondering what u guys think about it. Please give me positive info not the typical "damn newbie" or "look at the dsm community now". Thanks in advance!
 
The new revised lifters. Shouldnt cost near that much. They are trying to rip you off. Also if you put them in yourself, you will save alot of money:dsm:
 
huh? ok now im wondering about mine.. they tick for like 3-5min when i first start the engine and it's cold but after it warms up it's fine as i thought this was normal.. so how do you know so much is normal and when they need to be replaced?
 
my car add horrible lifter tick, i actually had a stuck one most awful sound i have heard and i tried the quick fix a little automatic tranny fluid in with the oil. that fixed it twice before but this time no luck, i thought i was gonna have to change my lifters as well,but i changed my oil first and used some royal purple synthetic motor oil and a big 1g oil filter and that fixed it completley its only been a week but my car has never been quiter.hope this helps
 
I just did the lifter tick thing and I have a couple things to add.


1. I was able to find lifters for $7.xx each ($138 shipped for a set). These are the new improved design with the larger oil port. I can't find my receipt right now, but I'll look for it if anyone is interested.

2. I had a dealership look at my car and listen to the "lifter" tick. They agreed that it was lifter tick, so I had them put in my new lifters. This did not take care of the ticking. Then three days later, my engine siezed up. It turns out that the ticking was probably the rod bearings starting to knock. The ticking progressed until two of the rod bearings siezed.

My $3000 lesson: Get the ticking taken care of quickly. If the ticking does not stop after the lifter swap, look for the real cause. It may not turn out to be a rod knocking, but don't let it go one for too long without checking it out.

BTW: I may have some lifters for sale if anyone is interested. Only used for 3 days.:thumb:
 
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