2G 4G64 lifter tick

[ryan4269]

Hey guys, first oil change I’ve done with my car I went with 5w30 full synthetic. I brought it to school for the hoist to do the change as well as weld up my loose exhaust. I drove it home fine and a couple days of sitting later put the battery charger on. I was extending out the cable and the alligator clip slipped off and shorted between the positive terminal and sway bar. It wasn’t a little short, it melted a quarter of the clip away. I went to start it up worried I fried something and noticed my oil pressure light didn't come on for what Im going to call the bulb test. The car seems to start as normal but now I’ve got some lifter tick that sounds horrible, it did have some tick before on cold starts but would go away once warm.

Anyone experienced lifter tick on their 4g64? Is my oil appropriate? Any help is appreciated.

 

[DSMPT]

lifter tick on their 4g64?

Yes.
But electrical short doesn't cause lifter tick directly. Could be you damaged some sensors, ecu or some electrical components and that is causing low idle, and then the low idle is causing lifter tick sound louder than before due to lower oil pressure. Or simply it's time to replace the lifters.
You should upload a video.

 

[ryan4269]

Yes.
But electrical short doesn't cause lifter tick directly. Could be you damaged some sensors, ecu or some electrical components and that is causing low idle, and then the low idle is causing lifter tick sound louder than before due to lower oil pressure. Or simply it's time to replace the lifters.
You should upload a video.

Idles as normal
Sounds like she’s a diesel please help ;(
Can I adjust them under the valve cover?
Oil additives?

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[DSMPT]

So you just bought this car? If so, didn't the previous owner tell you that some work was done in the head before selling? There is a common error that the rocker arm shaft(s) is installed upside-down. This would cause lifter tick badly.
Assuming you have proper oil pressure and if the noise is happening because of bad lifters, then the solution would be replacing the lifters.
Can you upload a pic of inside the valve cover?

 

[waltah]

Assuming the rocker shafts are actually on correctly -- DSMPT's question ...

Does the owner's manual recommend 5w-30 oil? When you change to a much lighter oil and get a symptom that can be caused by oil escaping the lifter too rapidly these two facts may be connected.

The change to lighter weight oils by manufacturers didn't represent a change in engines, it was a policy change to help compliance with government mileage regulations. Of course new cars came with new engines so light oils worked okay.

Most of our cars are now high mileage. People often run slightly heavier than recommended oils in high mileage cars. Yes, it will cost you a bit in gas mileage. "You pays your money and you takes your choice."

It's not uncommon for the 4g64 to have lube problems. The balance shafts are 'just one more darn thing' for the oil pump to supply and since the pump also wears, there may just not be enough oil to go around when idling.

So -- four possible issues: (1) Worn or stuck lifter; (2) Light oil causing rapid leak down; (3) Worn engine so not much oil getting to the lifters -- they are the very end of the line; and, (4) Worn oil pump. Since more than one of these is likely going on, I'd change to a heavier oil and see if that makes it go away, then go from there, possibly going after other potentially weak points.

In a high mileage engine I would never change a timing belt without doing the oil pump too. You'd already done more than half the job just doing the belt. Well ... unless you've got AWD and have to take down the transfer case in order to remove the pan.

 

[SilverSpyder98]

I have the same engine and this issue started recently for me as well when starting the engine up cold. After running for awhile it would finally quiet down which made me think they are sticking rather than completely failed. Rather than replace the hydraulic lifters, I decided to see first if I could clean things up with an engine treatment and remove the varnish that is probably in there. I did some research and found Rislone engine treatment (You can get this at any auto parts store or Walmart). It has stuff in there to dissolve deposits. Smells a little like there is some Xylene or something similar in there. I changed the oil and put it in there with my fresh oil and it did clean things up because the ticking went away. It did come back once after that about the time for a new oil change and so I did it again and the ticking went away again. I'm going to try cleaning the engine a couple more times with this and see if it goes away for good. I suspect even if it goes away for a long while I will have to use it every so often for maintenance. It's much cheaper and easier than replacing the lifters so I'll do this until the lifters actually wear out. Not sure what your mileage is but yours may not be worn out yet, just are clogged with varnish which from what information I've found is not uncommon with this engine. In my case with around 100G miles and using Rislone, I've been able to hold off on replacing them.