2G Mean ass lifter tick

[eclipsegsx98]

fresh rebuilt 4g63t in a 98 gsx. (the engine blew right after i bought it, had it taken apart, sent off to have it machined and sent back and had a mechanic rebuild it for me) I already feel like the mechanic working on the car is f*king me over with parts and labor prices. he fixes one thing, breaks another.
Ive had my gsx for maybe 6 months, its been on the road max a month out of the 6.
After putting 1,500 miles on the car, i started to notice it smells like its running rich, (also shows on my air fuel ratio) and it also leaks oil, just drops though. of course i called my mechanic and got it in the shop right away. i want my car as healthy as i can get it so i can start my dream build. then a month later i get the car back. I told him to fix the following: LIFTER TICK. (annoying as HELL, sounds almost like rod knock in higher rpms) oil leak, running rich, reconnect my boost gauge (which worked before they touched the car) install a passenger door handle, and make my gas cap functional.

After a month in the shop. i get the car back. i was told everything was fixed.
no
hell
no..
oil still drips, it still runs rich, the lifter tick is still the exact same, they got a door handle on.. but its the wrong damn color. and my gas cap works now surprisingly.
They told me "to fix a bad lifter is a very expensive, and timely job, especially in a 4g63 with a turbo 'as big as yours' "( i have a stock turbo in my gsx)
i need help. very bad. i will fix it myself if you all agree the mechanic is screwing my over. dont want to take anything to court. oh, also to mention. the passenger side skirt,and fender is now hanging off my car, about to fall off. which was not like that before the shop got it. and the panel on the drivers side below the shifter, is falling off, shining light from where the gears are.

 

[c2ypt1c]

This is dsmtuners, of course we're going to tell you to do it yourself

I'm assuming your dsm is stock aside from the mentioned mods (afr and boost gauges) but you really should create a profile so we all know exactly what you're dealing with...

Is it running rich while idling or at wide-open throttle? What's your afr gauge displaying?

Where is the oil leak coming from?

For the lifter tick, it sounds like the mechanic thinks its a bad lifter. I would pull the valve cover and crank the engine (or turn it by hand) to see if you can see/hear any issues to narrow down the problem...It's not a hard job at all to replace a lifter. Just have to make sure the timing belt is zip-tied to the camshafts and keep upward pressure on them with a bungy cord so the timing belt doesn't come loose

 

[chrysler kid]

Freshly bled and cleaned lifters will make noise for a while when cold,, however after fully coming up to temperature the problem should go away. You can try using a motor flush to clean oil the oil passages to the lifters, but a car with a new head shouldn't need that

Welcome to dsm ownership. You can let the car defeat you, the mechanics who work on these cars don't know the proper way to fix them. Your best option is to learn how do to a timing belt, tensioner and water pump on the car yourself.

Done correctly a 4g63 should never have an oil leak. Doing them correctly means taking off the timing belt, and doing the cam seals, crank seals, oil pump pulley seal and oil pan seal.

So what should you Do? These cars are rare, you won't find another good one later down the road. If you are committed you need to buy a daily driver and find a spot to park the eclipse. Do the work yourself slowly, buy your own set of factory service manuals and do everything slowly and precisely. When you are done and have taken your time this car will never surprise you or brake down on you again. You will master the car, you will Want every car to have a 4g63 because you are the master

So my advice is to buy a second vehicle, and learn your car

 

[007jimmy]

Since you just had your engine rebuilt I'm going to assume you had the head resurfaced. Once it's milled you lose depth of the oil feed to the head. That causes the head to receive less oil therefore causing more valvetrain noise.

See:
http://www.dsmtuners.com/threads/4g63t-head-oil-port-mod.341028/

As for the lifters you can easily change those to "3G lifters" (larger oiling holes). There is a tool to easily remove/install them. Looks like this:
https://www.ebay.com/i/251544532471?chn=ps&ul_ref=http%3A%2F%2Frover.ebay.com%2Frover%2F1%2F711-117182-37290-0%2F2%3Fmpre%3Dhttps%253A%252F%252Fwww.ebay.com%252Fi%252F251544532471%253Fchn%253Dps%26itemid%3D251544532471%26targetid%3D400149256953%26device%3Dm%26adtype%3Dpla%26googleloc%3D9007261%26poi%3D%26campaignid%3D1028603671%26adgroupid%3D48124585622%26rlsatarget%3Daud-411371594064%3Apla-400149256953%26abcId%3D1130046%26merchantid%3D101647546%26gclid%3DEAIaIQobChMIm-H1gZq42QIVjkoNCh2tLAY7EAQYAyABEgKI7fD_BwE%26srcrot%3D711-117182-37290-0%26rvr_id%3D1447525029399

Now for running rich I suggest a BLT. Boost Leak Test. I bet you have quite a few. There may be another reasons but try this first.

And last spend some time to pinpoint your oil leaks. A few common places are valve cover gasket, cam seals, turbo oil return line and oil filter housing, oil pan...

 

[Gandalf]

007jimmy for the win, exactly what I would tell you to do. You don't need to play with timing or loosen the cam caps at all with the special tool. I also do the oil feed mod on all my heads and don't have any lifter tick on any of my engines. However, if you are going to pull the head to do the oil feed mod then just take out the cams and don't worry about the special tool.

 

[randman2011]

Special tool? I just used a screwdriver and a magnet on a stick to get my rockers out and clean the lifters. Easy out, easy in. You just have to make sure that you catch the rockers so that you don't lose them. I didn't know that there was a tool for the job.

I may have to add that to my tool list even though it's not really necessary.

 

[c2ypt1c]

Oh wow, it's even easier than I thought. I was thinking you had to remove the cams to get at them. Here's a tech article on how to do it: http://www.dsmtuners.com/threads/how-to-replace-lash-adjusters-lifters.265060/

I'd definitely give the 3g lifters a shot...

 

[Gandalf]

yeah, it's like a 1 hour job start to finish. Just make sure that you properly oil and bleed the new lifters with a paper clip before you install them.

 

[zsn0w]

The link that c2ypt1c posted has pretty much everything you need to know to handle the lifters. That being said, it sounds like the shop might be screwing you over, but it’s hard to tell without an exact record of what’s been said and agreed upon. If they charged you for a specific service that they said could fix the problem you’re having, it probably doesn’t matter whether it worked or not (legally that is) as long as they did that specific service. It’s likely the shop just doesn’t know what they’re doing, which is fair with cars like this given the extensive knowledge base here. For example, a factory service manual isn’t going to tell you to put the revised lifters in there, but everyone here will. I recommend doing the work yourself, especially if you’re planning on modding it in the future. You’re going to want to know exactly what’s in there and what’s been done to it. The oil leak might be as simple as tracing it and resealing a fitting or might be as complicated as pulling the engine. Hard to tell without more investigating first.