ticking on cold starts

[Abe'sGST]

this has happened to me 2 times in the past few weeks. when i turn my car on in the morning, 30 degrees outside, i heard a ticking noise coming from the engine. i then turn my car off and turn it back on and the noise goes away..any ideas of what might be causing this? all i have done different was that in the last oil change i added some of the lucas additive

 

[4CEDinduction]

you need to investigate when you hear this ticking noise and try to be more specific in describing it, right now your description is way to vague. For all I know is there is a unicorn running around inside your engine bay.

 

[KB90TSIAWD]

mine does the same when its really cold out. havent had it yet during warm weather but common sense would be a lifter stickin until the oil gets to the top of the motor after warm up.

 

[Abe'sGST]

you need to investigate when you hear this ticking noise and try to be more specific in describing it, right now your description is way to vague. For all I know is there is a unicorn running around inside your engine bay.

i know what your saying and all i can say is that seems like its coming directly from under the valve cover, definately not a rod knock, just a tick noise. like KB90TSIAWD said common sense would be a lifter sticking and all i want to know is if its common on dsm's?

 

[SexyDSM95]

Lifter tick is very common in DSM's due to the oil port passages being so small (if this is truly what it is). There is an explanation on it in the vfaq. They sell revised 3G lifters that help with this but as long as it does not effect your performance you should be ok.

 

[Wil_OwnU]

Yes alot of dsm's have lifter tick syndrom I will let you know I have had good success with seafoam put some in you intake track a lil in your oil and change your oil after about 300 miles should do the trick did with mine.

 

[KB90TSIAWD]

i cringe when i hear that tickin i always warm mine up before i drive it anywhere. shifting gears is a lot better too. usually goes away after at least a min. and does not come back.. at least for me check your oil just for sh$ts and giggles

 

[SexyDSM95]

Yes alot of dsm's have lifter tick syndrom I will let you know I have had good success with seafoam put some in you intake track a lil in your oil and change your oil after about 300 miles should do the trick did with mine.

Along with that, people change the weight of their oil for the winter and that has seems to help.

 

[KB90TSIAWD]

^^ def try 10 30. my old saturn was burnin more oil than gas i was runnin 20/50. autozone guys were laughin at me

 

[dsmboost84]

Sounds like just some lifter tick. As stated above, its very common.

 

[Abe'sGST]

ok just making sure, like i said its only happened twice and i just turn it off right away and crank it back up and it goes away, now if it kept making the noise i would remove the valve cover and check it out...also when i turn on the car the cranking is very weak, i guess my cars worst enemy is the cold weather

 

[dsm44130]

lighten your oil up , its cold out there. my one buddy is a freak about priming the oil pump before starting in the cold, he had a mustang he use to hit the fuel shut off every time he got in and then crank it for like 10 seconds to get oil pressure up then hit the kill switch again and start er up. keep in mind cold oil is thicker and harder for start ups so a heavier weight oil is even thicker at first start and doesn't flow well .

 

[Abe'sGST]

lighten your oil up , its cold out there. my one buddy is a freak about priming the oil pump before starting in the cold, he had a mustang he use to hit the fuel shut off every time he got in and then crank it for like 10 seconds to get oil pressure up then hit the kill switch again and start er up. keep in mind cold oil is thicker and harder for start ups so a heavier weight oil is even thicker at first start and doesn't flow well .

im running 10 30 on mines

 

[CrawlinZX14]

personally i run 5/30 in the winter and 10-30 in the summer. But then again I run rotella in all my other 4 cylinders. Works great in my bike.

 

[ed1380]

15-40 year round. Over 100psi on a cold start but drops as it warm up

 

[NeWyoRksPLaYaZ]

Mine does this too..every cold start there is a loud continuous ticking that comes from the front driver side(so it seems) and it goes away after about 2 mins. Weather has been about 13-20 degrees here lately so its really cold

 

[ramsack]

The revised lash adjusters don't do anything a new or cleaned set of "old" ones won't do. They get rid of ticking because they are new and not stuck, not because of the hole the oil comes out of. The oil inlet is still the same. Most of the problems are most likely poor oil supply to the head due to milling the head surface.

 

[95 tsi 95 gst]

check ## lifters they stick in the cold it does the same to chevys too

 

[shockracer]

I went to an OEM oil filter and mine stopped, others have had the same results.

 

[LxiMax]

Synthetic tends to help a bit too. Dino oil likes to clump like pudding when it gets real cold. Synthetic stays fluidic, helping them lifters get the oil they need quick.

 

[kmarttalon]

Sounds like lifters I change my oil weight in the winter

 

[amarin26]

Sounds like a lifter tick from your description. This is often caused by lack of lubrication, if its really cold out run 5W-30 in the winter and then switch back to your preferred oil viscosity in the summer. You also mentioned that it has hard cranking so be sure you check your battery to ensure that its fully charged for which it may be time for replacement. Winter sure does have some hard impact on our vehivcle parts.

 

[Swarley815]

Time for new lifters and make sure you bleed them down prior to install.

 

[ramsack]

He doesn't need new lash adjusters if all of a sudden when it gets cold he has problems while the oil is cold. It is too thick of oil, not enough flow to the head, or both. Lash adjusters can be cleaned and returned to brand new condition if that truly is the problem.