GREYLEGEND

Hey, lifter tickin thing is driving everybody crazy.

Remember there's two possible reasons for the lifters not to work properly ( They're also called HYDRAULIC TAPPETS).

A. Not enough oil flow and pressure getting there. Auto-RX will help there, and

B. the other reason could be maybe they're not sealing properly and won't hold pressure. Auto-RX can't heal a worn out lifter.

Check here: for a better concept.
Page 5-25 or 7 of the PDF document
http://www.honda.co.uk/owner/LegendC...sg000/5-20.pdf

NOTE::::: the first step is to check for damage "for wear or damage or for a clogged oil hole."

When we Auto-RX we're hoping for a clogged oil hole that sludge might have blocked and Auto-RX to help dissolve and clear it.
IF there is wear and no clogging, then Auto-RX may or may not help the situation with respect to noise.

How can we help the situation if there is wear. 1. Use a thicker oil/ heavier oil. This will help allow the lifter/hydraulic tappet to develop more pressure by having less leakage.

Now if you think about this carefully, you'll understand why some people report that using 20w-50 helped their situation and some people report that 5w-30 helped theirs. Total confusion.

Now if you have ticking, understand this. If the ticking is due to a clogged oil hole and you use a thicker oil. You could end up doing more damage. Why? oil is not getting where it needs to get to and you'll eventually end up with situation B. - worn out lifters and further clogging.

So if you have ticking, here's what I recommend. Try the Auto-RX routine or some other safe sludge cleansing routine that gets deep inside and hope it goes away. If it does, you had a clogged oil hole and you've cleared it. If after two tries with Auto-RX and it does not go away, I say try a heavier oil.

Now Steveman recommends that Friction free stuff. That stuff is supposed to have small metal particles that "coat" walls. I can see it possibly working in situation B. Where the lifter are worn and can't hold pressure it may help develop a better seal However, I can also see if it was a situation A where there was clogging, then possibly it may do more harm. - It does not clear clogged holes.

I think no matter what if you have ticking I would tend to recommend a treatment of some type that cleans and clears out sludge first as that will cause no damage buy rather help overall operation of the engine. If the noise does not go away try a heavier oil or Steveman's recommended product.

The only surefire, but expensive way is to replace all the lifters - 24 of them by taking the head apart. So take your pick and remember once you get rid of the noise, always keep your oil in good shape as that was the cause of the noise in the first place.

z00m

i think that this thread should be stickied and we need to put an end to all of these lifter threads, all questions should go here


grey, you know my situation, so after what you've said, i believe that i have a worn lifter or two (based on the amount of ticking). i ordered 2 bottles of steveman's recommended product frictionfree 3000 (ff3k) and i'm going to be running it for the first time w/ pennzoil 5w-30.

my question is, for situation 2, do you recommend running a heavy oil alone, or a light oil w/ frictionfree 3000? which will help preserve the engine and what costs do u figure for each instance? also, if its better to run ff3k w/ a lighter oil, would it be worth it to run german castrol 0w-30?

just tryin to explore some options

thanks

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GREYLEGEND

you were getting good results with Havoline 10w-30. I say stick with it, it's an excellent oil. There's really nothing wrong with using 10w-30 in your climate. The trouble with Pennzoil for you is that it is one of the best flowing dino oils at low temps. That naturally means it is on the thin side . Also High Mileage oils are on the thicker side, so those may help too.

There's a trend in your case... thicker oils have helped (10w-30 and GC 0w-30) so you're likely a situation B. See what works for you and just keep your oil in top shape.

chuckee98

What about continuous ticking vs start-up ticking? Wouldn't worn out lifters be continuous ticking? And clogged passages be start-up ticking which goes away after warming up for several minutes?

GREYLEGEND

Ticking only on startup, I would suspect Situation A... clogged port or passages. A worn out oil pump may aggravate this too.

Continuous ticking..... probably worn out lifters... try out heavier oils. That's my guess anyways.

What someone should do is start a thread and see if in fact it confirms my hypotheses. For example using seafoam and queting.... clogged port. USing restore ( also metal particles) ... worn lifters. Using FF3000 worn lifters. Using a thinner 5w-30 .... clogged ports.

1_Hot_Legend_LS

How about ticking that exists when you initially start the car but goes away as soon as you give it a quick rev?

GREYLEGEND

slightly clogged ports or lifters not getting pressurized for some reason. It's all kind of guessing a bit.

z00m

alright. i am feeling good about havoline 10w-30, but I think I want another go with the german castrol to see how good it is (and if its any better than the havoline w/ my situation)

FYI for people that think they are experiencing what I am-
• I've ran 2 auto-rx treatments so far
• I've tested Restore and it didn't completely quiet my lifters
• Pennzoil 5w-30 gives me lifter tick constantly (a few lifters stop ticking after warmed up, but several remain)
• Havoline 10w-30 was run during my rinse phase of my 2nd treatment of Auto-rx, and near the end of the rinse phase I had almost no ticking when warmed up and no immediate ticking upon starting the car
• German Castrol 0w-30 worked well after my first Auto-RX treatment and I will be using it for my next oil change to see how it does after 2 treatments (I have high expectations )
• I have purchased 2 bottles of FrictionFree 3000 as Steveman recommended, they haven't yet come so I do not have results for them. First bottle will be going in with my Pennzoil 5w-30, and if they quiet my current continuous ticking, I will definitely recommend the product to anyone who suspects worn lifters.

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z00m

today it was 80 degrees here in NC, but it felt a lot hotter, and my lifters were quiet on my ride to work (first time since my oil change)

is having quieter lifters in hot weather a sign that i have lifter wear for sure?

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sam o nela

Actually Zoom...I would think that having quieter lifters in hot weather would mean Situation A with the clogged ports....as would the opposite (having noisier lifters on a very cold day) The reason being that in very hot weather, the oil would be flowing faster in the warmer than usual weather...making it easier for the oil to get into the lifters...and in very cold weather (where the engine and oil may never fully reach normal operating temp) the oil will run slightly thicker and may not be able to adequately lube the lifters.

Here's something I did...for some reason, my lifters have been total bi@tches since my last oil change about 1500miles ago. I had finally had enough...I bought some Seafoam. I had my hesitations about using in on my engine though. So I ended up putting it into the Brake Booster vacuum hose to the intake...followed the instructions from here on the forums and now my lifters are DEAD SILENT even on the coldest start-up...I didn't put any into the crankcase nor any in the gas tank...just the intake. And I ONLY USED 1/3 OF THE BOTTLE SO FAR...It may not work for everyone's car but it did silence mine!! I am no longer embarassed to leave a parking lot in front of large groups of people (especially the ladies!)!!

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5speed

I used SEAFOAM a couple of years ago in my crankcase. It didn't really quiet my lifters. Maybe I should've done it like you sam...

jmm67

Has using the bigger nsx size filter helped in reducing anyones lifter noise?

GREYLEGEND

sam I'm not denying that seafoam made the engine quiet but the intake does not see the lifters at all. Maybe the noise was something else that seafoam dissolved and the noise was not the lifters at all. That's what it sounds like. Maybe there was carbon buildup in the combustion chamber, valve seats?? Maybe it was coincidental as when you put the stuff in, you revved the engine up? and cleared a port with the high oil pressure??

sam o nela

I have pondered that also....but the thing is that my ticking was textbook ticking from the G1 Engine...my mom, stepdad, and aunt all used to have G1's so I do recognize the noise...however, it seems that the Seafoam has definitely cleaned "something" because it was w/o exception that every morning I would start the car, it would have REALLY bad ticking until it wamrmed up...then throughout the day it would tick at start-up but eventually quiet down with engine temp (w/o ever really being completely silent). NOW the ticking is completely absent...at first cold start-up in the morning and all day and all night...completely silent engine bay....its pretty nice! Whatever it did I'm completely happy with it....

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GREYLEGEND

Maybe there is another source of noise from the G1 engine that sounds like lifters but is not. Hmmm...... never thought of that before.