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Same lifter ticking problem...

My 90 L coupe has the same lifter ticking we all know and hate. I've been thinking a lot about trying to heal this wound. My car only has about 170,000 km's on it, (about 105,000 miles) pretty low. The past couple days, its been chilly in the mornings. I hit my command start button, come outside after its been running for about 5 min or so. I can heat the ticking, rev it up to about 2500 rpm and hold it there for about 5 sec, and everything goes away. I know there is oil pressure, when I open the oil hole on the front valve cover, rev er to about 3000, I get soaked LOL.

So, I want to try about half a litre of ATF in the oil when I change next time. I use Valvoline Maxlife 5W30 oil with OEM Honda filter when I change oil. ATF is good for engine top end lubrication, use it in my moms 97 Malibu 3100 V6 that gets a lot of short runs in the cold weather, takes away any lifter ticking.

Another thing, is the AutoRX treatment. I've looked for this stuff everywhere, but no find. Is this just a USA marketed product??? I noticed when I changed valve cover gaskets, there was a lot of dark colored sludge, not excessive, but there was some. Does Auto RX break down the sludge, or just loosen it up and distribute through the engine. My biggest fear is loosening up any sludge and crud, and the engine would start consuming oil.

What do you all think???
 
Discussion starter · #23 ·
The primary benefit you are getting from ATF in your mom's malibu is likely the fact that ATF is principally a light 20 weight oil that still flows in cold weather. When mixed with the normal oil, it probably lowers the viscosity at lower temps and you're getting better flow. Do understand though that the ATF is NOT formulated to withstand combustion byproducts since auto transmissions never see any of this, whereas normal engine oil is. You can then look forward to higher burnoff, and faster breakdown of the ATF. I think you might be better off finding a normal engine oil that flows better at cold temperatures. Synthetics and 0w-30 and 5w-30 depending on mfr's suggestion are a good starting point.
 
Mick, If I was you I would try using some Nulon Lifter Free Tune up. Available at any auto place. I used it in my Legend and the ticking is completely gone. Also could I suggest that you try Penrite 15-60W with this product. You will stop the ticking for two reasons this way. 1. you will remove sludge and dirt that is clogging the oil ports and 2. The thicker oil will build oil pressure which will eliminate the ticking.
Please try this if you can and let me know how you go, I would nearly bet my life that it would clear your ticking.

Regards,
Steve

Love to Love the Legend
 
ok, next oil change, about 1000 km away, or 3 weeks or so.
 
I have tried everything to stop the tikking, nothing really helped, the main thing is that if your car at any condition is running without the tikking this means NOTHING IS BROKEN!!!

Therefore all problems are caused by sludge/ dirt and even more carbon on the valve stems. This can be cleaned without a mechanic with petrol additives, I used two cans, the first step whas flushing:

FORTÉ ADVANCED FORMULA MOTOR FLUSH
Advanced Formula Motor Flush has been specifically formulated to combat modern motoring issues caused by the adverse affect of extended oil drain periods.

During the long interval between oil drains, crankcase acids are produced. If left within the system when the oil is changed, these acids immediately go to work breaking down the new oil leading to the creation of lacquers and varnishes which are deposited on the oil system components such as Hydraulic Valve Lifters, Variable Valve Timing Systems and Piston Rings. These components work within very tight tolerances and any sticking due to the deposits in the oil system results in inefficient operation of the system and poor driveability.

Neutralises crankcase Acids.
Removes lacquer, varnish, sludge and insoluble deposits from the crankcase.
Frees sticking Variable Valve Timing systems, Hydraulic Valve Lifters and Piston Rings.
Stabilises cylinder compression restoring lost engine power.
Cleans engines internally and provides anti-wear protection.
Cleans oilways ensuring oil flow to critical moving parts.
Keeps new oil cleaner for longer


Second step whas Forte Top end treatment and finally Gas treatment.

This resulted in an absolute quit (all conditions) engine, have driven it for 300 000 miles with no tikking, sold it, it now drives in Cairo (dessert of North Africa)

:bowdown: FORTE :bowdown: LINK: http://www.forteuk.co.uk/Home.htm :bowdown:
 
I have ticking in my 90 Coupe L 5Spd and i use 5W30 because of the cold weather. I live in Maine and we don't have pleasant winters. I mean my lifter noise goes away after my car warms up. But i don't know my car has 204K miles on it. How much would new Lifters cost? anyone know!
 
If memory serves me, it's quite an involved process... And since they're hydraulic lifters they can only be replaced, not repaired. I don't know about a price though (probably a few hundred?)--Gabe? Pnoye? Anyone?
I replaced the lifters in my first engine, probably about 10 years ago. I can't remember the cost, but if memory serves me, the lifters alone were close to$1,000.00. IIRC, I think it ran me about $1300.00 total for everything. Hopefully it's a little less expensive by now, but it's probably still pretty painful.

I put another 150k miles on that engine (270k total) and it only started ticking again right at the end. Unfortunately, I found that it was ticking because I was running about 5 lbs of oil pressure. I suspect my main bearings were shot, but I never found out as I lucked into a sweet deal on another engine.

I've never bothered confirming this, but I was told by my mechanic (former Acura parts manager) that they redesigned the lifters in 89 or 90 to make the oil passages larger in an attempt to alleviate this common problem.
 
The other thing to condider when there is ticking is worn pushrods and rocker arms. The cups wear on the arms and the ends of the pushrods wear till the lifters can't compensate any more.
less likely on a honda than an american car, but maybe some g1's have real high miles. clogged tappet thing or whatever, wise old mechanic said run a quart or marvel mystery oil, in the oil. not every time but until it quiets down then as needed. good luck.
 
Yeah with the age of our cars, replacing the lifters is pretty cost prohibitive...

As Jerry mentioned, there are remedies available that work awesome for some, or just finding a cheap, low mileage replacement engine is another option...either way, its something that we are all going to have to face someday...

For the record though....Headers sure helped out with the ticking....silence is golden :D
 
If memory serves me, it's quite an involved process... And since they're hydraulic lifters they can only be replaced, not repaired. I don't know about a price though (probably a few hundred?)--Gabe? Pnoye? Anyone?
I think you caught me on a zombie thread reborn not too long ago as well... This ticking issue never dies and there's no single answer to fix it either. It seems to pop up as the temperature drops but after a few minutes of driving it always disappears. No harm just doesn't sound too cool.
 
I've never bothered confirming this, but I was told by my mechanic (former Acura parts manager) that they redesigned the lifters in 89 or 90 to make the oil passages larger in an attempt to alleviate this common problem.
That wouldn't surprise me... my original engine had a tick but it was pretty dang faint. My swap doesn't even tick the slightest bit.
 
Eventhough I've had my Legend for five years or so, I'm just now learning how to deal with it like I have to deal with my old MB diesels. I was unaware I was goin' all zombie on a thread. But anywho....someone mentioned oil pumps weakening. Are oil pumps routinely replaced at some point? I'm sure the discharge pressure can be tested...it's probably in the manual. Would replacing a weak oil pump lengthen engine life? Is it crazy expensive/difficult to do?

Thanks

azbob
'87 Legend 189K miles
wicked bone stock
 
Eventhough I've had my Legend for five years or so, I'm just now learning how to deal with it like I have to deal with my old MB diesels. I was unaware I was goin' all zombie on a thread. But anywho....someone mentioned oil pumps weakening. Are oil pumps routinely replaced at some point? I'm sure the discharge pressure can be tested...it's probably in the manual. Would replacing a weak oil pump lengthen engine life? Is it crazy expensive/difficult to do?

Thanks

azbob
'87 Legend 189K miles
wicked bone stock
It would be simple to check the oil pressure at the sending unit; it's located on the oil cooler housing that's part of where the filter connects.

Replacing an oil pump isn't part of any scheduled maintenance and would be a pretty extensive undertaking as it would require removing the crank pulley, timing belt, oil pan (probably) etc. The pumps are pretty much bulletproof; I've never heard of one going bad, even though I'm sure it happens. One thing is that the first sign of low oil pressure will be continuously noisy lifters, so it's a good idea for a person to rule it out before he goes out and buys an expensive set of lifters.
 
True, the pick-up tube terminates there, and there is very little clearance, so a dent in that part of the pan is bad news. Not to mention the fact that there is a screen on the pick-up which can get clogged after a couple of hundred thousand miles, even if it has been well-maintained. Bottom line is that if you have constant lifter noise, it's worth checking the oil pressure and, if it's very low, then drop the pan and take a look. It is pretty likely to be either a blocked pick-up tube, shot main bearings, or the oil pump itself.
 
Yeah with the age of our cars, replacing the lifters is pretty cost prohibitive...

For the record though....Headers sure helped out with the ticking....silence is golden :D
If headers made your car quieter, you had and exhaust leak, they can sound like a tick especially the closer it is to the head.
 
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