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Is this a collapsed lifter? Video inside

27K views 54 replies 28 participants last post by  Joe'sGTO  
#1 ·



The problem is the noise reverberates off the ground, so its misleading for it to sound like something wrong w/ the crank. It makes this ticking noise very briefly on a cold start and then goes away. This noise will also randomly happen and then go away on its own.

Its so embarrassing and I can't believe this develops after having an oil pan gasket changed. How much would this cost to fix and could a do it yourselfer handle this?

Any ideas?
 
#2 ·
:barf: sounds like a lifter
 
#3 ·
a skilled doit yerselfer can do it. Heads and intake will need to come off. So new head gaskets, bolts, torque wrench, and stuff like that will be needed. Great excuse to do a heads and cam. GL
 
#4 ·
Before you panic....just pull the rocker covers off and check the rockers....maybe you'll get lucky and find a loose or failed rocker.
 
#6 ·
Should I run the motor while the valve covers are off to see which area is making the noise, or is that a no no? And what are the torque specs for the rockers? I do have a torque wrench, but my comfort level with pulling the heads and intake arent that high, so Id likely have to find a shop to take a look at it.
 
#11 ·
Yes, they do....but when my header gaskets were leaking, the noise didn't sound quite as "mechanical" as that, and it didn't go away. I'm putting my money on lifters.

Gerry
 
#9 ·
here's a shot in the dark, overfill the oil 1-2 qts and let it idle. see if it goes away, drain excess oil out after 30mins of runtime. had the SAME thing. thought it was a bearing. tried the old trick and car has been quiet as a kitten since
 
#10 ·
All of the above. Make sure the oil level is up. Take the rocker cover off and inspect for loose bolts, a bad rocker with bearing failure, and if needed. Remove the rockers to check for a bent pushrod.

But most likely, you have one or two lifters no pumping up.
 
#16 ·
What he said.... It's pretty easy to remove the push rods to check em, i did it about 5 times to shim my rockers (that was fun). You dont even have to pull the rockers out all the way, just losen them up and spin them to the side.....should slide right out
 
#12 ·
Its so embarrassing and I can't believe this develops after having an oil pan gasket changed. How much would this cost to fix and could a do it yourselfer handle this?

Any ideas?
When I saw that, I thought "pickup tube o-ring", but the one video of that sounded much, much worse than yours...and you'd have oil pressure problems as well.

Those were stock exhaust manifolds on your car too, correct? If so, I don't know that I've heard of any of those leakiing...just header gaskets.

Gerry
 
#13 ·
It sure sounds like a lifter to me but it also could be a loose rocker.
I would get it to a shop A.S.A.P. . don't rev the motor till it gets looked at.
 
#15 ·
Someone else on here had a video posted with similar noise. Is the car still under warranty? If so, have it towed to dealership. Otherwise, have an experienced shop listen to this motor - they may know right away. You can run it with covers off, but oil will be splashing all over the place. Good luck.
 
#17 ·
It could be a collapsed lifter...but that shit really doesn't happen much these days with new technology lifters. Probably what you have there is a bent pushrod. The sound is very similar.
 
#18 ·
any mods? was the pan gasket leaking? what oil was used after the install? new or the old one?
 
#20 ·
Only mods are minor bolts on (cai, 2.5" exhaust, predator, twin disc clutch, hurst shifter). Pan gasket was leaking, changed by the dealership, unknown what oil was put in by dealer, but drained out right when i got home and filled with mobil 1 0w40.
 
#19 ·
Thanks for the advice guys, I will have to drive the car home tonight from work (about 6 miles) but I will stop driving it until I can get into a shop. Ill pull the pushrods tonight to see if they are bent.

Warranty is long over, so this will be all on me.
 
#24 ·
It honestly sounds like a lifter is not pumping up, or there is trash in a rocker oil port, basically something is not getting oil like it should. If they changed the oil pan they may have got trash in it that could have got to one of the oil ports for the rockers. If thats not the case than its a lifter thats either bad or not pumping up. This is the exact sound you hear in a new motor before all the oil gets pumped through it fo rthe first 45 sec or so. it could be a loose rocker too. Get it checked!
 
#25 · (Edited)
So I only had time to pull the driver's side valve cover. All the rockers were tight, no debris or anything sitting in the head that I could see on top. Plenty of oil all over the place as well. I did not pull the rockers off to check the pushrods, but judging from everyone is saying its either a pushrod or a lifter.

I havent taken it above maybe 4500 rpms for at least 3 weeks, at the tail end of breaking in the clutch. No doubt the tech at the dealership may have joy ridden it and gone higher, but there is no way to know. Ive never over-revved it by downshifting or anything like that either in all the time Ive owned it. I had taken it down the drag strip maybe 15 passes at most, but that was over a year ago, and the noise never appeared til about 1 week ago.

Im taking it to RPM Motors here in Valencia on Sunday for them to take a look at it. Whats odd is it still is making the noise randomly and going away by itself.
 
#26 · (Edited)
I hate to say this to you...........but I had the SAME PROBLEM and ended going with whats in my sig below..the problem you are having drove ME to the edge of the world...:nonono: go and get a 'leak down test' done and you might get the answer to your question..I'll keep my fingers crossed for you that it is only in the valvetrain..This would be your BEST case scenerio.

Freedom
 
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#27 ·
maybe people should go with a bit shorter pr on a totally stock engine as a performance mod, .05 shorter pr should relieve some strain on the lifters and give better high rpm response, maybe i'm wrong thinking this way, but i have read that loosening the preload is a practice done for better high rpm performance but who knows if it will relieve some structural load on the mating surfaces and help with high rpm valvetrain reliability.
 
#30 ·
Considering that Im still breaking in the clutch, and havent gone above 4k rpms really, thats not what happened. And if I really did miss a gear and over rev the motor, Im sure the noise would be constantly doing it, not intermittently.

For now the car is parked, I can't afford to fix it, so I will suffer just looking at it sitting there, with a huge repair bill waiting to happen.
 
#31 ·
what did this end up being?? im having the same problem, cept i have heads/cam, pr upgrades. Im thinking lifters. Heads will be coming off this weekend