Valve lifter tick.

[Dreslerdisco]

I have a 98 disco.

There is a notice-able tick, mechanic says a valve lifter. They recomended a hot oil change to clean the engine out and maybe free up the tick... My crazy step dad said put tranny fluid in the engine... "that'll clean er out."

what do I do without tearing the engine apart? if I had to do that, I would leave it, drive it until I had no other option but to put in a diesel, for serious.

[Greg S]

You opened the topic, so finish it. Why's you step dad crazy? Certainly not for the ATF suggestion.

ATF has been used for that sort of thing for decades. He sounds like a knowledgeable sort of guy.

Not ATF instead of motor oil but as an additive. I don't know the right amount but I think a litre would do, without doing harm. To be on the safe side, with a new motor like in a late 90's vehicle, ask for sounder advice than mine; but for an old beater engine like I own, I'd go for it.

[ANDYD]

Does it Tick more / louder right after start up when engine is cold

or

Does it tick more / louder when the engine is hot?

[swamijake]

Valve lifters can stick because they are dirty, or because they are collapsed. If its collapsed it is hooped, but if it is dirty you might be able to fix it with ATF. ATF is loaded with detergents. What I've done in the past is before an oil change, drain about two liters of oil out and add 2 liters of ATF. Drive for a week and do an oil change as usual.

You can also try going up one viscosity on your next oil change, so if you are using 10W30, go to 10W40.

[Dreslerdisco]

So let's say that my lifter is hooped and the ticking has not stopped after much chemical assistance to clean it up. where do I go from here?

[swamijake]

Well, you'd be looking at a rebuild. You could try to figure out which lifter is ticking, dismantle to the point you can change that lifter, change that lifter and put it all back together, but by the time you've done that you might as well change the cam and the rest of the lifters.

Alternatively, you could just buy a set of lifters (7.50 US$ a pop at british pacific, you need 16) and just swap all the lifters. That's not too bad. The intake manifold and the rocker arms have to come off, but the head stays on.

If I were you I'd look for a rebuilt engine, or a good core and rebuild that. Or you could always swap in a diesel.......

Which engine do you have?

[red90]

First answer the cold/hot questions. It might not be a lifter. Noises like that can be hard to diagnose.

You can always change the lifters. Pretty straightforward job. Although I guess the cam should be changed at the same time, which is a bit more of a PITA. Of course changing the cam and timing gear on these things is always a good idea as they don't tend to be known for long life.

[DaveB]

I agree with red90, changing the lifters is pretty straightforward. But I would also be inclined to do head gaskets if you're in that far as they tend to start leaking around 150,000 which is where you're at now.

Another chemical try might be to run 15W40 diesel oil for a change or two, not as an additive, but as your primary oil. It is also very high detergent and will wash out many a dirt related problem. Go back to regular oil after a couple of oil changes or you might find your rings and valves letting more oil past than you want and a smokey engine. (If this is happening it'll often go away after a few hundred miles of regular gasoline engine oil.)

Just for reference, I have a 4 litre in my 1999 Discovery and have never opened the front timing cover. I've replaced the waterpump, done the head gaskets twice, once at 150M and again at 325M, and it now has 337M and running strong.

Dave

[Dreslerdisco]

I have done two oil changes in the last 2000 kms...both with 15W40 deisel...I sea foamed which brought on some really odd behavior involving fake stalling (total loss of RPM for half a second then... back up again didn't seem to matter where my foot was on the gas) this hasn't happened since I did an oil change, so any guesses?

I changed to 20 50 quaker state and put in the lucasoil stabilizer and some Eos Valve lifter goop... It made some weird noises like it was completely missing tonight, but then it stopped completely (first time in a couple months) and now when cold the noise seems to be getting less noticeable, not gone completely but definitely quieter. I really want to avoid taking it apart if I can, the missing and the loss of power scares me a bit, but I think once I get this all figured she will come together okay.

its the 4.0 and I am pretty sure she ran regular gas and 10w30 so I might just need to keep cleaning to free it up or maybe it's hooped, when will I know this?

I will definately do a full top end rebuild, if I have access to an engine that I know is rebuilt would it take more time to do the rebuild on the current enginethan to just swap the engine?

[red90]

You can do the head gaskets and lifters in a day.

At our last meet (Calgary club), we had a 4.0 down to the lifters in a hour and a half or so while drinking beer and chatting.

Not sure who designed the wiring loom on the 4.0, but they should have their engineering license revoked.

[Dreslerdisco]

you were right about the wiring harness.

wish me luck. sourced my parts and we're diving in. gonna replace the VSS and cam sensor and fuel pump, head gaskets, rocker arms and lifters. in a week of evenings. sound about right? hope that I don't find a slipped cylinder liner or the tick is still there after I replace the rocker arms... I would drive it off a cliff if that was the case.

[obalme]

Stupid question, just by chance maybe you should make sure that you do not have a exhaust manifold leak? They can sound the same at times.

Good Luck, Oliver