hey there,
my car make a ticking noise when the car is running. its comming from the head and i am assuming its the lifters (hydraulic valve adjuster) does anyone think that is correct? i have been investigating it for a while and i think that the problem.? help anyone ryan

I have this same problem too. Every time i change the oil the ticking gets quieter, and it gets louder as the time comes for another oil change. Using a can of Restore makes it completely disappear for a while, but it eventually comes back.

I don't konw what it is either, but I'd love to find a remedy for it.

My guess is the lifters aswell. Especially if you have higher miles...once the oil loses its viscosity, the lifters start tapping again....:eek:

if it keeps getting louder and louder it could be bearings, mine started off as a very small ticking but got worse and worse, then i pulled out and redlined it one day and it got loud, a day later it blew up as i was pulling into my driveway hehehe... time for a jdm

yean the car has 175,000 miles on it but i do think it is in the head because i can put my hand on the valve cover and feel it. i am going to try the lifters and if it work i will update you guys.


thanks for the help ryan

yean the car has 175,000 miles on it but i do think it is in the head because i can put my hand on the valve cover and feel it. i am going to try the lifters and if it work i will update you guys.
try a listening bar with one end on the block and th other in your ear, try it for the head too, its pretty hard to tell where its coming from, i thought mine was coming from the head also

listening bar

??? whats that? the car does ahve a loss of power at all rpms but mostly at high rpms(5000 and up) i dont really know the problem but i might want to fix it before i drive it home from florida to wisconsin. i dont not drive ti hard like my other sr20de motors but i have thrown two rods and it made a totally different noice before the engine hatched. i think its juts old. the mechanic from nissan also told me it was comming form the head when i payed them 200 dollars for a new car inspection



any other suggestions would be nice. ryan

Mine is making it too. However, mine has only 62k and is out of a '92 NX (salvaged). I'm almost certain the sound is from the head. It changes speed and varies as I adjust the timing up or down. That means it's a sound directly related to the cam shafts, lifters, and valves...I think.

It's worn lifters. You can tell the difference between a rod knock and lifters easily. A rod knock sounds liek someone beating your block with a hammer where as lifters is a fsat "rattle" like a can of spray paint. At 170k miles i wouldnt blame the lifters being bad and at 62k miles i'm guessing your head is getting oil starvation. The oil squirters might be clogged causing lack of oil. From what i hear, the sr20de's need to be driven hard and cranked on once in a while so that they do not get clogged. In my opinion lifters aren't worth fixing as i think they'd run you a decent dollar. I'd just look arround for a good complete head that you can snag used lifters out of then resell the head without them. The listening bar thing is when you use a piece of metal up to your ear then put it to the area noise is coming from. The loud the noise gets through your ear, the closer you are to the problem......hope this helps.

is that going to cause a loss in power?? if the lifters are bad, what does anyone think ryan

I guess it could cause loss of power. If your lifters aren't being lubricated or anything the cams will be slapping against it and the lobes could ware down, i think.

As far as I know, I'm not down on any power. My timeslips can back that up. My cams aren't worn, at all. I just had my VC off to put a polished one on, and the cams look brand spankin new. My ticking is really light though. Only my gearhead friends notice it....

Yah, if you have a light tick its no big deal....most engines with any amount of miles that arent brand new have some ticking, its just natural. When the ticking gets worse though...thats when damage occurs. I have a JDM and there is a faint tick, and all my other cars tick too...just not badly.

the car does ahve a loss of power at all rpms but mostly at high rpms(5000 and up)

so do you think this would be true due to the lifter being bad?? i would have low power the car i slow for a se-r and it will not go past 6000 or so?? ryan

I don't know if it is all your lifters fault, but it could be. I imagine your loss of power is due to engine fatigue. You have 175k so its expected to loose a little power. Did you do a compression test or anything on it?:D

Did you do a compression test or anything on it?

not yet i am this weekend. i am going to have my friend look at again i am not really ocncerned but more confused about why i have the los of power. i juts want to know why so i can learn more about the motor. this is my 5th sr20 and i still donot know anything. i will try this weekend and get back to the post. any other suggestions. ryan

I'd do a compression test and see what you get. I'd also suggest cleaning out the oil squirters and putting some oil detergent/lifter additive in. I had noisy lifters on a probe because it was sitting and this quited it down a lot. Good luck.

ttt

here some good if fo you all. i tookt he valve cover off to see my mess. the cams were bad and the head was NASTY. i am working on getting new cams and when i put them in i am going to change out the lifters and rocker arms.

but you might want to try this also.

you can got to the store and buy some 5 min engine flush and follow the directions and use that. that might help you all.

It probably is the lash adjusters. They are oil
filled and when they go bad they don't hold oil. Having air in them is what
makes them tick. That can cause the power loss because it is not allowing
the valves to open completely. I have priced them here at the dealer and
they're like $35 a piece. There is a total of 8. If you had them out you can
tell which ones are bad. Then you can figure out how many you need. Once
they tick, they will not quiet down without removing them and bleeding them
manually. To see if they are bad take and squeeze them. If you can squeeze
them, they have air in them. If you squeeze it and it doesn't compress at
all them, then they're fine. If you tip them upside down the oil can leak
out. To bleed them you submerge them in oil and take a pin poke them in that
little hole. Kinda like opening an interior house door with a toothpick. As
you push the pin in, you will see air come out


ryan

and finally the problem is fixed
i put cams and rockers in the car and the ticking is gone. the ticking was not even the lifter.

finally i have a se-r with power again. ryan