Lifter noise? something else? need some help

Last weekend I developed what I thought was a lifter tick. For the past two months it was only making a slight tick when I would cold start it. when it would warm up, it was fine and made no noises. I just pushed it off as an exhaust leak knowing that my header is cracked. Well last weekend, it came in full force, while the engine was at operating temp. I was wheeling at the time. I drove it home from CT and it felt as if the engine was running just fine. no lack of power, no sputtering of backfiring, nothing. It felt just dandy. Soooo I decided to do some tests when I got home.

Test 1: Pulled off an injector at a time seeing if the tick went away. From what I know and was told, this would cause it to be a dead cylinder and prevent any pressure being applied to the piston. Thus ruling out a bottom end noise/knock.

Test two: exhaust gasket blew out. false, pulled it off, everything looked fine. It sounded as if the tick was in the back, on the header side of the engine. at least it was louder on that side.

Test 3: Compression test. all cylinders were between 149 and 152. I did this because I figure if there is a bad lifter, it would most likely cause a misfire due to the valve not opening and closing properly. Since my numbers were in spec, it seems it may not be a lifter tick. However, it could still be?


So now while i have some down time because I dont have the correct socket to pull the head studs out, I figured I would ask if anyone has some experience with this. Once I get the head off I will be able to see any collapsed lifters and I can inspect them. If nothing is wrong there, Im pulling the pan and seeing if any piston skirts are broken. my next idea is piston slap.

how is my aim? if I cant figure this out I think im going to get an engine and swap it in. and if anything is wrong with the pistons Im swapping one in too. I dont want to put 300+ bucks into the engine and find out I didnt fix the problem. Not if I can get a good engine with possibly less miles for 150-200 bucks.

First off, how many miles are on the engine?
If it is a lifter tick there is a few things you can do to help it

1. Add 1 qt of ATF to the engine and let it run for about ten minutes. Rev it up and hold it at a sustained high idle of 3-3.5k or so. Change oil as needed. If oil is dirty change oil again immediatly so you have fully fresh oil.
2 If that doesnt work I heard of a Risolone engine treatment that did work, the guy pulled the pushrods and poured it directly on the lifters. Re-assembled everything and ran it and the noise went away.
3.One of my old instructors used to pour in a quart of diesel into his engine, he ran it for a few minutes and then changed would change his oil. He said he did that every oil change to keep his engine clean.

i just went through the same problem with my 89, thought one of my lifters wasnt pumping up all the time, it started as a slight occasional "tick" but gradually got worse to where it was making it idle rough... i was about to pull the head to put in a set of lifters, but read online the stock oil pumps in the 4.0L's wear out around 145000-155000 miles. I replaced my oil pump and havent had the problem since.... The oil pump was alot simpler job/fix! The site says that at operating temp, ur oil pressure shouldnt drop below 30lbs...

my oil pressure is around 45-50. and the engine has 160k on it. and I dont want to add stuff to the engine to "fix" the issue just to have it come back in a few thousand miles. I want to find the problem. not tip toe around it. If I have a bad lifter, I want to find it and replace all of them.

Well, have fun with that.... im sayin it did fix my problem....

PainInTheA$$89 said:

Well, have fun with that.... im sayin it did fix my problem....

Click to expand...

too late now. engine is apart. Thanks for the info tho :cheers:

sure it's not an ignition issue? i've had some nasty spark knock before.. could be mistaken for lifter tick.

XJLI said:

sure it's not an ignition issue? i've had some nasty spark knock before.. could be mistaken for lifter tick.

Click to expand...

if it is i hope its kinda too late now :laugh2: but no i dont think so because I could hear it worse on the opposite side of the distributor.

found the lifter noise...lol

That must be one of those made in Mexico lifters. What cylinder is it?

What's the wall look like?

8Mud said:

That must be one of those made in Mexico lifters. What cylinder is it?

Click to expand...

cylinder 5

gradon said:

What's the wall look like?

Click to expand...

the wall still looks awesome. somehow. pretty sure im just going to hone the wall, replace the piston and be on my way.

Any ideas on what caused it? Have you hydrolocked recently? Had any detonation knock in your motor?

Amazing.., well, just take the oil ring off, set it on the concrete floor, step on it in order to straighten it, put it back on, and then grab the piston skirt fragment, and super-glue it back together.., but be sure to use the gel variety, as the other stuff runs too mmucch! Once reinstalled, your lifter noise will be gone. Nice souvenir though...

I was going to recommend a cracked piston skirt. I chased what I though was a lifter tick for a while and it turned out to be a damaged piston. I found the piston lying in the oil pan one day.

Talyn said:

I was going to recommend a cracked piston skirt. I chased what I though was a lifter tick for a while and it turned out to be a damaged piston. I found the piston lying in the oil pan one day.

Click to expand...

From the research I did on the issue, both lifter noises and broken piston skirts/piston slap sound very very similar. So you never know what you are gonna find! Im just happy to have found the issue and that the cylinder walls are in good shape.

I have 1995 4.0 ltr 95,500.miles and have developed lifter noise. If I replace lifters, cam and whatever else your suppose to replace what are the chances the lifters will get noisy again. Were the original lifters that were fitted just not very good, and are replacement ones now better? What brand replacement lifters should I use. If I do this I want to do it right the first time. Replies very welcome. Tassie

Topline/Hylift makes probably the best lifters for the 4.0L engine. However, you should eliminate other possibilities first. Have you tried using Mystery Marvel oil or some other high detergent like Rinsol?

I've heard Rislone is the stuff.

Yeah tried those, even if they did work I am assuming the noise would only come back. I am told if you do one lifter you should do the lot. Like I have asked was there something wrong with the lifters used in the 1991-1995 4.0 ltr or is there something you can do to prevent lifters from sticking. If I replace them I want to do the right thing.