Valve question - Assistance Appreciated

[Carlinator]

Okay, so i've got an 03.5, got it from my mom, been fantastic. However, recently there's been a new sound coming from the engine bay, one that's not the gentle purr i grew to love so long ago:
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It's not quite as OMG LOUD as the video makes it seem (my cellphone can't pick up low frequency sounds), but you get the idea. All my car-savvy friends who've heard it say it's valve lash, so I leave it to my fellow MSP experts to confirm or deny this. Are my friends right, and if so how do I go about getting rid of it?

[aubrandb3]

How many miles, and does it go away when the RPMS increase. Sounds like you Lifters are not pumping up AKA Valve train lash

[Carlinator]

Car's got ~65k miles on it. I haven't yet had someone rev it while i've got the hood up so I can listen up front , but from the cabin it does seem to go away above idle.

Is there a procedure for adjusting the valves to make that go away?

[aubrandb3]

I think the lifters in the MSP can be shimmed, but it sounds like they are not pumping up, so lack of oil pressure or just a shitty lifter could be the cause. So you might just need a new set put in.

[Carlinator]

:sigh: Is the the kind of thing that i'd be best off taking to a hopefully honest mechanic? I'd hoped to avoid dealing with one if at all possible, but with multiple potential causes/problems, it's looking like that's unavoidable.

[isbre]

Hi

I know it's a different car altogether, but I had a very similar problem with my beater car (96 Hyundai Elantra 1.6) - but it is a 4 cyl 16v DOCH engine with hydraulic lifters so it can't be that different. The sound was a little bit more of a ticking sound, but still not that different. Some weeks later it got really loud and I went to a mechanic even though it's a beater. I told him that I changed the oil shortly after I got it (1500miles ago then) and started to hear this sound recently. I also told him that the oil in the car from before looked bad and I changed to mobil1.

Ok, now to the point. he told me that changing to a higher quality motor oil may increase the circulation and let loose some particles, but not enough to make them go all the way to the oil pan, but only find their way to the head and come to rest arount the valve lifters creating the ticking noise I heard. I fixed it simply by pouring a can of "engine tune up and flush" in the crankcase, drive around for a day and a half in different situations and then changed the oil. usually I'm a bit sceptic towards theese "fix-it-all" liquids, but this fixed my problem alltogehter.

I don't know, but it might be a thing to try before going to the mechanic.

[orng1]

I was thinking the same thing. I'd put some marvels mystery oil as a flush and change it. Just put some in the engine, let it idle for a little while and the change the oil. If it gets better it cost you an oil change and another $4-6 bucks.

[aubrandb3]

Right this is exactly what i was saying, if a peice of shit / carbon build up is blocking the flow of oil to the lifters, then that would mean a lack of pressure causing them not to pump up.


Hi

I know it's a different car altogether, but I had a very similar problem with my beater car (96 Hyundai Elantra 1.6) - but it is a 4 cyl 16v DOCH engine with hydraulic lifters so it can't be that different. The sound was a little bit more of a ticking sound, but still not that different. Some weeks later it got really loud and I went to a mechanic even though it's a beater. I told him that I changed the oil shortly after I got it (1500miles ago then) and started to hear this sound recently. I also told him that the oil in the car from before looked bad and I changed to mobil1.

Ok, now to the point. he told me that changing to a higher quality motor oil may increase the circulation and let loose some particles, but not enough to make them go all the way to the oil pan, but only find their way to the head and come to rest arount the valve lifters creating the ticking noise I heard. I fixed it simply by pouring a can of "engine tune up and flush" in the crankcase, drive around for a day and a half in different situations and then changed the oil. usually I'm a bit sceptic towards theese "fix-it-all" liquids, but this fixed my problem alltogehter.

I don't know, but it might be a thing to try before going to the mechanic.

[Carlinator]

Hi

I know it's a different car altogether, but I had a very similar problem with my beater car (96 Hyundai Elantra 1.6) - but it is a 4 cyl 16v DOCH engine with hydraulic lifters so it can't be that different. The sound was a little bit more of a ticking sound, but still not that different. Some weeks later it got really loud and I went to a mechanic even though it's a beater. I told him that I changed the oil shortly after I got it (1500miles ago then) and started to hear this sound recently. I also told him that the oil in the car from before looked bad and I changed to mobil1.

Ok, now to the point. he told me that changing to a higher quality motor oil may increase the circulation and let loose some particles, but not enough to make them go all the way to the oil pan, but only find their way to the head and come to rest arount the valve lifters creating the ticking noise I heard. I fixed it simply by pouring a can of "engine tune up and flush" in the crankcase, drive around for a day and a half in different situations and then changed the oil. usually I'm a bit sceptic towards theese "fix-it-all" liquids, but this fixed my problem alltogehter.

I don't know, but it might be a thing to try before going to the mechanic.
Well, I would be stoked if this wound up fixing it. I put synthetic in it on my last oil change, which was the first since my mom gave it to me. She tends to look for ways to save money, so it's entirely possible that she's been putting cheap (bad) oil in the car.

Marvel's Mystery oil, you say? I think I'll give that a try tomorrow morning.

[isbre]

If you haven't bought something already... I used Bardahl:
http://www.bardahl.com/mods/gallery/gallery.asp?action=viewimage&categoryid=&text=tune+up&imageid=176&box=&shownew=

It was something I had stored in my garage, not even sure if they sell that version still.

[xBelfast]

Have you checked the fluid level in your tranny case?

[mazdaspeedp]

maybe try seafoam