Ticking sound. Possibly a lifter?

[borahshadow]

So my truck just recently started developing a ticking sound. At first it would go away quickly but this last weekend I drove it to the ski hill and on the way back it never stopped. Me and My dad suspect a bad valve lifter but that's just our best guess right now. We can't think of anything else that would make that sound and (usually) stop after a few minutes.

Any ideas?

 

[darren250r]

Could be an exhaust leak that would stop once the pipes warmed up and expanded........or a lifter...

 

[DRAGGIN95]

Sometimes those little tick's can be hard to diagnose without really digging in to it.

 

[borahshadow]

yeah I think it's going to be more work than I want to tackle myself. I'm not as good as a mechanic as most people here and my dad's been out of the loop for so long he's not comfortable digging that deep into an engine anymore. So I'll probably have to take it to my mechanic. But I still like to try to learn as much as I can.

 

[Sepiroth]

You can do a lil bit of pre diagnosing yourself. Using a broomstick, place the end on one valve cover and move the broom stick fore and aft, listening to see if the ticking resonate through the broom stick. Do this to both sides and see what you come up with. If the sound is under a valve cover, remove the valvecover and investigate further.

Also you can use the broomstick to check and see if any belt driven acessories are causing the noise.

This might save you some money in the long-run

 

[borahshadow]

You're basically saying to use a broom stick as a mechanic's Stethoscope right? Why wouldn't I want to just buy this actual stethoscope It seems like it would work better than a broom stick and it's only $4.

 

[FastOrange]

try that, and if you conclude its a lifter, you can put a LITTLE bit of ATF into your oil, it will make the lifter quiet again, ive gone through this one my ford.

 

[DRAGGIN95]

I have heard that before but never tried it, sounds like it actaully work's.

 

[FastOrange]

I have heard that before but never tried it, sounds like it actaully work's.

Sure does, i drove that ford for 6 months with a sticky lifter, just added abit of ATF everyone in awhile and oil when it needed it.

 

[borahshadow]

so you just splash a little bit of ATF in your oil as an oil addative? If I decide it's a lifter I'll try that. I'm due for an oil change so I can try it and if it doesn't work I wont add anything to the new oil after I change it (and get the problem fixed).