tapping in engine

i have a fairly loud tapping coming from the engine, i thought it was lifters but did lim gaskets and took all the lifters appart and cleaned them really nicely and nothing seemed messed up, slapped it back together and it still ticks. it follows the rpm's of the motor fairly well but gets alot quieter when in gear.

i was thinking that the cam chain or tensioner is going bad, any input?

i doubt you can just clean the lifters you have to replace them.

im fairly sure the lifters were not the cause of this noise, none of them seemed bad, but i figured while i was there i might as well clean them, yes lifters can be cleaned. my big question is what else could this be, it does not seem like a rod knock, its loud but not that loud or rough, also i have no misfires and scans show nothin stupid. anyone have a timing chain tensioner cause issues?

A collapsed lifter isn't terribly obvious. Do you know what your oil pressure is doing?

You took the lifters apart???

Should have gotten new lifters. Put some Lucas Oil Stabilizer in it to see if it changes and gets rid of the tick...if it does, get new lifters.

taking lifters apart is not a major thing, i have done this many times. i kinda play things oldschool, all lifters seemed to be in good condition i just happened to clean them up a bit more, obviously did a oil change before i started the car, and thru in a quart of mavel oil, the noise changes alot at diffirent loads and rpm's and in gear ect, going down the road you dont hear it, but sitting at home idle you hear it then it goes away ect ect

Not enough oil pressure at idle to keep the lifter pumped up, but you don't hear it running down the highway because the pressure is up. You need to see what your oil pressure is up to.

i would pull the s/c belt to rule that out.

already pulled the supercharger belt. i dont think oil pressue is an issue, the oil is clean, i can hook up a gauge to it later today and check but all seems well. i have never had the light come on, nore low oil.

I'm having a similar problem, but mine will stop tapping after the car warms up. I was thinking that my oil pressure was low, could that be the problem with my car also, the lifters or oil pump?

Originally Posted by busagtp

I'm having a similar problem, but mine will stop tapping after the car warms up. I was thinking that my oil pressure was low, could that be the problem with my car also, the lifters or oil pump?

It could be that the oil doesn't make it into the lifters until it's warmed up and fluid enough to get into them.

Possibly a cracked flex-plate?

I was going to say flex plate also. Check the oil pressure first.

well im going to throw it on the lift tomorrow and check the flex plate, that will be 2 in 6 months if it is. i figured screw the oil pressure if its a rod then its gone, i do have plans to put a gauge in asap, but i dont trust plastic line and all seems to be good and strong. i will update this with info about a blown motor or a small crack in the flex plate.

I took mine to the dealership and they said exhaust leak, but I have yet to confirm because of the money issue. Good Luck, I have the same noise, "basically" it goes away after the engine heats up.

Originally Posted by danielbrazz

I took mine to the dealership and they said exhaust leak, but I have yet to confirm because of the money issue. Good Luck, I have the same noise, "basically" it goes away after the engine heats up.

yeah i have a squealing belt issue for the first 5 mins my car is on.

then it goes away

I have a similar issue going on... It seems like it's coming from the crank. It used to go away after warm up but now it ticks/rattles almost all the time, consistent with engine speed.. After what I've gathered so far, it sounds like a harmonic balancer... Talking to some people, the rubber gets worn and it's somewhat common for them to go bad after somewhat high mileage... I haven't experienced this before but it's tough to say without takin stuff apart. I took the sc belt off and played with all the pulleys and let it run... still could tell it was coming from the crank. Im searching for answers myself...