My parents have a 97 sunfire that I am about to start driving. Its been parked for about a year and when they parked it they think it was starting to get a lifter knock or somthing.
I'm going to check it out this weekend and look at the timing chain and the head as I am hoping its just the tensioner. I dont have the money right now to replace the lifters. Is it ok to drive with them knocking til I get the money for the lifters and all the gaskets?
does it have a 2.2? they all have a kinda knocking noise to them. GM made this motor from 1992 to 1998 and they all made this ticking noise, which means nothing.when i bought mine i thought it was the timing chain, but all was good there. then i started checking out more and more peoples cars with this engine, (even the cavaliers and corsicas) and they all do it. is it a real light noise, or very loud?
Did I mention I drive a 2000 Lumina now?-----wigm-tuners.org member
Yes its the 2.2. I haven't checked the car yet, but will be down there this weekend. If I remember right, it was kind of a light to medium noise.
yeah i probably wouldnt worry so much about that. the way these usually do it is at idle (800 rpm) once you rev it more it almost goes away but you can still hear it a little bit. ive put over 20,000 miles on mine since i bought it and its been nothing but reliable since, and mine was noisy when i bought it. mine just turned over 130,000 miles yesterday. however, there is a small chance that it could be something else, and should not be overlooked. hope this helps
Did I mention I drive a 2000 Lumina now?-----wigm-tuners.org member
Well we started the car and it was a loud sound. So we are going to do ahead and replace the lifter closet to the passenger side (the rocker moved a lot on it)
While we are into the engine, we are going to go ahead and replace the water pump, and timing components. What all should we get to do this? Do we just need a head gasket or the head gasket kit? Also how hard is all this to do?
So far we have:
Water pump and gasket
Timing chain, tensioner, gears
Spark plugs and wires
the new lifter
head bolts
head gasket
well that should do it with the addition of the valve cover gasket, and oil + filter. if ypu would have bought the head gasket kit then it would have everything you need from the head on up. if you can i would take that one back and get the kit. otherwise if you are sure the lifter is to blame, go ahead and try it. i know lifters arent the cheapest, but you might wanna replace a few of them. (you can get rebuilt lifters around here for half the price of new) also, you can replace the water pump anytime, as it is belt driven and you dont really need to be inide the engine to replace it. but as cheap as they are (like $25) as long as you already got it and you have the tools out anyway, do it. only other thing i can say is BE SURE that this lifter is the cause of your noise. it could be something more serious, like a rod bearing starting to go. i could help you a lot more if i heard it myself. what kind of mileage does the motor have?
Did I mention I drive a 2000 Lumina now?-----wigm-tuners.org member
The car has about 140K on it. I talked to my dad and we are going to get the head gasket kit, head bolts, lifter, and the timing kit.
He said he just put a tune up on it before it sat so no need for it yet. He is pretty sure its the lifter because the rocker is so loose and the we turn the crank and it tightens up some.
Brandon Hunt wrote:The car has about 140K on it. I talked to my dad and we are going to get the head gasket kit, head bolts, lifter, and the timing kit.
He said he just put a tune up on it before it sat so no need for it yet. He is pretty sure its the lifter because the rocker is so loose and the we turn the crank and it tightens up some.
lifters.
buy a full set, there's no reason to just change one. i bought from this seller, and have been living tick free since.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edited Thursday, November 06, 2008 11:47 AM
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As stated I would replace all the lifters, more than likely one is bad the others are going... at 140k I would.
Headstuds arent 100% nessecary (ive taken my head off 4 times on stock bolts), but if theyre cheap enough go for it.
I would get a headgasket, theyre cheap enough. The valve cover gasket should be re-useable unless you tear it, its like a rubber material.
Since the lifter is so loose under there, I would make sure the pushrods are all straight as well, I had a flattened lifter and the pushrod above it was bent slightly. (Luckily I had 2 sets from other 2200's ive owned. )
A tip I heard and followed (i dont know if you need to, or if it helped at all) is to keep the rockers and pushrods in order and put them in the same place they came out of when you put it all back together.
Good luck getting everything working!
"A car just isn't a car without a little blood, sweat, and beers." -- Shadowfire
