ok, so about a week ago i noticed ticking coming from my cav, and i took it to my mechanic and he said it was the lifers and i asked him how much it was to fix, and he said that it wasn't worth it to fix... so on Tuesday coming up im going to get a second opinion to see the cost of fixing it... i just did a fresh oil change with penzoil 10W-40 and a quart of lucas to make the oil thicker. i have the 2200 OHV,

does anyone here know what is entailed in changing the lifters, and my dad said i should replace the valves while im at it...
and is it worth fixing? or should i sell the cav and move on... and is there anything that i can put in the engine to quiet the lifters?

any help will be appreciated, thanks a million

P.S., please dont tell me to do an ECO swap, or to just swap the engine, thanks

first all how many km's on youre motor? Usually ticking sound from the top end is a result of youre engine getting old and wornout point. Some times mechanics say this ........ blah.....blah. Which means youre better off doing a rebuild job on the motor. But if you want to fix the top end lifter noise a simple lifters and valve job could run you $500-$1000 in the shop, Also depends on the shop rate. Depends on what needs replacing. Or you could a motor from wrecking yard $350-$500 and installed around another $450-$500. Just Depends what route you want to go.


Good Luck.

i have 136xxx Miles on it...

How loud is it? Just about every cavy I pull up next to at a light is making SOME ticking....

There is an old saying in the Air Cooled engine crowd that noisy valves are happy valves! By that they mean the valves are sitting upon the valve seats and getting a chance to cool before doing the next firing cycle.

So you have the OHV and NOT the OHC engine?

Replacing the lifters on an Overhead Valve engine, where the lifters are riding upon the cam which is in the engine block and the lifters then transfer the motion via a pushrod to the valve in the head is a MAJOR job.
You have to remove the cylinder head to access them and then once you do you'll find that the cost of purchasing the lifters is significant.

If you don't have other problems it really is a waste of time and money to remove what is basically a harmless tick sound. If you've got the cash to spend and hate the noise, by all means go ahead and fix it.

Sometimes, if you Change your oil frequently and make sure it is a good brand of detergent oil the build up on the lifters which cause them to stick and tap will slowly be removed. But, honestly, probably not.

There are engine additives that say they will stop lifters from ticking. I'm not a fan of additives so I stay away from them but I've heard of them sometimes working. The downside is that they can also cause other damage while fixing the ticking noise.

Good Luck, learn to love the tick and change the oil a LOT.

Dave

Well, in my LN2 running thinner oil helps get rid of the tick. Thicker oil makes it much louder and more pronounced. Try changing it with Pennzoil Platinum 5W-30, and mix in about a pint of 5W-20. That's what I did with mine (only using Quaker State Syn) and the lifter tick is completely gone, whereas with the Maxlife 5W-30 (which is a very thick 30wt oil) it was very loud.

pushrod motors like zinc additives in the oil. you have to buy the additive, the oil will not come with it...

That is not the whole truth. What you are talking about is a flat tappet motor, which this is not. The cam followers are rollerized. And most oils come with plenty of ZDDP (Zinc) in the oil. Try some thinner oil, that completely eliminated the tick in my engine

I'll agree with Nick that you may be running oil that is too "thick" for your engine. I'd caution about just pulling cans off of the shelf and pouring them in because they are simply "thinner" though.

I haven't seen a newer car manufacturer spec out 10 w 40 oil for a long time, yet that is what your automotive service "expert" put in your engine!?!?

I'll bet money that if you pull out your owners manual and search for oil recommendations that you will have a 5 w number, maybe 20 or 30.
Also look at the oil cap, many state what you should pour through that hole it caps.

Changing your oil to the grade that should be in there (as recommended by the manufacturer of the vehicle) should be your first step. Make sure the oil used has a quality detergent additive as well.

Zinc? ZDDP, is a zinc phosphorous product that is an excellent anti wear additive. An old flat tappet engine needs to run about a .12% of the additive to prevent wear. Trouble is that ZDDP tends to ruin catalytic converters over time so the level of this has been reduced dramatically, by half or more.
It is NOT ok to run most newer engine oils in an older flat tappet engine!!!!
Sadly, in the long run is it cheaper to replace a $500 emission part or a $3000 engine?? Maybe the industry is putting the cart before the horse here?

If you run an older flat tappet engine, Get yourself a quality oil for that purpose, Brad Penn is one that is excellent and readily available at a reasonable cost.

Dave