2.9 lifter tick.?

[Wilcox]

190000 miles lifter tick. Any suggestions?? Don't really want to rebuild engine yet runs fine still good compression.

 

[rusty ol ranger]

190000 miles lifter tick. Any suggestions?? Don't really want to rebuild engine yet runs fine still good compression.

2.9s tick. Its what they do.

Ive quieted mine down a bunch by running 10w40 valvoline max life synthetic blend (4qts) and 1 qt of lucas. Usually shuts them up pretty decent untill its time for the next oil change.

 

[alwaysFlOoReD]

Yes, they tick. Poor oil delivery design i suspect. There are threads on TRS where people have fixed the problems, but is it really worth the time? If you're rebuilding the engine anyway, absolutely. Otherwise I live with mine.

 

[mikkelstuff]

I also recommend adding a can of Marvel Mystery Oil to the crankcase. This is an old old cure but often works.

 

[Paulos]

I would imagine that an oil starved rocker arm shaft may cause some kind of noise. Not sure if that would include tapping. The shaft fills with oil and then goes through the holes/ports to the rocker arms (top and bottom of the shaft and rocker). You can see that the far right oil port (which feeds the bottom of the rocker arm) is plugged with what looks like cooked oil or carbon. The other 5 lower ports were plugged also, but I didn't think about taking a picture until I was about to clean out the last one. The shaft is ruined. The lack of lubrication on the bottom of the rockers galled the shaft. I don't recall the upper oil ports being plugged, so some oil was actually getting to the top of the rockers/pushrods.
So, potential causes of the famous 2.9 tick include plugged oil pump pickup screen, weak oil pump, worn main bearings, worn cam bearings, bad lifter(s), plugged rocker arm shafts, worn rocker arms and shaft(s), excessive valve lash, and using a motor oil that has too low of a viscosity when some or all of the above symptoms exist (10W30 appears to be too thin IMO. I've been using Walmart's Super Tech 15W45 with good results). Did I miss anything?

 

[AndyB.]

You can clean out the shafts. You drill a hole in the plug in one end, put a metal rod through the hole and knock out the other side, then put the rod in the other side and tap out the plug with the hole drilled in it. Once clear, replace the plugs:

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[Paulos]

If it's as worn as this one is, I wouldn't recommend re-using it.

 

[gaz]

Wilcox,

To determine what needs to done, pull the valve covers and rocker arm shafts.

Thoroughly clean both valve covers, then completely disassemble both rocker arm assemblies. Once thoroughly cleaned drill the oil passages the next size up drill bit, chamfer the orifices and finish with a deburr of the shafts, rocker and pedestals.

Since there is no valve lash in a hydraulic lifter, take care to properly adjusted their preload. If done correctly you will have no ticking. If your push rods or rocker cups are too worn, they will need to be replaced. Last time I did this is less than $40 for all new rockers and pushrods and with 190k, I feel those new parts would be a great and prudent investment. Remember, even with new, opening the passage holes, chamfer and deburr are time we'll spent. I went one step farther and balance the rockers to within 0.10g. Just seemed like the right thing to do.

With everything all clean, an oil change sounds like another prudent move .)

In regards to oil, I bought both my 87's used and switched 1st oil change to 10w40 full synthetic and have never used anything different for Pacific Northwest, California or Arizona climates.