Slight lifter ticking... How do I get rid of it?
 

I want to get rid of the lifter tick. Apparently, I was running low on oil when the oil pan was leaking and developed a ticking. I want to get rid of it as its really annoying.

I've been using SeaFoam and changed the oil 2 times in a 2 months and about to change it again this week. Any other ways?

Try adding molybdenum disulphide, suspend a few grams
in 1-2 of your quarts of oil before adding and it will coat the lifters as they
are wet with oil. Should eliminate the metal-on-metal contact
you are hearing, because it has less friction than the other
materials up there.

these engines don't have lifters, they have shims, and if you hear a ticking, it'll need work.

While it may sound like hydraulic lifters your car does not have them. Its a double overhead cam configuration! About the only ticking attributed to these engines is the VVT valve operation and that is most usually addressed by a higher weight oil. Try a can of 'Restore' to see if that reduces the noise. If it does, move to a higher weight oil on the next change.

If it does not you may have more extensive internal engine problems.

The injectors make the ticking, since there are no
pushrods or lifters I assumed the shims you are
talking about are making noise, and the compound
I told you would be useful,

@ Test Point his car has no variable valve timing. Also
Restore has come up recently...
Restore oil treatment blows head gasket - Page 6 - Jaguar Forums - Jaguar Enthusiasts Forum

Ian, I know your suggestion is trying to help, but in this case it won't. An over temp event can cause all sorts or problems, like a valve seat dropping, a valve spring snapping a.....you get my point.
Jaguar tolerances on the valves don't normally allow for noise, if noise is present, then measuring each clearance from shim to back of camshaft is called for with a feeler gauge, it's been like this on Jag engines since 1948. The noise is cam slapping shim, a new shim takes up the slap or tick. A distinct difference to injector pulse, as a knowing ear can tell, along with hearing through revs, not possible with the sewing machine tick of injector pulses.
How any fluid/particles can replace a half thou of hardened chrome shim is physically impossible, there will be an initial coating, damped then broken down, and ticking returns.

The only way to address a noisy top end is as I've stated, testpoint obviously answered the question with habit - he knows the score.

Now, go read up about the valve train adjustment on AJV8, you might need to know how to do it yourself one day ;)

Went to 20w-50 today and no improvement on the ticking.... looks like shims next?

If you are sure that it is nothing more than an annoyance, then maybe waiting a few weeks is in order. Perhaps fresh oil will help do some cleanup. One day isn't going to show any improvement.

Of course that applies more to a VVT equipped engine than the SC engines.

I JUST changed the oil, so I will give it a week, maybe I'll add Restore? I do in fact have a supercharged V8.

marko - can you upload a video of the noise?

Sure can...

definitely not VVT since you have the SC. Sounds like a mixture of the fuel injectors and the lifters...I don't think the oil will help that.

Can anyone take a look at the video i posted above and give me some sort of direction to try to eliminate that ticking? heavier oil is already in now...

Hi! I think you should either sell it, spend real $$ to fix, or live with it.

Mine makes all kinds of noises. It clicks sometimes and sometimes purrs. Body rattles. Sometimes she is stubborn starting. Sometimes I turn the key and nothing. The only thing that I believe should be perfect is the duncan donuts coffee I make.

My Kawasaki sounds like a stinking sewing machine.

These things are machines... machines are noisy. If it bothers folks, they make electric cars that are scary quiet. Git you one!

Well I guess we differ,... I want my jaguar perfect. The only noise I want is the exhaust and supercharger whine. All other noises need to be addressed and will be addressed. I've spent over 15k on it in the past 4 years alone to make it right and won't stop until its perfect. Jaguars are my passion and I won't accept rattling. They weren't built to rattle.

You'll have to use a process of elimination to pin down the cause of the noise:

1) It won't be VVT noise as you've got the supercharged engine

2) To eliminate any supercharger noise, temporarily remove the supercharger belt & run the engine at idle, checking for any noise-it will idle normally without the supercharger belt.

3) Check the valve clearances on a cold engine to identify/exclude valve train noise.

4) Check the cam lobes visually for any wear & also check the secondary chains are tight

When all this is done & everything at the top-end has been checked satisfactorily, then it could be bottom-end noise. The fact that you say the oil level ran low gives a clue-these engines have been known to wear the number 1 big-end bearing if the oil level has gone too low & the car cornered hard & fast.

Slight wear on a big-end bearing can make a noise similar to a loud tappet tick-they don't always produce the classic heavy knock at the bottom end.

It would be worth checking the oil pressure by removing the sender switch & connecting up a proper oil pressure gauge. Also worth doing a compression check while you're at it to confirm the basic mechanical health of the engine-even though it's not Nikasil.

What you're doing is a process of elimination to rule out causes of the noise-and what's left should be the actual cause of the noise...

Here's a clue.. The noise doesn't seem to come out until the engine runs for a minute

I HOPE it's the supercharger

I hope it's the SC too - fastest way to check it is removing the belt, the car will run without issue, if the noise is still there remove valve covers and measure the valve clearances,
inlet = 0.20+/-0.02mm (0.008+/- 0.0008 in)
exhaust =0.25+/-0.02mm (0.010+/- 0.0008 in)

if out of tolerance, then they'll need re-shimming.
How long was the leak for and how much oil was lost?

I can't gauge where the sound is from as my laptop speakers are sh*t.

The supercharger has it's own oil independent from the main engine oil system, so the fact that your ticking noise only started after the main engine oil level ran low means that the supercharger won't have been affected by the loss of oil in the engine sump.

However, since you only have to remove the belt to isolate the supercharger then it's still worth checking-if only to eliminate it from your possible causes.

By the way, when the ticking noise starts, does it get quieter or louder if you put the transmission into 'Drive' with the engine idling?

This would help establish if the noise is speed-related or load-related. Valve train noise is usually related to engine speed, whereas crankshaft bearing noise is related to both speed & load on the engine. So engaging 'Drive' will place a load on the engine & may alter the level of the ticking noise. If the noise level changes a lot when you place the gearbox load on the engine, then that may indicate bottom-end & bearing noise.

I would consider getting your engine oil pressure checked with a gauge to make sure the oil system is working properly-the 'idiot light' on the dash only lights when the oil pressure has fallen well below a level which would cause engine damage under normal driving conditions.

These oil pressure warning lights typically go out when the oil pressure has risen above 3-7psi. Now with a hot engine idling, this may be enough pressure for the engine to run with-but it is totally inadequate at higher engine speeds & loads in normal driving, where you need a pressure of around 50psi. However, the 'idiot light' will only ever tell you that the oil pressure is above the bare minimum for hot engine idling & you've no way of knowing if the oil pressure is rising enough to the higher levels for normal driving.

The fact that your sump ran low & you've now got a ticking noise due to this, means that it's really worth getting your oil pressure checked. A worn big-end bearing will 'bleed off' oil pressure, for example.

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