So I own a 2011 jeep wrangler 3.8L engine. I had a mechanic take a look at it because it sounded as if one of the lifters were ticking. Ticking happens at idle and gets faster with acceleration. He agreed with me that it was a lifter so I had all of them replaced, new spark plugs, new spark plug wires, new PCV valve and new oil pressure sensor. After all that the tick still remained. I tried an engine flush with a diesel fuel oil mixture but still nothing. At one point the mechanic thought maybe it was the oil pump but since the noise seems to be coming from one lifter only still he isn’t convinced that is it. Has anyone else experienced something similar and if so what was the fix?
An exhaust leak can sound like a noisy lifter.
Tester
1 Like
I have heard that before but before but it was never mentioned by the mechanic and all gaskets were replaced
Use a stethoscope and see if you can isolate the noise. If it’s under one of the valve covers open it up and inspect things, If you are unable to see a problem cover each rocker arm to control the oil and start the engine. With it running feel the push rods and see if one is too loose.
1 Like
You remove rockers and pushrods to remove lifters. Odds of mechanic installing these parts wrong to cause new lifter tap? Slim
So, vote is something else causing noise
I had that issue, thinking the worst, turned out to be the tensioner. Thus liked @Rod_Knox comment for finding the source of the noise.
Yeah @Barkydog. I can’t imagine ever finding the problem without looking for it.
A speck of debris under a valve mount can result in excessive valve clearance and noise. Also reinstalling worn push rods and rocker arms on the heads out of their original locations can result in excess clearence.