Can a ticking lifter be fixed or should you always buy a new one?

Hal

 

I've never heard of anybody fixing one but I'm not 100 percent sure so someone else will chime in but I say just get a new 1.

 

I understand that some are rebuildable. I have no experience dealing with those. I am not sure it would be worth the effort or the chance that it wasn't repaired properly. Do you want to pull in the intake manifold and go though the hassle of reinstallation again? I wouldn't.

If the lifter oil passages are clogged, it will tick. Soaking them in carb cleaner or similar product to clean them and then soaking them in oil might make a difference in that case.

 

I don't have headers so I can't completely isolate which one is ticking. Once I can pull the lifter out Is there some kind of test I can do to make sure I know which one was ticking? If not I'll just replace about 4 of them because I can tell the general area (cylinders 3 or 5).

Hal

 

You may have more than one lifter ticking. You may also have a cam that is going flat. I had a cam that was flattening once and it sounded just like a bad lifter ticking.

 

Please don't scare me about a lobe going. Though I'd just cam it, so that might be a good thing

Very definite tick. It sounds like a loud watch and can go from being fairly quiet to mid loud. Can't barely hear it inside car even with no radio.

Hal

 

a exhaust leak at the head will make a ticking sound also. That would be the first place to look before tearing apart the intake manifold. Use a length of heater hose and hold one end up to your ear and the other end to the valve cover and you will be able to isolate where the sound is comming from in the valve train.