the little ticking sound under the hood that is driving everyone insane, especially the owner, is the dreaded lifter tick noise. The tick is from the lifters and the cause of these abnormal-like sounds is very interesting indeed. What causes the lifters in the engine to make this sound? That has been a subject of forums and debates for years and now the top three reasons that are relatively agreed upon can be discussed.

Bad Lifter

A bad or faulty lifter in the engine can cause the lifter tick and this has to be pulled out and rebored, which is not a job for the laymen. The best method for dealing with this form of tick is to take the offending vehicle to a garage and have the professionals place a diagnostic tool onto the engine. That the best way to decipher a bad lifter in the engine.

Dirty Oil Deposits

This is the number two reason for lifter tick sounds coming from the top half of the engine and one that has the least economical impact to correct. If the changing of the oil corrects the noise and thusly the issue of the dirty oil deposits in the lifters then bravo this is a great day indeed.

Bent Push Rod

Lastly the infamous bent push rod creeps into the top three and raises its ugly and expensive head. When the vehicle is pushed hard and the accelerator has been treated like a race car every now and then the speed of the depression on the push rod is too much and a bending action occurs. In this case take the vehicle to the garage and have the push rod replaced.

Related Questions and Answers

How to Perform an Auto Lifter Tick Fix?

You’ve been told you have a lifter tick. The fix for this problem can be as simple as pulling the valve covers and adjusting the valves, or as involved as replacing all of the lifters in your car’s engine. A lifter tick is caused when the push rod or camshaft doesn’t make continuous contact with the lifters. This can be because the lifter has become worn out, as is the case usually with hydraulic lifters, or the valve has come out of adjustment. Which can be the case with overhead cam engines or engines with sold lifters. If your engine has a lifter tick, or tap, you need to have it fixed as soon as you can, because it can cause serious and expensive problems with your engine.

How Many Different Types of Car Engine Filters are there?

There are a number of different car engine filter types. Every car has an oil filter, an air filter and at least one fuel filter. Most cars also have a breather filter. This filters gases that escape from the combustion chamber into the engine itself, and build up in the engine block and oil pan areas. These filters are also known as crankshaft ventilation filters, and are normally connected to a tube connected to the positive crankshaft ventilation valve, which is attached to one of the valve covers. Some engines also have a secondary air filter, in the main air filter housing. This means that an engine can have as many as six different filters.

What is the Average Cost for Replacing Engine Push Rods?

Engine push rods are what make the camshaft to open and close the valves in a normal, single camshaft engine, where the camshaft is located in the block. Replacing engine push rods is a fairly lengthy and involved process wherein you will need to remove both cylinder heads and the intake and exhaust manifolds. On V-type engines (V-8, V-6) this is a minimum of a six hour process. With an average labor cost of $80, this means the average labor cost will be in the area of $500. On a four cylinder or straight six engine this will be a four hour job, which means it will cost approximately $320. Parts will run you in the area of $20.