lifter tick?

[hungryjoseph]

motor - s14 sr20det

http://youtube.com/watch?v=2udNQN7g5JU

two things happened.

1. I was at work when I found out my mom was being ambulanced to the hospital, so I jumped in my car and forgot to turn on my fans. I didn't really realize anything around me other than that I needed to get to the hospital, she had been in bad health recently... but that's another story. the motor overheated, maxed out the temp gauge and I didn't know until about 15 minutes later after some hard driving... I arrived at my destination thankfully and opened the hood to find problem number 2.

2. the valve cover hose by cyl 4 had come off while I was driving and was making an insane ticking noise that got louder when the rpm got higher. I thought it was an exhaust leak when I was driving.

The headgasket seems ok, I'm not burning coolant and the oil and coolant haven't mixed. this is probably the 3rd time the motors gotten this hot, over 250F.

This sort of sounds like the vtc solenoid, except the solenoid noise always went away, and this sound is more of a metalic tapping.

Is it my lifters? did I run them dry with the hose that came off?

[redtop91]

Put the metal end of a screwdriver to the head near the lifters and the other end to your ear and then move it around the head. If it get's louder closer to the lifters you've pretty much confirmed it. Sounds like my engine awhiles back. On mine it was the injectors ticking. Repeat the screwdriver test but on the injectors and see if the noise is in rhythm with the ticking. FWIW the injectors should make a whirring noise normally.

For the hose are you talking the PCV or the one on the injector side?

[hungryjoseph]

it's on the exhaust side by cyl 4, it goes down to the block but I don't know where. I'm positive it's not the injectors, I've had this motor for almost 2 years now and it's never made this noise before. I didn't do the screwdriver test, which I should do right now, but it gets louder when I put my ear on cyl 4 area of the valve cover opposed to the front of the motor

[hungryjoseph]

alright, I just did the screwdriver thing and I can't seem to hear the clicking anywhere with the screwdriver...