vg30dett motor tick...

[ninjo-metal]

I recently bought a 1990 300zx with a year old vg30dett engine and turbo install. I bought the car in florida and drove it home to new york. I made it with out any problems. But, now I have a rather loud tick that seems to be coming from the front, top, right (standing in front of engine bay) side of the motor. Could this be a bad lifter, being that the sound is coming directly under the plenum somewhere? Its diffinently not bottom end. The owner hasn't driven the car all that much and said that its possible that a valve might be ticking from sitting for so long...but I'm not sure about that...the sound almost has a growl to it under high rev. I haven't driven the car since for fear destroying the motor, so any advise would be greatly appreciated.

[Goose93]

Lifter tick is pretty common. Start with a couple of tanks of good gas like chevron, Sunoco, or maybe Shell. Run some fuel treatment (stay away from techron). And make sure you get a good oil change.

Personally i am a Mobil 1 synthetic die-hard but it's up to your wallet.

After that you can start looking at other options. If the car really did sit then some engine goo (technical term) is probably present, but will get better w/ good gas and oil.

[ninjo-metal]

The previous owner used mobil 1 religiously about every 2000-2500 miles and high octane gas. I wonder if it could be a bad cam also possibly caused by the bad lifter. I've had a few people listen to it and they seem to believe it diffinently has a lifter prob. But its the slight growl under rev that has them scratching their heads. what about a bad part in the timeing belt area of the car. It is comeing from the top front of the motor...hmmmm...

[izmyttz]

The previous owner used mobil 1 religiously about every 2000-2500 miles and high octane gas. I wonder if it could be a bad cam also possibly caused by the bad lifter. I've had a few people listen to it and they seem to believe it diffinently has a lifter prob. But its the slight growl under rev that has them scratching their heads. what about a bad part in the timeing belt area of the car. It is comeing from the top front of the motor...hmmmm...

Mine just started the same thing the other day. I got back from vacation. The tick is coming from the left side (passengers) side of the intake manifold....damn i hope it isn't a lifter.

[Canyoncarver]

If the tick ocurrs mainly after startup, and goes away after 10 minutes, it's pretty normal. Especially when and if the car has sat for like a week or more. What happens is, the oil in the lifters and top end of the motor drains out and back to the oil pan.

Also, over time, hot oil will leave a residue inside the motor as it cools. This residue will cause hydraulic lifters to stick. Adding some Marvel Mystery Oil (there are other products too) to your oil, for the prescribed amount of time before your next oil change, is known to clean the internal parts of your motor and mostly eliminate the common lifter tick.

If you've read anything about motors in general, you would know that the most severe engine wear ocurrs during initial cold startup. This is because the motor starts running before there is a sufficeint oil supply to all of the bearings and other wear surfaces.

My car averages a startup once every two weeks. At first, I would get the nasty lifter tick, which is basically metal hitting metal at initial startup. This drove me crazy. What I did to completely eliminate this problem was to install a fuel cut-off switch. I installed it at the fuel pump relay. Basically, I turn the switch off before trying to start the motor. I then crank the motor until I see around 15 psi of oil pressure on the gauge. I then flip the switch on, fire up the motor, and no lifter tick at all.

The above mainly relates to the basic lifter tick issues. You might also have bad VTC springs. That noise distinctively comes from the front of the motor where the cam pullies are located. It could also be worn cam journals.

Start with the basic/easy stuff first.

[izmyttz]

If the tick ocurrs mainly after startup, and goes away after 10 minutes, it's pretty normal. Especially when and if the car has sat for like a week or more. What happens is, the oil in the lifters and top end of the motor drains out and back to the oil pan.

Also, over time, hot oil will leave a residue inside the motor as it cools. This residue will cause hydraulic lifters to stick. Adding some Marvel Mystery Oil (there are other products too) to your oil, for the prescribed amount of time before your next oil change, is known to clean the internal parts of your motor and mostly eliminate the common lifter tick.

If you've read anything about motors in general, you would know that the most severe engine wear ocurrs during initial cold startup. This is because the motor starts running before there is a sufficeint oil supply to all of the bearings and other wear surfaces.

My car averages a startup once every two weeks. At first, I would get the nasty lifter tick, which is basically metal hitting metal at initial startup. This drove me crazy. What I did to completely eliminate this problem was to install a fuel cut-off switch. I installed it at the fuel pump relay. Basically, I turn the switch off before trying to start the motor. I then crank the motor until I see around 15 psi of oil pressure on the gauge. I then flip the switch on, fire up the motor, and no lifter tick at all.

The above mainly relates to the basic lifter tick issues. You might also have bad VTC springs. That noise distinctively comes from the front of the motor where the cam pullies are located. It could also be worn cam journals.

Start with the basic/easy stuff first.

Wow thanx!