Lifter Tick? Or Rod Knock? WHICH ONE??!!!

Hey look what I found... a DAT!!

So the only problem I had was some electronic noise... man these cars are full of electronic fields!! I couldn't find a place that DIDN'T give me a "buzz" sound. oh well.

On top of that, the tick is MUCH QUIETER than what it has been. I even ran it hard for a while to see if I could get it to come back. No luck.

FOR ALL THESE RECORDINGS, YOU'LL WANT TO "SAVE FILE AS..." or whatever.

First file is just an example of my "world's loudest fuel injectors"... I"ve lived with these from the beginning and I'm about 90% sure it's the fuel rail.

I include this recording because you'll need to "filter" it out when you listen to the recording of my "lifter tick". The recording was done with the mic about 1/4" away from the fuel rail, I kind of moved it back and forth:

FUEL RAIL SOUNDS (approx 136kb)

The second recording was done by sticking the mic up under the car in FRONT of the driver's side tire.... it's about 6" towards the center of the car (from the inside edge of the tire) and about 3" back from the front edge of the tire.

Remember, it's not as loud as it was before, and you'll hear some "buzz" in this recording.

LIFTER TICK??? (approx 219kb)

Well, there you have it, I'm dissapointed with how the recordings came out but hopefully they will be good enough!

Actually, it DID sound like the tick to me.....

How old is your oil?
What type is it?

I've been pushing this method lately. I have tried it twice, both times with very satifactory results (both on the 94 and the 95). I must give credit to "WICKEDDREW" for reminding me of this on the 95.

Purchase:

1 - quart engine flush ~$3.00.
1 - quart RISLONE OIL TREATMENT ~$3.00.
4 - quarts CONVENTIONAL 10W/30 or 10W40 (depending on climate) ~$8.00
1 - quality oil filter (OEM or equivalent)

optionally, but preferred:

1 - PCV valve ~$7.00
1 - additional oil fill gasket (only if current oil fill plug is leaking down valve cover).

Run engine to normal operating temps.
Stop. Put in Flush and run for prescribed time (usually 4 - 8 mins).
IMMEDIATELY drain oil/flush mix until ALL is out of the engine (be patient).
Remove old filter. Discard.

Pre-charge new filter with RISLONE (fill til almost full, take a dab, and run it around the rubber gasket). Put new filter on.
Pour remaining RISLONE into engine. Fill to FULL mark with the DINO oil.
Replace the PVC (and the oil fill gasket, if necessary).

Improvement will not be IMMEDIATE...give it a couple of days.

In the three cases I'm familiar with, the tick was GONE in 3 days.

For < $25, its worth a shot.

Please post results if tried.

Bob.

Im with him. Thats basically what I did - then I drove 300 miles. Its GONE!
I was on it hard this morning (some SUV cut me off and then harassed me), ie 100+mph in 3rd gear.
I got out, popped the hood, no tick at all!

EDIT:
explain:
i was in rightmost left-turn lane at an exit ramp.
he pulls up in leftmost lane.
we both turn left, but he turns faster and cut into my lane in front of me
i tail him
i pass him doing about 80...then 100...then (hes trying to keep up gwaaahahahaha)
i stop at light in leftmost straight lane
he stops beside me in turn lane.
opposite light turns green (accross from us)
then, ours turns green - except not the turn lane. hahahahahhaha! he even lurched forward out of expectation - jerk

EDIT2:
what was stupid is we were the only ones at the exit ramp. it wouldve been easier to get behind me instead of cut me off

Again, thanks for all the help... I forgot to mention, I did try the clutch thing and it's still ticking.

again, remember it's not ticking even HALF as loud as it was a couple days ago. We're talking loud enough to hear INSIDE over the stereo at "normal" listening loudness.

Oil type is Mobil One 5-30. Oil is about 2000 miles, and about 4 months old. I have done the flush thing, 2 oil changes ago but that was before this tick started.

I also have a new PCV about 5k miles ago, and doubled-up on my gasket at that time as well.

I'm due for another oil change so I'll go ahead and do the flush again and use Risolone this time. I have used Lucas before (the oil change right before the flush). I'll also use 10-X (can't remember, 40 is for winter, right?)

I'm satisfied it's lifter tick but sort of disappointed... my warranty will replace the engine if it's Rod knock but I have to show a "visibily damaged" part to get anything else replaced... my understanding is the lifters don't really "look" bad so I doubt the warranty company will replace them. We'll see, though!

SO IS ANYONE ELSE'S FUEL RAIL AS NOISY AS MINE??

Yes.....

Its injector noise, I believe.
I think 10W40 would be right for winter.
The thing with conventional oil is:
1) it has more detergents that synth. (cleans out adjustter holes).
2) its denser, and causes the seals to swell more. (hydraulic seals).

Just my .02

BTW...no WAY am I ever using Mobil Synth's again!!!!!

Bob.

Those damn lifters!

From what I have been told at the dealership, the ticking that comes from the lifters is harmless; however, I found it to be as embarassing as all hell....I mean, who wants to drive around in a $45,000 + sports car that ticks like an old alarm clock?? This summer I had finally had enough, and bit the bullet (I had all 24 of the lifters swapped-out). This job cost me around $1000 to have done, but at least I don't have to listen to that damn ticking noise. By the way, does everyone realize that Mitsubishi is aware that these lifters were mis-engineered?? In fact, the lifters were re-engineered twice in the last four years that the car was in production!! The problem (from how it was explained to me) is that the oil galleys in the lifters are too small; therefore, Mitsubishi went back to the drawing board twice to make these galleys larger (and thus eliminate the ticking problem). I had the lifters from the '99 version installed and have heard no ticking since...
On a second note, is it just me or doesn't somebody else think that a recall should have been issued by the manufacturer? I realize that the ticking sound is not a safety problem, BUT why should we have to absorb all of the costs of replacing parts that were screwed-up from the beginning? This whole scenario has really TICKED me off!!
Just wondering what others have heard, and if anyone has ever had ANY money reimbursed as a result of replacing the lifters?? Thanks....