noggin scratcher

[VetteOwner]

heres the deal: my trucks valve lifters (hydrolic,lifters, pushrod engine) are worn out and are starting to tick (either clogged or seals are worn) it only used to do it when it was cold, (oil drains from them, takes some time to pump them back up, even longer with cold oil) it used to go away once the truck was warm.

that was 4 years ago

flash forward to present, it was 70*F today, had to do some errants (pick up new brake shoes for chevette) drove a good 20 miles on 55mph highway, truck got up to normal operating temps and was there for at least 14 of em.
i pulled in the drive, got out, and was listening and could hear them still ticking slightly. so im thinking that thier getting on thier last legs.

now, what would weak lifters do for MPG wise? since they click, that means theres clearance so the valves arent openign as soon/not opening fully. it has even and high compression on all 4 cyl. MPG hasnt changed (got 28 last fill) BUT could it be better? if you think about it, sure it doesnt open the valve all the way which= less fuel/air mix being sucked in, BUT exhaust isnt getting all out either, the engine might want to richen the fuel/air mix to even things out ya know?

it idles/runs smooth as can be, (sometimes misfires on startup) good power, done basic maintince to it, id liek to get this thing before one fully collapses and the valve doesnt open (thus creatign a bad misfire) and i know the truck doesnt drive at all on 3 cyl...

its a 1995 chevy s-10 2.2l(4banger) 5speed. same engine as the cavileers so if u guys know that would be great!

also where could i find a fuel map for a 2.2L? (has to be the 94-97 s-10's and cavi 2.2L's)

[GasSavers_RoadWarrior]

Less valve lift at low RPM is actually meant to be good for mpg. For V8 motors that use them one can get lifters that are designed to bleed down a bit, typically used with wild race cams to make them more streetable.

As long as they pump up good and stop ticking at 3000 RPM or so, they are probably doing you a favor mpg wise.

I'm actually looking at reaming the holes out on my lifters to make them a bit looser at lower RPMs... (As soon as I scare up the data about how big a hole they need at what oil pressure)

[GasSavers_RoadWarrior]

Found a linky...
http://www.amotion.com/tech/rhoads.html

and this patent makes interesting reading...
http://www.patentstorm.us/patents/71...scription.html

[GasSavers_Ryland]

I wonder if replacing your oil pump, or at least cleaning off the pick up screen, so your oil pressure is higher, then maybe going with a slightly thicker oil, otherwise I suspect that a whole new engine for your truck might be able to be found at a reasonable price, new for maybe $1,200, used for much less, this is mostly worth thinking about if you really like the truck, and it's body is in good shape.

[bowtieguy]

not a mechanic and this only happened to me once, so take it w/ a grain(or hill) of salt...

developed noisy lifters in my olds sometime after 100k miles. so, i put a 40 weight synthetic oil in it to see what would happen. not right away, but it did quiet the noise.

apparently syn oil does clean up sludge as advertised, a mechanic tells me when i inquired about it. but how much sludge do you have is the question? ya could break some stuff loose and do more harm than good.

listening to your posts, you sound like an old school mechanic. many of those guys hate syn oil, but some do like them.

[VetteOwner]

yea i cant justify spending $5 a quart of synthetic when i can get a 5 qt jug of regular oil (castrol GTX) for $12 :P one of those +$3.19 for a delco filter and i have an oil change for less than $20...it doesnt use a drop of oil between changes nor is it leaking anywhere.

but ive ran 1/3 can of seafoam in the crankcase twice now with prolly some results(oil came out black as night). ive ran the truck off pure injector cleaner till it ran dry. every oil change i do a seafoam treatment thru the intake. so i belive its as clean as it can be inside.

like ive said its been making this noise for some time and its never been a major issue but i know what can happen if one of the lifters suddenly fails...

oil PSI is great, 60+ on highway around 40 at idle.

i can faintly hear em ticking away (some more than others) at idle once its warm but anyhting higher than about 1200 rpm the muffler drowns out the engine noise :P i can try recently again and prolly take a short video of it to post what im talking about.

[bowtieguy]

fitty-cent, i mean $5 dollars? what chu talkin 'bout willis?

i buy the $8-$10/qt stuff that lasts an entire year!

did a valve cover gasket on a saturn years ago. ran syn in it since 30k miles to 130k before getting rid of it. the head was BEAUTIFUL--looked like new. couldn't even finely swab for sludge, nor scrape anything off the cover if i tried.

now inversely, took the cover off a grand prix w/ only 70k mlies, and it had sludge throughout, tho not terribly bad. previous owner kept it well maintained and had the dyno label "next oil change" sticker on the windshield.

just my experience.

[VetteOwner]

alot of those quick lube places use crappy oil (u know the like $1 a quart bottles :P) i did replace the valve cover on my s-10 and when it was off it was very clean inside, same with the chevette. im sure theyve only seen dino oil, (found a botle of walmart oil in the car when i bought it, so most likey had that stuff)

heck even the 1929 model A engine i pulled apart still had 3 qts of liquid oil from at least 1951(last time it was driven on the road, might have been used around the farm for a year or so afterwards, then sat for a very long time) in the pan. it only had about 1/2" of sludge in the bottom of the pan (like major sludge tho, consistancy of jello) so if old (rememebr before all the detergents and such) dino oil can form a 1/2 layer of sludge in a pan thats 57 years old...i think it can last about 6 months in my car...


if i remember right, i think we tried some engine lifter stop noise (u know the miracle in a jug) stuff a long time ago, it helped for id say a week then came back...

what sucks most is to get the lifters out i have to remove the head...(means headgasket,timing chain, etc all that fun crap lol

[GasSavers_Erik]

If the lifters are permanently collapsed, you may be able to find some after market adjustable push rods for it. The you could adjust the lash the old fashioned way- but if they pump up and leak down, you will likely just burn a valve (if you adjust them when they are leaked down and then when they pump up again the valves won't close all of the way).

I think it would still run even if a lifter totally collapsed. I only think hydraulic lifters have about a quarter inch of adjustment and since most cams have half inch lobes (unless they are worn out) the valve would still open halfway.

[GasSavers_RoadWarrior]

Don't knock all the Walmart oils, that Supertech/Tech 2000 synthetic is amazing stuff for the price... it'll get you a couple of mpg over regular. However, best thing I've found for old engines, no magic in a can, is Penzoil "High Mileage" in the correct grade for the vehicle. Wonderful stuff, stops seeping, leaks and smoking AND cleans up the motor real well and gently enough you won't have problems, will probably take 2 or 3 changes until it stops coming out black though. Takes a week or two to stop seeps, leaks and smoking.