New to the forum here and thankful such a place exists. I've always done my own vehicle repair work and have always been able to figure out a fix for just about every vehicle I've owned but this issue has got me stumped. I picked up a used 98 (4X4)Jimmy with 120k on it with an engine problem for a good price. Which, is a loud metallic ticking sound. If you check this video out, YouTube - Lifter Noise (its not my video but it is exactly the same sound we have) you'll hear the issue we have.

First off there was the check engine light on and a non working tach. I dont know what the codes were because the truck needed a new battery and we (my son and I) picked up a new one and on the same day pulled the valve cover off of the suspected side of the engine and removed all the rockers and push rods. We cleaned them and inspected for wear. Not finding anything noticeable we reinstalled them where they came from originally and torqued the rocker arm nuts to specs and replaced the valve covers. No change -

Then we tried some Marvel Mystery oil combo with an oil change in hopes it might be a stuck or frozen lifter. No change.

Next repair attempt was to research and read up on the stock intake manifold gaskets being prone to anti-freeze leakage into the lifter/cam/ balancing shaft gallery. Upon opening it all up, we found out that the prior owner had done the same repair with Fel-Pro gaskets. I thought perhaps he didnt clean the mating parts well enough as I found small amounts of coolant at the rear of the of the engine. Shop vac'd it out, wiped down and cleaned out best I could. Then, opened the drain plug to the oil pan and poured fresh oil over the lifters basically to flush. Leaving it to drain for an hour and refilled it with oil. Reassembled and started - no change in noise. But now no check engine light, no codes and got the Tach back to working again. Since we were letting it run now in hopes the noise would depart I noticed a fair amount of water vapor coming from the exhaust and lots of water droplets leaking down from the tailpipe. The vehicle had plenty of heat when you turn it on but the coolant reservoir did need some topping off when we first got it.

Then we tried adding a half of a pint of Sea Foam.. persisting on the stuck lifter theory. No Change.

I read up on timing chain issues for the 4.3L and saw the article about the worn timing chain tensioner issue. In running the engine and revving it up as it slowed down I heard the cackling sound of a loose timing chain and though with some play in the chain perhaps there was play in the cam gear and balancing shaft gear. Upon opening er up again we did find the timing chain indeed sloppy and replaced it (no tensioner in this engine). Put it all back together, started her up. Runs smooth as a kitten, plenty of power. Tapping not gone and still droplets of water from the tailpipe and water vapor. No clouds mind you. Not sure if this is normal in a 4.3L.

So now we are looking at replacing all the rocker arms and push rods on the driver's side. We did roll the existing ones on a piece of glass for straightness. All twelve are fine. Also we got a piece of heater hose and checked various places around the engine to isolate the noise. The most noise centers around the middle cylinder on the drivers side.

Any one else have this problem and fix it without throwing in a junkyard, rebuilt or new motor? Thank in advance for reading and recommending possible solutions (if any besides a new motor) .

 

I have the same kind of ticking noise coming from mostly the passenger side. I checked my oil if the coolant was leaking and i notice that for the last couple of time i took my car to the oil change they didnt change my oil it was black and i was low so i changed it and put lucas oil treatment. this saturday i will look in to the rocker arms and see what is going on.

 

Could be a loose rocker or a collapsed lifter. Worst case scenario is a wiped cam lobe (worn down).

To the OP, have you replaced the lifters?

 

I removed all the lifters and disassembled-cleaned all of them from the noisy side of the engine. I've discovered a sludge inside many of them with the most being in one lifter that I believe to be the culprit. It is also one that has more travel in it when pushed down on the lifter's cup (that part the push rod sits in. But this I could only do after cleaning them) with a push rod by hand. When I first took them out, I couldn't push them down at all. It seems the former owner didn't do enough maintenance on his vehicle with enough oil changes that I am finding various bits of sediment. That alone is enough to bind up a lifter's check valve and cause a problem like a collapsed lifter. So I'm changing them all today and doing what other cleaning I can.

By the way the rollers show no signs of wear other than one very fine line on two of the rollers. So I assume the cam lobes to be good. Loose rockers is the first thing I checked for and did by re-torquing all of the metric lifter nuts.

I went with oem delphi lifters and oem 4th generation GM intake gaskets with the aluminum frame. I've heard good things about the Fel-Pro line but am sticking with the Dexcool so wish me luck!

 

With the aluminum framed gaskets and proper installation/tightening procedure, you shouldn't have another intake gasket failure. The plastic framed gaskets don't like water of all things and are very sensitive to torque.

Have you opened it back up after you cleaned and reassembled everything? The reason I ask is because you can assess the oil supply to the lifters by checking for oil in each of the push rods. If there are any push rods that are dry, then the oil galley to those lifters may be plugged up with the same sludge you pulled from the lifter body itself. This kind of condition may cause the same symptoms with brand new lifters.

 

I have a tick noise similar to the one in the vid but the culprit is my PCV valve, it went away with gas. I heard it after I did sea foam and I thought I messed up the motor but thank god its the PCV valve doing its job just a bit noisey..

I posted that just in case someone has a tick noise so they can check PCV valve as a culprit before disassembly. To the OP glad you figured out the problem. taking out 2 birds one stone.

 

Well at one point, just before we replaced the lifters I noticed one of the push rods did yield less oil upon removal whereas it's neighbor had lots flowing out. Before the valve covers went on I added Lucas oil to the cupped area of the rocker arm. That was my way to ensure lubrication until the oil was flowing up. We got the engine fired up and for a few minutes all we heard was the ticking of the lifters.. within 10 mins the tap was back. So, now about that oil gallery situation. What can one do except keep the oil flowing in hopes that eventually it will be unclogged? I'm almost wondering now because the amount of moisture that is flowing from the tailpipe that it is a connecting rod issue or head gasket.. gaaah..