Hiyu all, finally my engine rattles have been confirmed as being tappet noise.

I am looking for opinoins, ive been told it is pretty normal for these engines to have a considerable amount of tappet noise - but at 53000?, it is currently running Mitsu's Diamond oil, strange thing about it is that it isnt there when it is cold.....not a tappet to be heard, as it warms however, it gets louder and louder until the engine is a normal running temp, and then of course, just continues to rattle, which will go away as soon as you rev the donk, bit different to my previous experience with cars with noisy tappets - they have just rattled all the time......what do you guys think of it all?

Hiyu all, finally my engine rattles have been confirmed as being tappet noise.

I am looking for opinoins, ive been told it is pretty normal for these engines to have a considerable amount of tappet noise - but at 53000?, it is currently running Mitsu's Diamond oil, strange thing about it is that it isnt there when it is cold.....not a tappet to be heard, as it warms however, it gets louder and louder until the engine is a normal running temp, and then of course, just continues to rattle, which will go away as soon as you rev the donk, bit different to my previous experience with cars with noisy tappets - they have just rattled all the time......what do you guys think of it all?

If it is still under warranty get it check out but it is very unusual for the tappets to go at 53000 I had a couple of my lifts go at 120000. Try a different oil.

Hiyu all, finally my engine rattles have been confirmed as being tappet noise.

I am looking for opinoins, ive been told it is pretty normal for these engines to have a considerable amount of tappet noise - but at 53000?, it is currently running Mitsu's Diamond oil, strange thing about it is that it isnt there when it is cold.....not a tappet to be heard, as it warms however, it gets louder and louder until the engine is a normal running temp, and then of course, just continues to rattle, which will go away as soon as you rev the donk, bit different to my previous experience with cars with noisy tappets - they have just rattled all the time......what do you guys think of it all?

Yeah, I have the same noise. Took it to a Mitsu dealer and they listened to it and shook their heads. I said 'tappets' and they said that these engines have hydraulic tappets and are self adjusting.

Let me know what they do and if it fixes it.

To be honest with you, im a little sick of the whole situation, the ONLY people who think it is harmless are the mob i bought it from, and Launceston Mitsu - Hobart Mitsu think it is a problem, we have changed oils - it had an unknown type of oil in it (brand unknown), and we changed to the Mitsu Oil - didnt make the slightest bit of difference - ohh, and it was 15W-50 that we put in it........but cause it is out of warranty - nobody cares....they know if they leave it - they will make more money later on!

Maybe I shouldve got a nissan.......I have an aquantance who has a friend, who, had a $4000 fuel pump replaced my nissan - and the car was 6 months out of new car warranty - has anyone ever heard of Mitsu doing that? - mine is 5 months out of warranty......

I can tell you now what they plan to do.......nothing

they think they know all, and you\we, know nothing

Are you absolutely positively sure that it is the tappets? Could it be the injection sound

Got it too...105,000 kms on clock. Is the injector noise meant to be that loud??

Hiyu all, finally my engine rattles have been confirmed as being tappet noise.

I am looking for opinoins, ive been told it is pretty normal for these engines to have a considerable amount of tappet noise - but at 53000?, it is currently running Mitsu's Diamond oil, strange thing about it is that it isnt there when it is cold.....not a tappet to be heard, as it warms however, it gets louder and louder until the engine is a normal running temp, and then of course, just continues to rattle, which will go away as soon as you rev the donk, bit different to my previous experience with cars with noisy tappets - they have just rattled all the time......what do you guys think of it all?

Could it be an exhaust leak somewhere hence doesnt happen cold but as the manifold heats up the crack or what ever opens up more and more.
Just a thought, sometimes an exhaust leak can sound a bit like a rattle.

Maybe I shouldve got a nissan.......I have an aquantance who has a friend, who, had a $4000 fuel pump replaced my nissan - and the car was 6 months out of new car warranty - has anyone ever heard of Mitsu doing that? - mine is 5 months out of warranty......

$4000 fuel pump ... :bowrofl: :bowrofl: :bowrofl: yeah thats a good reason to buy a nissan ;)

Anyway, a lifter costs about $50. Usually you only have to replace one or two to get rid of the noise.

Just tell them to find the noisy ones and replace them if you are concerned that it "may" do damage.

may i just ask what damage can be caused by noisey tappets?

well, now you's have me worried

we are fairly cetain it is tappet noise - seems to me that the tappets are not properly self adjusting, and as the engine warms, and parts expand - the tappets are not self adjusting to there optimum settings - may be the cause of it running a little rough - you can feel the engine running idle - it should be perfectly smooth

Intersting enough, Mitsu claims it was caused by lack of oil changes - but it had al its proper sevicing when it was supposed to - in the end im not gonna get anywhere with it (the car has a three year warranty on it, not factory warranty though), i think they will just be hoping it will last till the warranty runs out!

Long and short of it - I wish i never bought it - went out last night, wow these cars can make some wierd noises sometimes, it gets a whine sometimes at95km/h - brake sqeel ALL the time, get other wierd noises from the brakes occasionally, various rattles in the interior come and go as they please - my old TP was better noise wise than this TJ....... :rant:

well, now you's have me worried

we are fairly cetain it is tappet noise - seems to me that the tappets are not properly self adjusting, and as the engine warms, and parts expand - the tappets are not self adjusting to there optimum settings - may be the cause of it running a little rough - you can feel the engine running idle - it should be perfectly smooth

Intersting enough, Mitsu claims it was caused by lack of oil changes - but it had al its proper sevicing when it was supposed to - in the end im not gonna get anywhere with it (the car has a three year warranty on it, not factory warranty though), i think they will just be hoping it will last till the warranty runs out!

Long and short of it - I wish i never bought it - went out last night, wow these cars can make some wierd noises sometimes, it gets a whine sometimes at95km/h - brake sqeel ALL the time, get other wierd noises from the brakes occasionally, various rattles in the interior come and go as they please - my old TP was better noise wise than this TJ....... :rant:

I feel sorry for you but if this car you have has only got 53,000km on the clock and its a 2001 its just seems to me that that car (the previous owner )has never been used at all, hence these problems later in the future. But as i said before it us very unusual for these to do things like this the only prob i had was 2 lifters in the back bank that needed to be changed

its just seems to me that that car (the previous owner )has never been used at all, hence these problems later in the future.

Can you rephrase this - it doesnt really make sence to me......ohh, this was a G'vment car, was sold off at 33000 - and the car yard put another 17000 on it, used as a client dropoff car......

I feel sorry for you but if this car you have has only got 53,000km on the clock and its a 2001 its just seems to me that that car (the previous owner )has never been used at all, hence these problems later in the future. But as i said before it us very unusual for these to do things like this the only prob i had was 2 lifters in the back bank that needed to be changed

Just outta interest ... which two on the rear bank ... I wonder if there is a known problem ... perhaps an oil 'dead spot'. Because I had two on the rear bank go also.

hmmm, didnt read that post properly - rear bank - thats where all my noise is, very much on the left hand side....could we possibly be loking at a common problem...maybe we should see if a sticky can be started and see how many others have the same thing....

the noise in my VR-X developed at 5,000 kms exactly after the oil change. I have now 40.000 kms and at idle it still sounds like a diesel engine whatever oil I tried. the dealer said that the oil weight is to low.........

Well .now I done 64K ,always using Mobil1 & never had (any) problem with noise, :P

hmmm, didnt read that post properly - rear bank - thats where all my noise is, very much on the left hand side....could we possibly be loking at a common problem...maybe we should see if a sticky can be started and see how many others have the same thing....

I have a similar sound in the same location on my TF 3.0, but it does it hot or cold, and also like you it goes away once reving past idle. :confused: Although my engine idles smoothlly and operates without a problem, I still don't like the sound of this "sound" lol

Ohh and it has about 144,000km

Ribec. I changed my oil last week and filled my motor with the recommended oil ( GTX3 15w x 40). After doing this my tappets were very noisy when engine warmed up, I was worried and rang Ultra Tune Penrith. I was told to use either Nulon Engine Worn Treatment or Nulon Lifter Free. I tryed the Nulon Engine Worn Treatment and have no tappet noise at all!!! $12.99 at Auto One.

my old TP was better noise wise than this TJ....... :rant:

Woah! Thats a big call, i feel your pain!

Ribec. I changed my oil last week and filled my motor with the recommended oil ( GTX3 15w x 40). After doing this my tappets were very noisy when engine warmed up, I was worried and rang Ultra Tune Penrith. I was told to use either Nulon Engine Worn Treatment or Nulon Lifter Free. I tryed the Nulon Engine Worn Treatment and have no tappet noise at all!!! $12.99 at Auto One.

Yeah mine have also become noticeably louder since I changed from unknown oil to GTX2 and now GTX3. I might give it a go on Monday and see what happens.

Just outta interest ... which two on the rear bank ... I wonder if there is a known problem ... perhaps an oil 'dead spot'. Because I had two on the rear bank go also.
its was the 2 on the right that where faulty

i'd like to no if that works, fingers crossed (Nulon Engine Worn Treatment)

i to use gtx3 15/40... puzzles me the owner before used it but tappet noise wasnt as bad as now....

still no ones answered what damage is caused by tappet noise?
does it make the noise when theyre not spraying oil or something?

lifters use hydraulic pressure to automatically adjust to the correct valve clearance. I understand what happens is they get gunked up or "sticky" and therefore dont pump up properly. this means that the valves aren't opening fully which means you are not going to get as much duration for intake or exhaust, thus robbing you of power.
Also its noisy, annoying and i imagine causes rockers and lifter to wear faster.
By the way i think the astron has the valve clearance adjusted manually (correct me if i'm wrong)

lifters use hydraulic pressure to automatically adjust to the correct valve clearance. I understand what happens is they get gunked up or "sticky" and therefore dont pump up properly. this means that the valves aren't opening fully which means you are not going to get as much duration for intake or exhaust, thus robbing you of power.
Also its noisy, annoying and i imagine causes rockers and lifter to wear faster.
By the way i think the astron has the valve clearance adjusted manually (correct me if i'm wrong)

I do believe you're right :D

hmm interesting i have always had this problem i would spend anything to fix it as long as i new exactly what it was that was causing it, rather than a trial and error basis. maybe i wil just have all my lifters replaced :nuts: :D

I just purchased a 10/2001 TJ VR-X magna at an auction (picked it up for $11200, :dancin: ), and i have noisy lifters when cold, oh and it has 130,000k's on it. Haven't finished getting it registered and on the road yet, so i haven't had a chance to change the oil and put any additive in. But i think it's very unusual to hear that you have noisy lifters only when the engine has warmed up, noisy lifters are normally heard when cold, or just all the time, but you'll hear them when it's cold first. I haven't looked at the price of new lifters yet, but if they're $50, then i'll try to located the faulty ones instead of replacing them all. As for what damage can worn lifters cause, they usually won't cause any damage (apart from the annoying sound), but in extreme cases the excessive clearance can actually hammer the valve steam or rocker arm(?) (sorry haven't pulled a tappet cover of one of these b4, dunno weather it has rockers). I'll post my results when i've been able to change the oil and add an umm....additive. Cheers

Ok, Brakes, remove the pads, apply anti squeal, (orange paint like stuff that bonds the pad to the caliper), give it all a good clean, use some graphite grease on the ends of the pads where they sit in the caliper, should fix.

Change your oil to Penrite HPR15, I have had a few cars like yours come to me with the exact same problem and this cured all but one, this one needing new lash adjusters, they do not cost 50 bucks each, they can be purchased from Sparco or Bursons for about 21 each. Try to locate which ones are noisy though as you have 24 of them.

Hope this helps

Personally i wouldnt use penrite its a low quality cheap oil, better off using pennzoil 15w 50
although if the noise is only there when its hot that would indicate that the hot weight of the oil isnt heavy enough, Becarful in using additives in your motor as it is only fairly "new" still. When you do your next oil change try running an engine oil flush through it and adding a friction proof to it after. i've tried using Penrite, mobil, castrol,repco and mitsu oil and the engine still rattled now i use the wynns oil flush pennzoil 15w50 and the friction proof its whisper quiet, and it gets a flogging all the time and its still quiet.

this is just my humble opinion

I bought a 2001 TJ Solara last week with only 30,000km on it, when I first start it in the morn, it is whisper quiet, but when it's hot, I can hear a ticking / rattle noise from motor! Im not concerned about it, coz I also have a TS V6 that ticks, and has had 2 full set lifter replacement's so far but the tick always comes back within a few mths! Overall im happy with my recent purchase

Forgive me if this has already been mentioned (didn't read all 3 pages) but it sounds like its your oil grade. If your tappets were completely stuffed they would rattle constantly upon startup. As it seems they begin making noises as the oil heats up and thins out, so try using a higher viscosity oil than you are using now.

still no ones answered what damage is caused by tappet noise?
does it make the noise when theyre not spraying oil or something?

And also they 'bang' down on the valve, instead of fluently pushing down - hence the ticking noise. Running like this for a few thousand k's can cause damage to the valve stems.

I think this is a very common thing, what a dealer would call "characteristic for the engine". every 3.5 i have heard seems to have a rattle at idle when warm. My mitsubishi dealer actually offered to replace all the lifters at the 90k service under warrantly on my KF verada, which did help a bit but not entirely.

And also they 'bang' down on the valve, instead of fluently pushing down - hence the ticking noise. Running like this for a few thousand k's can cause damage to the valve stems.
awesome a 9 month old post gets answered now. lol

Interesting posts :)

I had a mechanic tell me that the lifters will work ok when cold as they are retaining the oil, but as they warm up (and the oil thins), they start to bleed and get rattley.
I do notice it gets noisier if I use thinner grade oil, but I don't like using thick oil in winter as it takes longer to heat up and do it's job up top, for ealy morning starts.

awesome a 9 month old post gets answered now. lol
lol Sorry, haven't been on these forums for a while... lol

I got this problem.. Mits recon its the exhaust headers.. they have replaced them three times and they still recon its the exhaust.. :nuts: :nuts: :nuts:

they even replaced the cat.. :D

so the rattly noise is tappet noise???

i have been told that it is a charachteristic of this engine???

i took some sound clips with my phone, have a listen and let me know if this is the tappet noise that you speak of

rec1 (http://www.ozemail.com.au/~pnewitt/rec1.wav) and rec2 (http://www.ozemail.com.au/~pnewitt/rec2.wav) are when it has just been started - no noise
rec 3 (http://www.ozemail.com.au/~pnewitt/rec3.wav) is when it has warmed up - i think you will hear a big difference

.....so if this noise can be fixed, how is it done, cause it sure pisses me off...

it was serviced not so long ago, and it still makes the noise, is there something else i need to do???

as i have said in my previous post flush the engine (this cleans the lifters out), 15w50 oil (slightly heavier then mitsu recommend), and a friction proof
(obvious reasons)helps quietens them down and protects them. After trialing many products the wynns professional series and pennzoil worked the best .

and regular servicing every 5,000k's and they stay nice n quiet

I would oilchange every 5000 too... recommended 15,000 is too long! :doubt:

so the rattly noise is tappet noise???

i have been told that it is a charachteristic of this engine???

i took some sound clips with my phone, have a listen and let me know if this is the tappet noise that you speak of

rec1 (http://www.ozemail.com.au/~pnewitt/rec1.wav) and rec2 (http://www.ozemail.com.au/~pnewitt/rec2.wav) are when it has just been started - no noise
rec 3 (http://www.ozemail.com.au/~pnewitt/rec3.wav) is when it has warmed up - i think you will hear a big difference

.....so if this noise can be fixed, how is it done, cause it sure pisses me off...

it was serviced not so long ago, and it still makes the noise, is there something else i need to do???


that is the exact same noise that my TH makes to

Yep sounds pretty familiar to me too.
I have had a lifter treatment put through and it made no difference. But thicker oil does 'dull' the noise a bit. :)

Personally i wouldnt use penrite its a low quality cheap oil, better off using pennzoil 15w 50
although if the noise is only there when its hot that would indicate that the hot weight of the oil isnt heavy enough, Becarful in using additives in your motor as it is only fairly "new" still. When you do your next oil change try running an engine oil flush through it and adding a friction proof to it after. i've tried using Penrite, mobil, castrol,repco and mitsu oil and the engine still rattled now i use the wynns oil flush pennzoil 15w50 and the friction proof its whisper quiet, and it gets a flogging all the time and its still quiet.

this is just my humble opinion

Sorry mate, a few years I would have chosed the penrite over the penzoil but no longer. A few months ago I used penzoil as Penrite was out of stock where I get my parts. After 1000k's all my lash adjusters were rattling like pigs and I was low on oil pressure. Dumped the oil, replaced it with Penrite, problems solved.

Wynns is about the only additive I would be tempted to use, I used to use it when I was in business and have seen some great results from the oil system clean and the spureme, (what ever they call it these days)

Haha - I wonder what sort of heckling im gonna get for reviving this old post! - but i thought i'd just add a little bit of info - some of which has come directly from the dealer

As some of you may know I have changed cars, from a TJ to a KJ........

Before I got the Verada (when i test drove it, even took it home for the night so I could really check it out at home) - I paid particular attention to the tappets noise......which, when cold, was non existant, and once fully warmed up, were only just noticable so I was happy with that - but I have noticed that they seem to be gradually getting worse - most noticably after the last service (which was the first service I have had done since buying it) - I have had this KJ for about 7 months now, maybe a little more

Now a point to notice is when I still had the TJ, I had the service manager at my local dealer have a really good look at it - even left the car with them overnight so they could here the car stone cold (they didnt believe me when i said it only rattles when its warming and at full operating temp), after all that they were completely suprised that it didnt rattle cold, and couldnt properly explain it - but since the car was out of NCW, as expected they didnt really want to know about it, so I left it at that (they actually quoted $1250 to replace tappets)

great - ive lost where i was going with this post....hmm....thinking.....

now back to the Verada......she had 75000km on it when i got it - its now up to 84600, and I find it quite amazing that its gotten so much louder after only 10,000k's (have spoken to previous owners, they didnt notice any rattles, car was driven by a mature age woman (around late 40's early 50's)) since bought with 8000k's on it.....

I is going to take the car in to mitsu and see what they have to say about this now, as it is now noisier that my old TJ, yet ive only done 10,000k's in it.....and I also explained to a person there how the TJ was under used car warranty with another Dealer - who of course wasnt interested in any warranty claims in regard to tappets, and low and behold, this Mitsu Dealer, (who is fairly high up within the comany as far as I know), specifically stated (and i have a witness to this), that those tappets wouldve been replaced under there own warranty (he knew for sure the TJ was only under used UCW, and he was referring to the same thing) - so...its going to be interesting to see if they are going to put up a fight over it - i know they love to argue over UCW - my brother has a car from them with UCW, has all the proof to show it, yet they swore black and blue that the car he bought came with no warranty at all (which is also illegal for cars under 10 yrs? or 120,000km's)

anyway...ill keep yu's posted!

I have a simliar issue with tappet noise, am taking it further with Mitsu at the moment, pm me if you want

I have a simliar issue with tappet noise, am taking it further with Mitsu at the moment, pm me if you want

I ended putting it down to the oil. Apparently as the 'hydraulic' tappets get older they bleed when the oil heats up, so they don't stay fully extended, causing the rattle. By putting thicker oil in, they don't bleed so much and aren't as noisey. In fact I was able to get rid of it all together once. That was after a service. I forgot to ask what grade oil they used. Anyway, when I changed the oil myself next service time, the rattle came back. I obviously used the wrong grade of oil. You most likely have to use a 40w50 or somesuch.

Mits have tried 3 different oils, and replaced all the lifters, no difference.

Just thought i'd let yu's all know how i went with Mitsu over my tappet noise

VICTORY!, well for the most part - fianly convinced them the noise was excessive, so they pulled all the lefters out, cleaned em, flushed em, primed em...put em back in - found six were not pumping up properly, so they pulled them back out again and fitted brand newies....woohoo - didnt get rid of the noise altogether, but qiutened them down massivly.....just shows that if you leep plugging away you will get somewhere - now i think ill try this worn engine treatment and see if that helps even more...but i know some tappet noise is normal for these engines, so I am pretty happy with the result so far!!

:cool: i is happy now jan

Just thought i'd let yu's all know how i went with Mitsu over my tappet noise

VICTORY!, well for the most part - fianly convinced them the noise was excessive, so they pulled all the lefters out, cleaned em, flushed em, primed em...put em back in - found six were not pumping up properly, so they pulled them back out again and fitted brand newies....woohoo - didnt get rid of the noise altogether, but qiutened them down massivly.....just shows that if you leep plugging away you will get somewhere - now i think ill try this worn engine treatment and see if that helps even more...but i know some tappet noise is normal for these engines, so I am pretty happy with the result so far!!

:cool: i is happy now jan

Thats good news Mate! Pitty its not all gone but u gotta be happy with some improvement.
My Car now has a really loud clicking noise when it warms up for the first 3 min or so Im going to record it and post a new thread to see if ppl can offer any ideas.

i saw a while ago a fix to this.....

1 - warm engine to operating temperature
2 - rev from idle to 3000rpm smoothly over 15 seconds
3 - let revs drop to idle and wait 15 seconds
4 - repeat steps 2&3 10+ times

aparantly this circulates oil through the small passages etc in the top end that don't get oil in regular operation...

obviously you would want to do this right after an oil change....

hope this helps

Wouldn't this just be a bandaid fix?

well I did this at about 55k and reduced noise significantly....at 70k now and it hasn't come back

just seems that the tappets don't get lubricated under normal driving conditions

I thought I'd drag this one out and dust it off.
I found a product that almost eliminates the 'tappet noise'. Wynns Supreme Engine Tune-up http://www.wynns.net/consumer/retail-products is an additive that, when added to the engine oil, has made a huge difference to my tappet noise. The engine has now got 142k on the clock and has had tappet noise since I got it at 66k. Nothing has made such a diffference like this product. Around $15 at SuperCheap. I can highly recommend. :thumbsup:

Just about to try it

Nothing wrong with bringing up an old post as after all if you were to ask the question all the champs here would tell you to use the search button??

As I stated a few years ago in this very thread, Wynns is a great product,

The Wynns engine flush is also a good product to use prior to the oil change and then supreme after. It is just a shame that the stuff you buy over the counter is not the same as the stuff mechanics use.

Madmagna ..... I just had an oil change in my TR 1991 Tractor (because that was what it sounded like) ...have put in heavier weight Penrite 15w / 60 as recommended by my mechanic and yourself. Going to trial it for 5000kms and then if necessary try a heavier weight. Has made a difference already but only done 30 - 40 k's

I'll try the Wynns as well.......read a few of your posts and appreciate your knowledge :thumbsup:

Madmagna ..... I just had an oil change in my TR 1991 Tractor (because that was what it sounded like) ...have put in heavier weight Penrite 15w / 60 as recommended by my mechanic and yourself. Going to trial it for 5000kms and then if necessary try a heavier weight. Has made a difference already but only done 30 - 40 k's

I'll try the Wynns as well.......read a few of your posts and appreciate your knowledge :thumbsup:

Hey mate, how did this go for you. My car sounds rattly at idle and I want it fixed dammit!

Hey mate, how did this go for you. My car sounds rattly at idle and I want it fixed dammit!
Might be the same issue that type40 and i may have, i think he said it was the clutch fork that is rattling.

Might be the exhaust rubbers? or the flex pipe hitting something?

Hey mate, how did this go for you. My car sounds rattly at idle and I want it fixed dammit!

No escape from tappet. Magna/Rada engine and tappets are the opposite sides on a coin. Mine does when hot. Tried several things (additives, oil change, flush) with zero result. Finally gave it up and decided - if engines gives up due to tappets, will get a new engine from adelaide for around $1300, so WTF :rant:

Hey mate, how did this go for you. My car sounds rattly at idle and I want it fixed dammit!

Rattly how?

My car has a rattle at idle when cold, however, its something loose on the exhaust (possibly the heat shield).

Its not the actual engine....

I need to record it.

I've read about the heat shield thing before on AMC, but I'm not quite sure what (or where) it is.

I need to record it.

I've read about the heat shield thing before on AMC, but I'm not quite sure what (or where) it is.

When you look down directly at the motor, heatshields are the silver things between the motor and the radiator, they cover the exhaust manifolds to help reduce the radiating heat from entering the engine bay. There is also heatshields near the rear muffler to stop heat going through to the boot.

When you look down directly at the motor, heatshields are the silver things between the motor and the radiator, they cover the exhaust manifolds to help reduce the radiating heat from entering the engine bay. There is also heatshields near the rear muffler to stop heat going through to the boot.

Aaah! I kinda figured those were the shields, but wasn't sure. Will take a look and see if they are the source.