Hi all
I;ve a 05 TW with noisy lifters when hot, not cold as you might expect, it is quiet when cold and noisy when hot ,had lifters replaced oil pump, oil and filter all to mitsubishi specs any ideas would appreciate any help

Welcome to the club mate......

With regards to your problem, and considering you've replaced the lifters and all the other usual suspects (must have been a costly excersize!), are you sure it's "lifter noise"??

The reason I ask is that in my experience - magna 3.5L V6's are prone to "rattling" when idling at temperature. Apparently it is something to do with a plate between the factory headers and the head (or gasket) and the bolts coming slightly loose causing the plate to vibrate and cause the noise.

Thats pretty much all I can think of ATM.

so tightening those bolts should stop any rattling/lifter noises??

well, you know what i mean.

i am having the same problem... the noise seem to be slightly softer after i did an oil change from 10w-40 to 10w-30... hey by the way mag05, what engine oil are u using...

I would look at the wear in the rockers themsleves
after changing the oil
check that each tappet is getting oil to it when hot
buy leaving the rockers cover off

see what happens

yeah guys the oil is 15/40 as per recomended no wear in the rockers oil is getting to overhead gear and the metal plates are tight , had a stethascope on the valve covers and you can hear this is where the noise is however if you leave the engine for 1/2 hr and restart it is quiet till back to operating temp.

had a stethascope on the valve covers .

:bowrofl: :bowrofl: :bowrofl: :bowrofl: :bowrofl:

you 100% sure it's lifters and not something else??

how loud/bad is it?

yeah sure it;s lifters as local dealer had a play but to no avail still noisy they have checked all top end so any other ideas may help I did check the metal plates but there tight

are the tops of the valves hammered or smooth
I would be looking at the cam caps bearings and clearences and valve springs sticky valves and cam condition for groves next

yeah local dealership checked cams, valves, oil flow and still not quiet

Hi all
I;ve a 05 TW with noisy lifters when hot, not cold as you might expect, it is quiet when cold and noisy when hot ,had lifters replaced oil pump, oil and filter all to mitsubishi specs any ideas would appreciate any help


Path of sound in engine bay may confuse unexperienced person.I'll give you my example.
My Magna was 18 mths old with 48000 km when I bought it in 2001. It was regularly serviced but there was that annoying sound for which I tought were lifters or even injectors.
I complained to service manager twice, but was told it is normal for 3.5 l engine to be noisier than 3.0 l when I told him that a friend have older 3.0 l magna with more km on it and it runs smooth and quiet.
I did not give up so couple a weeks latter I complained again. This time there was different person, he listened to the engine and he said that pistons were making noise, not the lifters.
They removed the engine and stripped it down, meassured pistons and bores and found to be excess. Fitted new short motor. It costed them more than $3,500 to rectify noise in the motor. It was done under warranty, didn't cost me a cent, only ten days I was driving a Lancer (courtesy car) instead of Magna.
After runing in the new motor it was much quieter than before.
Your car should still have warranty. Did you try to go through service about this noise problem?
Oil pump usually will outlast the engine. There is simple way to check oil pressure to see if oil pump need to be replaced.
It is very unlikely that all 24 lifters will be faulty.
What explanation, whoever sugested replacing pump and lifters, have about noise still be present?

the service tech from local dealership tells me that is probably the best they can get it yes the car is still umder warranty and yes the noise does seem to be in the lifters as they had a stethescope on the rocker covers and are convinced that is where the noise is I am going back this week to complain again because it is still noisy like marbels rolling in a tin when you park between two cars. I'd be glad if it was pistons and they had to replace the motor but I feel I'll just get the merry run around agin

question for magna buff. Is it possible for worn main bearings to cause a big enough drop in oil pressure to cause noisy lifters?:doubt:

warm up the engine and put it in park, hold the rpm at 2000rpm and slowly move it up to 3000rpm and back down again repeat this for about 10 min, also try between 1500 rpm and 3500rpm have this problem at work all the time normaly causes by cars sitting for a long time. this fixes about 98% of cars. but dont just rev the crap out of it, it will not help. lifters bleed themselves at around the 2000rpm mark.

the other thing to try is a engine flush using the lifter free stuff, but dont leave it in motor drain and refill with clean oil.

Hold the rpm at 2000rpm and slowly move it up to 3000rpm and back down again repeat this for about 10 min, also try between 1500 rpm and 3500rpm have this problem at work all the time normaly causes by cars sitting for a long time. this fixes about 98% of cars.

Any reason/explanation why it (just rev around 2000 rpm) should cure 98% of cars having lifters noises?

when the motor stops some of the lifters are under pressure from the cam and valve springs, slowly the oil will bleed out of the lifter,

holding the rpm at around the 2000 mark the lifters are at a point that they pump back up.

this process is in tech notes and in workshop manuals.

every 2nd hyundai i get in at work have noisy lifters and this process fixes them,

also works on mitsu ford kia most cars that im aware of.

holding the rpm at around the 2000 mark the lifters are at a point that they pump back up.


What about driving at around 2000 rpm for around 5/10 mins? Shouldn't it do the same job?

Holding 2000+ rpm for 10 mins is kind of annoying, specially for the neighbours? lol

nop need to do it with out load on engine.

when the motor stops some of the lifters are under pressure from the cam and valve springs, slowly the oil will bleed out of the lifter,

holding the rpm at around the 2000 mark the lifters are at a point that they pump back up.

this process is in tech notes and in workshop manuals.

every 2nd hyundai i get in at work have noisy lifters and this process fixes them,

also works on mitsu ford kia most cars that im aware of.


it works... but soon after give it another 2 days the sound comes back... i give up... but i am quite sure this method works but non lasting....

Have tried that I read it in another post a while ago and the whole 24 lifters have been replaced as well as the oil pump

question for magna buff. Is it possible for worn main bearings to cause a big enough drop in oil pressure to cause noisy lifters?:doubt:


Theoretically it may be possible, check this link. www.geocities.com/t115_2000/Adjusters.html
But, many people notice tappet noise on newish cars, which are still under warranty and have relatively low mileage ( to early to have worn main and conrod bearings ).

I too have this problem sadly. While the car was under warranty I had full set of lifters replaced, heads removed and complete inspection of top end of engine. They also did work on the oil pump to increase oil pressure. All of this work took me constantly hassling the service manager for him to keep looking at it and even then it dragged on for months. My warranty has now run out and the problem is still there. I've had to give up. I know its not right though, my previous TJ never had this level of tappet noise.

I think mitsubishi should recall all the noisy engines and stand by the statement "better build better backed" what a laugh , it should be better sell don't come back!! this is the very last magna for me, noisy harsh engine and poor after sales service

I think mitsubishi should recall all the noisy engines and stand by the statement "better build better backed" what a laugh , it should be better sell don't come back!! this is the very last magna for me, noisy harsh engine and poor after sales service

They are noisy, but they last for 250,000+ kms, so "better built" :bowrofl: . Better backed as the dealers normally behave well, but ripp u off.lol

Engine is not the problem for Mitshi, tranny is!:rant:

Actually I think they are a nice smooth quiet engine, compared to a commodore. Even with tappet noise!!

And no complaints with the autos either.

My major complaint is with the lack of service from the dealer, who seems unauthorised to do much without approval from Mitsu, which requires inspection from them. The wheels turn so slowly, you just give up.

I agree that the wheels turn slowly and yes the motor is quieter than the commadore and on the road the car is loverly only let down is idle at traffic lights and shopping parks. It's a shame to have such a loverly car spoilt by suits who only count dollars instead of people. I bet the heads of Mitsubishi don't drive round in noisy engined cars.

But being under warranty, you are not going to pay for it.. and you are not restricted to which Mitsy dealer where you take it.
They maybe crap mechanics where you go.. try another Mitsi dealer.

Yes the car is under warranty and the local dealership is owned state wide by the same person so to go to another dealer in the state is fruitless I have already tried and evan contacted mitsubishi who say they will discuss the car with there tech dept so far no help so this is why I thoght some one else has experianced this problem and may have found a solution

OK guys here is a positive fix for noisy lifters add 1 bottle of NULON worn engine treatment to a fresh 15/40 Penzol oil change and drive for approx 400Klms and the result is a quiet smooth engine, this has worked in my car which had very noisy lifters,the car is performing faultlessly for the first time since purchase. Try it for approx $12-$15 (for Nulon) what have you got to lose

anyone knows what the main difference between nulon worn engine treatment and performance engine treatment... from the back of the bottle the benefits are the same just that one is E10 and the other is E20... i presume E20 is better?? so should i buy the performance engine treatment over the worn engine treatment??

Yeah U10 worked in mine (Nulon worn engine treatment) but hey try the U20 :D

hahaha... okok will try the E20 and keep u updated...