noisy lifter questions

Reply Subscribe

Thread Tools

Search this Thread

Mar 24, 2012 | 02:01 AM

AKFORD4x4

Thread Starter

Senior User

Joined: Sep 2007

Posts: 189

Likes: 0

noisy lifter questions

so in my 85 f250 with a 302 I had a lifter tick. I put some Sesfoam in the motor and ran it for about 2 hours and the tick significantly decreased. Now it will tick sometimes and then it will just stop and then it will be there again. I changed the oil after the seafoam. The oil pressure is great, the motor has great power and it does not smoke at all, ever. Is there any adjusting the lifters or is it ok to just run the motor and deal with the tapping?. Its my old work truck so its not like I rely on it everyday for a long commute.

Mar 24, 2012 | 07:35 AM

Franklin2

Moderator

Joined: Jan 2001

Posts: 56,984

Likes: 2,738

From: Virginia

There is no adjustment for the lifters/valve train. Just let it tick, it won't hurt anything. You should have left the solvent in it longer. I have also used stuff in a can called Rislone, and it got rid of it also. But I usually have to drive it for several weeks before it totally goes away. So I would give it another dose of your favorite stuff, and leave it in there till your next oil change.

Mar 24, 2012 | 08:51 AM

Gary Lewis

FTE Legend

Joined: Jul 2010

Posts: 32,875

Likes: 48

From: Northeast, OK

Quote:

Originally Posted by Franklin2

X2. The Sea Foam, Rislone, or other cleaners will continue to work for quite some time, but do their best in the first few hours of use. And, I've seen a situation where Rislone was a requirement on-going. My brother bought a '68 Plymouth Satellite with a 318 that had apparently sat for quite some time. The lifters clattered so he added Rislone and they quieted after a few hours of driving. But, when he later changed oil some of the clicking came back, so he added another can of Rislone and it went away. Turned out he had to run Rislone as long as he had the car, which was several years. All we could figure was that there was a lot of varnish in the engine that was slowly letting loose and gumming the check valves in the lifters, and Rislone would thin that enough to let the lifters work.

Looking back, I wonder if a harsher cleaner, like a slug of ATF, would get most or all of it. Or, just toughing out the clacks for one full oil change as maybe the standard oil wouldn't continue to clean the varnish w/o the Rislone. But, there are those instances.

Mar 24, 2012 | 12:30 PM

AKFORD4x4

Thread Starter

Senior User

Joined: Sep 2007

Posts: 189

Likes: 0

Thanks for the info fellas. I was under the impression that the seafoam would thin out the oil to much for me to drive it for an extended amount of time and cause potential damage. Ill try some more seafoam or the other stuff and run her for awhile if it doesnt go away Ill just run her till she drops and then drop in another motor, thats the beauty of an old work truck that isnt my primary vehicle.

Mar 24, 2012 | 07:26 PM

ri_truck_guy

Posting Guru

Joined: Jun 2002

Posts: 2,091

Likes: 3

From: Suffolk, VA USA

One other thing you might want to consider. What type of oil are you using? I've had a couple of different trucks now where a change to a synthetic blend has eliminated residual lifter tick left after a good cleaning.