worn lifters?

[68redbug2000jetta]

hi folks i have a 97 golf 2.0 with 154k that is STOCK minus mk4 aeg exhaust manifold.anyways on cold morning start ups it gets loud like this and quiets down once it warms up (you can still hear a ticking but not as loud).is this normal for age or does this sound bad?thanks

btw that whining sound is my ps pump so dont worrie about that lol

[1997SLOW]

mine does the same thing justswapped valve springs seats retainers and the cam new lifters and its noisey as he and will not go away

[JohnStamos]

Sounds more like a heavy knock then a bum lifter.

Too think viscosity oil, in worn lifters will also cause this to happen in cold temps at start up. What are you running?



Sure its not an exhaust leak at the manifold? They will sound like a knock, until the manifold gets up to temp and expands making the leak less.

[DubLuv1]

Too think viscosity oil, in worn lifters will also cause this to happen in cold temps at start up.

Mine sounds the same way.. John has got me thinkning about my oil choice now. OP, Id be interested to know what oil you are using as well

[aphythiate]

Sounds like piston slap to me. Thats a product of a worn motor and not necessarily something to worry about. Worn piston skirts and worn wrist pins can cause this. As long as you're taking care of the thing with proper oil/maintenance, it should keep chugging for a long time. 2.0's are tough. Most of the older 2.0's I have heard run do have a little slap/knock when cold, and it's not necessarily been lifters. Lifters on VW cars are stinking loud any way you cut it.

As a generalization, I don't think ABA's were built with extremely tight tolerances in mind. Worn ABA's without a cat I've noticed always have a distinct blowby smell in the exhaust. IE their oil control rings aren't gone, they're just gapped loose. Again, just an observation. With that in mind, a slap here or there isn't something to worry about. Now, a rod hammering... That's bad.

Just my opinion, based on a grainy video.

[DubLuv1]

^^ nice info there

fyi OP, I replace one quart of 10w30 with lucas oil stabilizer during every oil change. This seems to help alot. You might wanna try that out if the noise bothers you.

[aphythiate]

That Lucas is heavy stuff, and has to be hell on the oil pump. You might as well use 10w40 or 20w-50, because that's what the Lucas is going to do, thicken up your oil. Don't want to get into an oil debate though.

[DubLuv1]

That Lucas is heavy stuff, and has to be hell on the oil pump. You might as well use 10w40 or 20w-50, because that's what the Lucas is going to do, thicken up your oil. Don't want to get into an oil debate though.

yes thats true

[aphythiate]

yes thats true

I know John is against heavy oil in ABA's and I'm not educated enough to disagree with him.

[1997SLOW]

http://youtu.be/wzK3P0FUC7c
have had the had off twice now new liftrs were used in the had installd at the machine shop

[aphythiate]

http://youtu.be/wzK3P0FUC7c
have had the had off twice now new liftrs were used in the had installd at the machine shop

Damn. That doesn't sound great.

That sounds bottom end, too. I don't think any amount of new lifters is gonna get rid of that. If it's consistent, then you're gonna need a bottom end rebuild.

[1997SLOW]

the bootom end came out of a running cabrio the head was out of my 97 jetta which ran good but had no power do to 240k and worn rings were gonna tear it down tomorrow to see what we can find

[68redbug2000jetta]

im running 10w40 valvoline syn power with a bigger passat 1.8t oil filter.i have a 270 cam and obd1 head on the car now since i posted that video (wanted more power out of my car).it was the lifters just being worn out

[JohnStamos]

^^ nice info there

fyi OP, I replace one quart of 10w30 with lucas oil stabilizer during every oil change. This seems to help alot. You might wanna try that out if the noise bothers you.

Lucas oil stabilizer is literally the worst snake oil on the market.

It does the exact opposite of "stabilizing" the oil. It is a group one "brightstock" oil. The 99cent straight 30grade oil you'd get in a old metal can in 1970 for your old lawnmower is a higher group then it.

It has near zero additives, NO antifoaming additive (which aerates the oil, aka UN stabilizing it.), and has a virgin viscosity at temp (100c) of ~124cst... For comparison...

SAE 30. The viscosity in centistokes (cSt) @ 100 degrees C is within a minimum of 9.3 cSt and a maximum of 12.5 cSt.

SAE 40. The viscosity @ 100 degrees C is within a minimum of 12.5 cSt and a maximum of 16.3 cSt.

SAE 50. The viscosity @ 100 degrees C is within a minimum of 16.3 cSt and a maximum of 21.9 cSt.

And a full break down of grading... http://www.goc.com.kw/oils.html

A quart of SAE 250 gear oil would be less harmful to add then Lucas Oil "Stabilizer".


Here are the oil analysis for it for you to ponder, verses Rotella T6. Both virgin oils, untouched. See for yourself.

[JohnStamos]

im running 10w40 valvoline syn power with a bigger passat 1.8t oil filter.i have a 270 cam and obd1 head on the car now since i posted that video (wanted more power out of my car).it was the lifters just being worn out

A good 0w40 will greatly quiet them on startup, even when new, plus all the obvious benefits, but glad to hear you got it figured out.