hey there everyone i have a slight problem and any advice would be appreciated. 1st the good news i recently bought a 91 tt and instantly fell in love with it. body is in excellent condition and engine runs very strong. after driving it about a day i noticed a fairly loud ticking coming from the engine at all rpms. i havent noticed any change in performance but i am kinda worried. any ideas?

 

how much mileage is on the motor? My dad has a 91 Laser AWD Turbo, and it used to make a ticking noise. It turned out that he was running the wrong weight oil in it, and they recommended 20W50 for turbocharged motors. That stopped the ticking in about 1/2 hr. of changing the oil.

 

101,000 i just changed the oil today with 10w-30 like the owners manual said with mobil 1 and it didnt seem to make a difference. the car was sitting in storage for about a year and a half prior to me purchasing it, would that have anything to do with it? and is the ticking a problem i shouldnt be driving around with or should i just deal with it?

 

how is your oil pressure??
imo i wouldnt be driving it around until i found out what was wrong with it just to be safe

 

oil pressure is about 60 while driving i guess i will take it in next week

 

my car tends to start ticking to let me know it's time for an oil change if i haven't changed it on time.

 

IMO, 10/30 is not the best oil to use in these cars. You should go with something heavier. I prefer 15/50. You could use 10/40 when it's cold and 10/30 when it's really cold.

 

Really? .... I was usin 10-30 on mine MObile 1 Synthetic.

 

Well see, on our little Four Cylinder cars, the lifter's oil guides are far too small for the oil to properly flow through. So an ideal modification is to replace those lifters with an aftermarket component, that provides better oil flow.

That is typically what causes the valve tick, and that is typically what fixes the valve tick.

But listen to 91zxtt as well... He's usually correct about this kind of stuff.

 

thanks ill try the heavier oil and see what happens. by the way i just got back from state college pa. and the modified madness show (formerly carlisle sport compact) and i will try to put up a couple pics if anyone is interested

 

You might also try adding some Marvel Mystery Oil, or similar, a coupla hundred miles before your next oil change. What happens over time, if the oil isn't changed at the proper intervals, is sludge and other deposits start to build up inside the motor causing things like lifters to stick a little. MMO, and other additives tend to help clean the crap outta there.

Also, always change your oil with the engine at operating temp. All of the crap is more likely to be suspended in the oil and not stuck to the important parts.