Lifter tick

[rocketscienceracing at comcast.net]

Lifter tick is a symptom of dirty, clogged oil system passages. We used to go 'round and 'round on this on another car list I frequented. The bottom line is that anything that improves oil pressure/flow will provide relief. Unfortunately the relief is usually only temporary with such fixes as new/better filters/oil/etc., or heaven forbid, new lifters.

The only long term solution to this "hardening of the arteries" is to clean the oil system. You can tear it down, but there are a number of solvents you can put in your oil that will do a surprisingly good job of cleaning things out. Marvel Mystery Oil (MMO) is one, ATF is another (very harsh!), and there are certainly other choices.

I've had very good luck with MMO. Drain a quart of oil out and fill it back up with a quart of MMO. Put 100 miles on the car. Do an oil change. Repeat if necessary. Sometime 2 or 3 iterations are required if things are really bad.

Scott
98.5A41.8Tqm