Lifter tick

[Matt Suffern]

After some enlightenment by listers and some careful listening under the hood, it definitely seems to be the vacuum pump.  I should've known regular 
ol' lifter tick wouldn't make that kind of noise.

That said, what are some of the pro and cons (if any) to removing the pushrod from the vacuum pump?  Will it hinder braking performance at all?  I do 
plan to autocross the car in a couple of weeks; perhaps I could reinstall the pushrod temporarily for that.  Thoughts?

Thanks to all (many!) who offered advice!

Matt

p.s. -- To all who wondered, the car has ~101K.

----- Original Message -----
From: "Tom Love" <theloves at localaccess.com>
Date: Thu, 2 Sep 2004 18:04:28 -0700
To: "Matt Suffern" <msuffern at lycos.com>
Subject: Re: Lifter tick

> Matt,
> 
> I was speaking of that big thing sticking out of the head just above the #2
> and #3 spark plug.
> and as far as oil capacity goes, the owners manual says 4qts and the Bentley
> says 3.7 something. I always just put 4 in.
> You can pull the rod out of the pump and you really will never notice a
> change unless you plan on racing the car. It is a very common procedure.
> 
> Tom
> 
> ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: "Matt Suffern" <msuffern at lycos.com>
> To: "Tom Love" <theloves at localaccess.com>
> Sent: Thursday, September 02, 2004 1:19 PM
> Subject: Re: Lifter tick
> 
> 
> 
> > First off I would run 20/50 and only 4qts of oil. If in fact it is a
> lifter
> > you could try Marvel Mystery oil or Power Punch to try and get away from
> it
> > but the random noise could very well be the vacuum pump instead. It will
> > make more of a knocking sound though rather than the ticking of a lifter.
> > Any clue how old the lifters are? Mine usually last about 150,000 miles
> with
> > regular oil changes and expecting them to clatter a bit at cold start up
> at
> > about 100,000 miles.
> 
> It is 20-50.  It completely slipped my mind when I wrote the original
> e-mail...  Why only 4 qts oil?
> 
> Come to think of it, it IS more of a mild knocking noise, almost like a very
> very mild case of rod knock.  I have the Bentley for the car, but before I
> go
> consult it (it's at home and I'm at work), am I correct in assuming that
> you're referring to the vacuum pump that powers the cruise control, just
> above and
> to the right of the brake booster?  I thought it was inoperative when I had
> the cruise switched off (nearly all the time).  I'd be glad to be enlighted.
> 
> Thanks for the input  :o)
> 
> Matt