Re: lifters & head work

[Brooks Ellis <brooks@frii.com>]

>Your lifters may not be the problem.  There is a cam actuated auxiliary
>vacuum pump which also makes "lifter noise".  If that is your noise,
>replacing lifters will not help.

I'm beginning to suspect something else: I went out to examine the source
more carefully, and it seemed like the sound was coming from the middle of
the intake manifold. It sounds like a singular point-source, perhaps a
single lifter (not likely..?), or something on the crankshaft making noise.
Sort of between the valve cover and the manifold, really, right by the #3
cylinder. I took a screwdriver (to listen! not to adjust!), to see if I
could figure out where exactly it was, and the intake manifold didn't have
the clicking noise, the opposite side of the engine _did_ have slight
clicking to it, and that was the only place I could hear any clicking. I
tried everywhere I could reach around the engine.. I went under the engine,
and it wasn't coming from the alternator, or the turbo compressor..

Then it started to warm up, and quieted down (for once! of course, just
when I needed it to make noise..): so I'm waiting for it to cool all the
way down to I can do more testing/listening.

Thanks for the all the info, BTW guys. Sounds like head work isn't going to
be a good idea, until I can find someone good to do it, and spend $$ on it.