can you help me ?? ze engine. -> HORRIBLE TICKING NOISE

wagZE · Post by **wagZE** » April 8th, 2005, 11:50 am

i did an oil change on the KLZE i put in 2 quarts of oil soon as i did the change. The ticking noise wasnt too bad at first BUT The next day there was a horrible ticking noise the guys at the mazda dealership think its my lifters and say my engine is probly about to go.

i added oil as soon as i noticed the ticking noise i added another quart of oil. it continued so i added 2 more quarts which got it to full.

the ticking noise is absolutely god awful and sounds like somehting is going to die. so i drove the car about only 20 miles with the ticking. its not a consistant tick it gets worse then better then worse.

Should I not even try to fix the engine is it worht it? or is it something as simple as a wrong oil filter?

jschrauwen · Post by **jschrauwen** » April 8th, 2005, 1:03 pm

You haven't given any history as to what lead up to this "ticking". Your post gives me the impression that the ticking started when you went to do your oil change. Oil cange requires approx 4 litres oil when including the filter. Why would you only put in 2 quarts??? Very strange. Mazda techs "think" it's your lifters. I hope you used a Mazda oil filter and not gone the cheap route. A liitle more history or background leading up to this ticking on your ZE would be helpfull. One consideration might be that the valve cover(s) may be tighten down too tight and making contact with the the cams. This was a factory flaw on early MX engines and since the valve covers on the MX and ZE are interchangable, one would assume that the ZE's may have experienced similar problems. A newer valve cover gasket as well as thicker rubber washers on the tightening nuts was the remedy for that particular problem. An automotive type stethoscope to listen for and pin point the exact troubled area may help. What was the type and viscosity of oil you used? Re-post when you can address some of the issues identified. Hope this helps.

hgallegos915 · Post by **hgallegos915** » April 8th, 2005, 1:06 pm

also check that the tensioner isnt going, sometims its that. Mine it was that...but well started making the noise again after one week. if its the rear head ticking its wither friction spring or tensioner. BUT after oil change.. hmm frinction gear?

mxmaz · Post by **mxmaz** » April 8th, 2005, 3:00 pm

Yeah its probably your hla's. If you only noticed this after your oil change maybe they used a heavier weight oil then what was in it before. Thinner oil is better for hla noise.

babyblueMX3 · Post by **babyblueMX3** » April 8th, 2005, 5:13 pm

it's always one of those three:
HLA
FG
TBTA (timing belt tensioner arm)

mymx.3 · Post by **mymx.3** » April 8th, 2005, 7:20 pm

My MX now has 150,000 on the motor. I do not know if the other owner had anything changed eg. timing belt, tensioner... I had the oil changed about three months ago ... I've driven 2,000 kms .. I went with 5W30..I usually had 10W30. Now the valves are clicking louder, she idles ok but then misses, and driving there is a hesitation the odd time ... this started about a month ago ... everything changed after putting the 5W30 in it or is it a coincidence.. please give me your ideas anyone.....thanks

Robotaz · Post by **Robotaz** » April 8th, 2005, 7:20 pm

I was wondering since i'm just a stupid engineer if you wouldn't mind not talking in acronyms and actually spell out those other two items(HLA, FG).

babyblueMX3 · Post by **babyblueMX3** » April 8th, 2005, 8:14 pm

Robotaz wrote:I was wondering since i'm just a stupid engineer if you wouldn't mind not talking in acronyms and actually spell out those other two items(HLA, FG).

Hydraulic lash adjusters.
friction gear

jschrauwen · Post by **jschrauwen** » April 8th, 2005, 8:24 pm

mymx.3 wrote:My MX now has 150,000 on the motor. I do not know if the other owner had anything changed eg. timing belt, tensioner... I had the oil changed about three months ago ... I've driven 2,000 kms .. I went with 5W30..I usually had 10W30. Now the valves are clicking louder, she idles ok but then misses, and driving there is a hesitation the odd time ... this started about a month ago ... everything changed after putting the 5W30 in it or is it a coincidence.. please give me your ideas anyone.....thanks

Deb, wouldn't hurt to go back to 10W30 in the next week or so and at the same time the shop can do a quick inspection of your timing belt. Normally they're changed every 90K to 100K. I prefer to do it sooner just to be on the safe side. At 150k, the tech guys should be able to tell right away if it is still the original or not and as well be able to pinpoint the clicking problem. That's all predicated upon if you have a preferred shop that you can trust. You've probably read about Kenzie and the difficult time she is having with her local Mazda shop.

wagZE · Post by **wagZE** » April 11th, 2005, 10:48 am

i found out one of the spark plug wires was bad, only one i could get in the meantime is a v6 maxima spark plug, no success it didnt work still wont start.
spark plugs were foul (carbon, and oil covered), replaced five of them one is stuck in there = ( didnt wanna strip it.

yea i really dont trst my local mazda dealership, they said i need a new engine and jst kept tryin to sell me one.

they did however say first instinct he thinks its the lifters. said itd cost at least $1,500 o fix it.
screw that.

the ticking was coming from the head closest to the front bumper
if that is relevant.

I tested for spark and i do have spark.

mymx.3 · Post by **mymx.3** » April 11th, 2005, 11:59 am

I do not trust any garage .. dealerships I think are the worse .. and after all these years .. you think I would have one that I could go to ..

DavidOS · Post by **DavidOS** » April 11th, 2005, 1:51 pm

mazda here in london quoted me 800 CDN $ to change lifters,
regardless, first order of operations before blowing your money is to
do an engine flush, this cleans up gunk and crap cause in the little holes in the lifters and also helps the ticking.

ALSO if you use mobil 1 synthetic 10w30 you get less ticking.

PATDIESEL · Post by **PATDIESEL** » April 12th, 2005, 12:15 am

Did I read that correctly, you did an oil change and only put in 2 quarts of oil after the change? Then later added a total of 3 more which brought it to full? If that is so then others on this board need to read better before giving adviseor I need to check how I read. That would make 5 quarts which is WAY too much oil for a ZE or 1.8 and the problem was running the car with only 2 quarts of oil in the first place. You probably do need alot of things on the head replaced now. Has anyone ever taught you how to change oil? You probably need to get a second and maybe third opinion from mechanics that have experience working on MX-6s and Probes, if you ask they will tell you if they have experience and depending on how much you know talk to them a bit about the car to guage how much they know. Then you should have a good idea of what the problem is and what it will cost to fix it. No one on this board can really do more than guess at the problem without seeing the car.

i did an oil change on the KLZE i put in 2 quarts of oil soon as i did the change. (this is the first 2 quarts you put in)
The ticking noise wasnt too bad at first BUT The next day there was a horrible ticking noise the guys at the mazda dealership think its my lifters and say my engine is probly about to go. (Mazda is probably correct, running that low on oil will destroy and engine pretty quickly)

i added oil as soon as i noticed the ticking noise i added another quart of oil. it continued so i added 2 more quarts which got it to full. (that is a total of 5 quarts now and again WAY too much, too much oil is just as harmful as too little)

wagZE · Post by **wagZE** » April 16th, 2005, 10:57 pm

is my car not starting because it has too much oil?

ok yea the oil is past full now. should i drain some?
i havent been able to start the car , i do have spark on every cylinder, no obvious problems.
the car just wont turn over i think maybe i need a new cap because i put in new distributor but not cap about 3 weeks ago.
should i test the compression?
THE CAR HASNT WORKED SINCE I PUT IN NEW SPARK PLUGS I THINK THEYRE WRONG ONES.
I put in bosch platinum +2 model number 4301
because since i put them in the car hasnt worked. i already tossed the old ones.

wagZE · Post by **wagZE** » April 18th, 2005, 11:09 am

i found out i had the wrong spark plugs in it, the dumass at schucks gave me the wrong ones. The Ze is running but ticking horribly. I think a piece of a spark plug the end fell down in the engine. I am taking off the head tomorrow. i hope it didnt mess anything up.

MX-3.com

can you help me ?? ze engine. -> HORRIBLE TICKING NOISE

can you help me ?? ze engine. -> HORRIBLE TICKING NOISE

Now it wont even start! tried a few things.... HELP

OK I am a few steps closer........