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Maybe it's just that the weather is starting to get cold here and that I didn't notice this before when I first bought the car back in November last year, but lately, when I leave for work in the morning especially and the car first starts up, I can hear the engine ticking for about the first couple of minutes, but then the ticking goes away after the engine's completely warmed up. ...And I don't know if that's supposed to be normal or not.

My oil's at a good level, and it's relatively fresh since I just had it and the filter changed back in July. All seems to be fine, but I'm just curious as to why it would tick first thing in the morning when it's cold cuz it doesn't seem to do it 9 hours later when I leave work and start it up again to go home. Is it something I should be concerned about? For that matter, if it is, how do I fix it?

i had that noise too, its the overhead cams, i was told.

after i did an oil chage, it went away.

try adding more oil

im not an expert but it worked for me.

these cars are known for it. Its hydraulic lifters I beleive. Make sure the oil level is ok and change the oil, and dont worry about it too much. The noise is simply a result of an older japaneese engine with some miles on it....No big deal. Mine does it in the cold mornings aswell. It is like a tapping that abruptly stops after 30 seconds or so and the motor is dead silent afterwords.

Mine does the same thing. If I use thicker oil it does it even worse. Hydraulic lifters.

Ok, well now that we've determind noisy lifters is a common culprit, can anything be done about them? More importantly, is this an issue of some concern? If I don't do anything about it, will it hurt the engine long term?

Make sure your oil is filled and start using 5W or 0W for the winter. Mine started ticking this week too with the first cold front.

lakersfan1 wrote:Make sure your oil is filled and start using 5W or 0W for the winter. Mine started ticking this week too with the first cold front.

Switching to 5W should def help..incase some dont know, the "W" stands for Weight. And obviously 10W weighs more or is thicker than 5W.

g/l

I believe the W actually stands for 'Winter', as it's only after the cold viscosity number. Could be wrong, but pretty sure that's right. Both numbers refer to weights.

lakersfan1 wrote:Make sure your oil is filled and start using 5W or 0W for the winter. Mine started ticking this week too with the first cold front.

BAM! That could be why I didn't notice any ticking when I bought the car last November. I had it winterized immediately right after I got it when I was having the fluids changed and the shop had put in 5W30 for me. Been using 10W30 on the last change in the spring. Great, so I just have to re-winterize it then. Thanks!!

what kind of oil filter are you using

It’s HLAs - Hydraulic Lash Adjusters, Lifters.
For more info please check this link.

http://homepage.ntlworld.com/dorothy.br ... x/p_p7.htm

mitmaks wrote:what kind of oil filter are you using

Crap, I can't remember exactly what make it was. I got it from Napa and it was one of their higher grade ones.

how i found to fix that clicking crap when start up (doesnt hurt anything just annoying...) But how i stop it is that every time i change my oil i put in a bottle of lucas oil stabilizer witch this stuff stops most of that ticking crap. Because it fills in and seals everything, stuff works great! And when the ticking comes back more often thats a good sign that you need to change your oil again.

you can find more info on http://www.lucasoil.com