Hello, I am new to this forum and would like some help. My 2001 Neon has what sounds like a bad lifter or valve ticking sound when I first start it up when its cold. It only takes 30 seconds or so for it to go away. Could this be a bad lifter? anybody else have this experience?

 

Hydraulic lifters taking their time to pump up. Perfectly normal. You can try switching weights/type of motor oil. But 30 seconds isn't that bad at all...

Best of luck!

 

Sounds familiar (literally)[&:].
Make sure you use the recommended oil, usually 5W30, and most of all, change the oil and filter regularly!

 

Should I consider a good synthetic oil or an oil additive to help clean things out? What would you recommend for an additive?

 

I never use additives on oil, fuel, or tranny. Mobil1 5W30 has been used since the 12k mile mark, no exceptions.

Hydraulic lifters in any car are going to be noisy, particularly on cold starts. The Neon has oil aeration issues on top of that. Filing the oil too high doesn't help, the pistons splash it all over and aerate it. I fill to just above the "Min" line and check it every fillup. A crank scraper would help out a bit as well (www.crankscrapers.com is very well known and loved by hard-core Neon owners). This next tear-down will see the addition of the supermega scraper for me, but the plain ol' $45 job should be fine for most folks. But seriously, 30 seconds? Mine goes for 2-3 minutes on a warm day, 5-10 when I was up in New England, and sounded like a diesel...

 

Hello, I am new to this forum and would like some help. My 2001 Neon has what sounds like a bad lifter or valve ticking sound when I first start it up when its cold. It only takes 30 seconds or so for it to go away. Could this be a bad lifter? anybody else have this experience?
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I too am new to this forum and I am also experiencing this with my 02 Neon, it sound like a pretty bad knock and only happens when it is cold, any recommendations would be great.
[quote]ORIGINAL: Pfitz

 

I have a 95 and my friend has a 01 and they bothe do it i think it's the style lifter (hydro) they have to build up oil pressure I belive i used some stuff called valve medic on mine a few days ago and the noise went away i also changed to a heavyer oil that might help

 

i have a 04 sxt and im using 5w30 with lucas motor oil treatment. mine does the same thing. it sounds like the lifter is about to come out the valce cover until it warms up. but ive also noticed that when i have it at idle in the driveway and rev it up to about 1500 rpm and let go of the gas pedal i can hear the knock until it goes back to idle. should i stop using the lucas stuff

 

Just a minor oiling issue with Neons (well, with the 2.0L that was plopped under their hoods).... it's just an oil flow issue going up through the valvetrain... the lifters need to "pump" themselves up and usually this happens quicker once the oil heats up and can flow properly. Just go with a decent oil, and look into maybe more conditioned grades in the winter like 0W-30 (thinner than 5W-## on cold starts). I personally have asked plenty of questions on this and I have heard people running everything from 0W-20 to the usual 5W-30 in the winter to help protect their motor on cold starts (I have this same tick in my motor btw). Just stay away from Royal Purple in the winter.

 

why should youstay away from royal purple?