ok, so the weather wasn't the greatest for doing much work on the vehicles. luckily since my wife keeps the suv in the parking garage at the apartment, i was able to pour the autorx and let it run for a bit. i decided to use autorx since it is a more subtle engine cleaner. anyway, the ticking noise is still there so i decided to film the noise today. yall are able to hear it throughout, especially at the very end. if yall have any more input, it would be greatly appreciated. after hearing this noise, do yall still think it it sludge? timing belt? broke lifter?

http://s926.photobucket.com/albums/a...urrent=001.mp4

 

Well just my opinion it sounds high to me lifter, push rod, rocker. If you use a long extension or screw driver, and put one end on the valve cover and the other at your ear you should be able to determine which side it's on.

 

say again? 1st: it sounds what t be one of those? 2nd: stick a screwdriver to my ear and the other on the cover?

 

It's an old-time trick: using a long screwdriver like a stethoscope.

Place the butt end of the handle to your ear and touch the tip to various places along the valve cover. The thought is that you can hear which cylinder is making the noise.

Alternatively, there are ACTUAL automotive stethoscopes available in the "oddball tools" section of your favorite auto parts store. Right next to the special brake tools, cylinder hones, etc.

Not sure what you'll DO with this info (e.g., suppose you positively identify the sound as coming from cylinder #3. Then what?)

 

gotcha...i figured thats what he was referring to.

hammer do you stil think its sludge? if not, how long can you go with a ticking noise like this before it is a worse case situation...i don't like putting this off, but i need to save up some before i just go try and PAY to get this officially diagnosed..

 

You should get another oil change to get the gunk out of your crankcase.

Try to listen as suggested to localize where it's coming from, maybe then pull the valve cover and check for wear or loose rockers etc..

 

Yep.

 

After you pulled the plug and drained the oil, did you pull the pan? You'd know if you had a sludge issue and/or a clogged pump screen right away. Sometimes all it takes is manually cleaning the screen. I'd rule out sludge FIRST before I dove into the top end.

I just listened to your clip, sounds like lifter tap to me. As far as how long can you go? Hell, I had a '89 Dodge Raider (Mitsubishi Montero) I bought new off the lot, at about 95k miles it got a tap, about like yours. I decided I wasn't gonna f*ck with it until it got worse as the vehicle was my 2nd vehicle by that time. Had the thing till it the spring of '89, the A/C compressor fried in the fall of '88 (and I mean smoked, caught fire, fried!) when the thing had 134k miles on it. Yanked the A/C system out for the winter. Sold it JUST before the hot weather came compete with the "tap" to a guy who just wanted it for a woods & hunting season 4x4. I know up until 2004 when I moved from Georgia the guy still had it and hadn't fixed it yet...

 

So gotta update.

Her engine light came on along with oil light and flickered with the ticking noise the other day. I decided to get it checked out since it's not sludge. Yesterdays diagnosis was oil pump going out. They hooked up hoses to get psi readings. IIRC psi at idle was 40psi and at 2k rpm it was 80psi. Once it reached temp at 2k rpm it was 60psi and at idle 4.5psi. They say it's bad pump. Cost $1000. $500-600 labor, $300 new pump and ~$100 timing belt. I was like WTF?

Called around and most shops quoted $1100 for this job.

Called stealership and the lady said she hasn't seen an outlander with a pump issue in the 7yrs she's been there. She said get 2nd opinion before spending that much. What sucks is shops around here charge $50-122 to diagnose. I'm thinking taking it to dealership to diagnose and then a local shop to fix. Anybody have ideas or input? If it is oil pump, I don't wanna drive it and **** up the motor. That's more than $1000 to fix.

Would an oil pump tick if it was shot? That's what gets me is the ticking...thanks again y'all. Needless to say this is a little stressful.

 

If oil is not circulating ( pickup could be blocked) then other parts tick.

Try to drop the oil pan and check out the pickup yourself, get a gasket, new oils & filter before you start.