Went to start my car last night and it started making a nasty tapping noise, turned it off and waited about 10 mins and restarted and the noise was gone. Started again this morning and got the same tick, turned it off and restarted and no ticking or tapping sound. Called one shop and they said it sounded like a lifter, took it to a different shop and was told the same thing. Because the car had time to build pressure the ticking, tapping wasn't there so I'm leaving my car at the mechanic so he can hear the sound later when the car is cold. My question is has anyone else had this problem, and if so what was the cost to have it repaired. I'm a girl so I would like to be able to go back into the shop with some knowledge on this problem. I have a 1995 dodge stealth dohc r/t with about 118,000 miles I've owned this car for four years. Last year I had a new clutch put in but thats all I've had to have done so far.

 

You can rest easy. The DOHC is famous for this and it's called "lifter tick". Am told it doesn't do any harm. I have 2 Dodge Spirits with the SOHC 3.0 and they both have done it. I have a 1992 Stealth R/T and it's lifter tick was quite noticeable. Here's what I did and it fixed the problem. I changed the oil but added a quart of" Risoline". You just replace 1 quart of oil with this. After driving the car for 50 miles the lifter tick is gone and the engine is very quiet. Risoline has been around for years. You should be able to find it anywhere. It comes in a yellow container. Hope this helps. John

 

The holes in the hydraulic lifters are very small,about the size of a pincil lead. The lifters starve a little at low RPM IDLE and the tick comes out. At higher RPM the engine pumps a high pressure through it and the tick is not heard. 3sxperformance sells lifters that have a larger hole and they do away with the tick plus the valve train gets nore oil flow if you are running hotter cams and phase three heads thats a must. It wiuld also be better for your car but not to worry the motor is strong and if it is a 93 or later motor its tough as hell.

 

I agree with these guys, more likely than not it is just lifter tick.

 

correct me if im wrong, but i do belive a 95 has the larger holes in the lifters already,

is the sound just a tap, or does it sound like somethin trying to beat its way out of the valve cover? i seem to have terrible luck with the lifters on mine,( i have a 91 and 2 92s) all 3 of them have had a collapsed lifter at one point in time or another. they are not that bad to change if done when your 120,000 mile service is done (do to the fact that you have to remove the cams to do it). but if its just a little tap, id ignore it, it probably is just the normal stealth lifter tap. if it is really loud though, a collapsed lifter is a possibility.

 

My 92 Twin Turbo does it as well. This is common in these engines. The Risoline is a good idea. I have had luck with Marvel Mystery Oil as well.

92 Twin Turbo, Firestorm Red, 15,000 miles