ok been hearing this for a little while now. i hear this clicking noise coming from the engine compartment, doesn't sound much like lifter tick. only hear it when at lower rpms, sometimes at idle. it doesn't get any faster with engine speed and it has no warning it just starts all of a sudden and last about 30 sec. it is also not all that loud.doesn't seem to affect performance or anything just wondering what it could be. have 5spd if that means anything also my car doesn't use up any oil.

 

Can you record it?

 

does it do it when the engine is hot, cold, or both?

 

yeah and it stops after like 2500rpm right? i thought that was lifter tick.. it can be really loud when it's cold out too! i don't think it's anything serious. mine has been doing this since last year. it doesn't affect performance but only lasts for a little bit and the goes away.

 

it does it when its hot, i knwo my car has lifter tick and it has been about 3500 miles since my last oil change, that could be it, it does it more at idle sometimes it last 20-30 sec, but most of the time it only last about 5-10 sec, very quick. it sounds very close to lifter tick but i thought lifter tick only happened when it was cold and was right when it started up. it doesn't really sound like a bad bearing i had that happen to my last car, what does that sound like.

 

Lifter tick can occur at anytime. Leave your car idling long enough, the ticking will come and go, seemingly of its own accord.

On time oil changes help dramatically in keeping lifter tick at bay.

 

well if its lifter tick then i won't worry about it, doing a lifter swap within a month so it should be gone soon, and yea the oil needs to be changed, that will happen on saturday

 

how much is the lifter swap? and is it an original peice or is it from the vr-4, or after market?

 

If you are referring to using the "3rd gen" lifters with the larger oil passages...there are still reports of the occasional lifter tick. Clean quality oil is the key, seriously. I have 2 high mileage cars that have very minimal lifter tick.

 

Ya know, I dont have a 3kgt, so Im not really sure about this. But if they have hydraulic lifters, Then its just them pumping up to full compression, where they are supposed to be, then slowly leaking down. When they are low on pressure, of course it will tick, then when your RPM's reach 2500, they get full, and go about there job quietly. This is not a major concern, however If thats the case, I would look into getting ir fixed. Though not likely to happen, I have encountered more than one motor that had hydraulic valve lash adjusters, and when they started doing this, they never got them fixed, with catastrophic results...
Course it could be the motor oil you are using isnt optimal, and is getting thicker when its cold, and not being able to flow through the appropriate holes... But then again, you said it was happening when it was hot as well... Try switching to a lower weight oil... maybe a 5w-30 synthetic...