I honestly wouldn't trust any lifter other then OEM with the slight exception for maybe GSC.

Anyway you could have a slightly bent valve that will cause noise but not a lose of power or compression. So even the leak down or compression test might not tell you, especially if the spring is pulling it closed enough to seal.

 

I'm really thinking it is a lifter because the noise seems to go away after 2500-3000k rpm, not sure if its because the engine/drivetrain noise drowns it out or because oil pressure might be getting higher and pressurizing the lifters more and quieting it down more? No matter how I try and load it I cant get it to make that sound if the rpms are higher up but cant say for sure cause my exhaust is loud as anything but it seems to be only making the noise at a lower rpm....and I dont have a oil pressure gauge so I cant reference it too that verify anything

 

any updates?

 

Yeah, I declared it from being my lifters just not fully pumped up below 3k rpm, once I hit 3k area and above I can't hear it, assuming because the oil pressure is higher or I just cant hear it because the exhaust is louder and less load conditions but either way I've put OVER 15k miles on it so far and no problems and half the time I forget about the noise over the exhaust noise, windows being down and the radio. I only hear it mostly when all the windows are up and radio isn't very loud. I'm not worried about it, I figure if something would have happened it would have been by now. *knocks on wood*

 

Mitsubishi has never been known for great lifters. And, over time, they fade. Also, as the miles accumulate, the valves get gunked up.

I've had other engines that started making this noise at the 70 - 80K mileage range and they continued to run until the body was falling off of the car.

So, I'd say, hot tank the head and install new lifters or live with it.

 

http://s1217.photobucket.com/albums/...t=IMG_0007.mp4

this is my video, its more pronounced with this cold weather. makes me feel like a vw when im at stoplights, everyone looks at me with discust haha

 

Deff does sound like a valvetrain noise, it should should like a sewing machine but does sound on the loud side especially since the hood is closed muffling some of the noise and if you have bigger cams that will make more noise.

So last friday mine made a LOUD noise from sounds like only one lifter. It actually seems to get quieter under load and louder when there's less load if that makes sense. I currently have half oem and half JAM lifters in since I was diagnosing my sound and eliminating it was the new lifters. I ordered GSC no tick lifters to see how they work and elimate any other causes. Hopefully fixes all the noises either way.
It happened right after I did a 2nd gear pull waited 45 seconds (turbo timer plus was cold out) and then shut it down, when I went to drive to get dinner the noise started.

 

Good luck

 

Ok so put in a set of GSC no tick lifters and they are IDENTICAL to the JAM lifters. Out of the 1's I compared the one had a hair more surface area that was polished to fit the size of the lifter bore, and the tip had a slightly different tip where it sits in the rocker arm, one was like a mushroom head, the other was more rounded....Also the crimping is different when they crimp on the little cap which I assume is to protect a clip underneath or something..the JAM's had 3 crimping dots and the GSC's had like 6 or 8. Overall they still looked identical without examining them, I'm sure they prob still have the stiffer spring inside to prevent the ticking to keep them pumped up but just had slightly diff specs for each company.

Either way it didn't fix my problem so I'm going to do a compression test and leakdown test if I can use my friend's tester. I found out it was on cyl # 3 because I was unplugging the injectors at idle and when #3 was unplugged it made a direct change to the sound, all the others it just had a misfire and the ticking had the same tone. I'm thinking it's a bent valve, plus #3 always had lower compression than the rest so maybe it was leaking this whole time? It was maybe 15-20psi under the other 3 which were pretty solid across the board but nothing that was going to make me pull the head again since it's my daily driver, I did the comp test maybe 10-15k miles ago

 

As an update for anyone that might find this thread in a search and has this sound or similiar sound it ended up being my #3 wristpin bushing on my Manley rod and the wristpin came out broken also but not sure if that was from me having to hammer it out of the piston. The noise was getting worse and worse then one day I did a boosted pull on my way to work and instantly it got 10X worse, it sounded like a horrible rod bearing, I thought it was lifters so I got another set but of GSC lifters and the sound didnt change. I was going WOT as usual but I guess after months of that much wear the finally got so thin that it took a dump.


Now rebuilding the engine/trans, etc and while the head was off I found like 2 bent valves and dropped the head off at Dave at Head Games and he did new Ferrea valves, Kiggly springs, retainers, guides, seals etc.


If someone has this sound I found a good way to diagnose if it's a wristpin....Take out the plugs, take a long screwdriver, long enough for it to rest on the piston when its at the top of its stroke and still able to push down on the handle without it hitting anything. Crank the engine over via ratchet on crank bolt the so the piston is MIDWAY on the DOWNSTROKE then pushdown on the screwdriver and you should hear a CLUNK or some kind of slop. Then do it with the other 3 cylinders and youll prob feel it doesn't do it with those cylinders unless you had issues with multiple cylinders obviously. Also I found out it was #3 by unplugging each injector one by one and listening for the sound to change the most. I believe the noise either got the worst or the least when I deactivated the cylinder..but either way the cylinder that has the different sound of the rest of them.

 

ugh you just ruined my last day off.....

 

The truth can hurt....I could say "it's prob just an exhaust leak" if you want?

 

yeah i tried moving my pistons when i had the oil pan off and didnt find anything. what did your oil pan look like ?

 

currently in the middle of diagnosing this same exact problem. rod bearings are perfect. removed and bled oem lifters. and finally threw in GSC lifters and no change.. but the noise only happens after 2.5k rpms and gets faster with the rpms after that. tried pushing down on the pistons but didnt feel any difference.. seems like a wristpin is the only thing left but its a brand new motor, wiseco pistons and manley rods..