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GTV 3.0V6 - Ticking Noise

10K views 6 replies 3 participants last post by  Travc 
#1 ·
G'day Everyone,

I've got an awesome looking '98/'99 Gunmetal GTV 3.0V6 with Tan leather interior that goes like a rocket and is a dream to drive..... except for a d_mn ticking noise that it totally driving me crazy and i need some advice (OK, a bit of a long description for your scientific investigation!) OK here goes:

The car's got 40,000k's on it. I bought it at about 33,000K's (9 months ago) and the engine was nice and quiet. I took it for a long drive down south just after i bought it (about 4hrs drive - roughly 300km's either away) and when i got back i noticed the engine making a distinctive ticking sound, which all the mechanics says it's tappet noise and a hydraulic lifter may be blocked / stuffed. People seem to think it might be a bit sludgy in the tappets? It sounds like one tappet because it's distinctive tick-tick and not like a noisy chain. The noise is quite loud when it’s cold, and goes a bit quieter when it’s hot (temp gauge half way). It’s related to the temperature of the oil I think.

Oh yeah – here’s a note – the car’s temp gauge usually stays only at quarter! And only in lots of stop-start traffic does it go to half. Then, if it’s at half, and I drive at 100kmh down the freeway, it goes back down to a quarter!?!?! It seems to run too cold?!?! Anyone else’s car behave like this?

To get rid of it, I've tried a bottle of "Lifter-Free" (drove it for maybe 1-2000km's). Then I changed the oil using the correct spec oil 10W-50 semi synthetic (i used Penrite HPR10). Didn't work. Put another bottle in, did same K's, still didn't clear the noise (in fact i dont think they made any difference at all). Then, 2 weeks ago i popped "Engine Flush" into the oil and ran the car for 15 minutes. It sounded like it was progressively getting quieter, and from minutes 12-15, the engine was completely silent no ticking! (Great! Change the oil and we’re sorted I thought).

I had done a heap of research (even rang oil companies for suggestions) and from "recomendations" it was suggested I use a thinner oil - a 5w-40 semi-synth oil. I put this in and the noise came back instantly. I drove this again down south, racked up about 500km’s and the things noisy still – maybe even a bit noiser than with the 10w oil. So on the weekend just gone I changed the oil again – this time tried a good quality 20w-60 thicker oil that a mechanic in-law of mine said might help the lifter “pump-up”. Changed it, and the noise is STILL there.

Note that every time I changed the oils and filters, the oils seem to be VERY dirty (mechanic in-law said he thought it was unusually dirty… although this last one looked better – I mean it should do, it’s only done 500k’s!).

FYI - I live in Perth, Australia (warm climate). History of the car – I’m the 3rd owner. 2nd owner apparently always had the oil changed regularly – but maybe the first owner wasn’t as kind?

So… has anyone had any similar issues? Especially with a V6?

Are they just noisy?!?!??!? I did hear some other Alfa’s and some sounded a bit noisy.

Any suggestions as to a cause and a possible solution are MUCH appreciated.

Trav
 
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#2 ·
From what you have mentioned, I gather that you are talking about a 24 valve engine. I do not have direct experience with ticking on that engine. However, I did suffer ticking on my 2.0 V6 turbo engine. At one point I discover that a tappet (cam follower) was scuffed, the surface was concave, no longer flat. After replacing the tappet, the engine is now very quiet.

I suggest that you inspect the front three cylinders (easiest, unless the ticking is defo on the backside.) Remove the cover, rotate the engine looking for a worn hydraulic tappet. One tip-off is to look for a cam lobe that shows an inconsistant wear pattern.

Ken
 
#3 ·
Cool. Thanks Ken. I'll have to psyche myself up to take off the rocker cover and everything and check it out. I think the ticking is coming from the front 3, but a couple of other people think it's coming from the back.


Out of interest, are your tappets hydraulic? (mine are aparently).

Also, how much mileage had your car done before this noise appeared? I wouldn't expect this in an engine with such low k's? (trying to get my head around how these things stuff up :)

Trav
 
#4 ·
My cam followers are solid, not hydraulic. My engine had about 75k miles when I bought the car. The ticking was present from the beginning. There was thinking that the tappets simply needed adjustment. Adjustment helped a bit. Then, later when installing a new timing belt the tappet wear was observed. After replacement, no more ticking.

Of course, with the 24V engines, the hydraulic tappets remove the need to ever adjust the valves. So, ticking suggests a real need to find the source.

Ken
 
#5 ·
Thanks Ken.

Yeah, cos mine are hydraulic I'm not sure if there's much else i can do except hope the lifter is maybe a bit sludgy, and maybe it will clean itself. The thing that p-sses me off is i've recently had the timing belt replaced - and that would have been the opportune time to do the lifter as well... such is life!

Car's still great to drive though!

Trav
 
#6 ·
Have you tried using a screwdriver as a stethescope? You see mechanics doing it all the time and it helps narrow the source of the noise. Put it on one cam cover at a time to help narrow the search.
 
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