Clickity Clack Noises Under the Hood!

[Friborage]

It's a 4.0L OHV motor, 130k on it.

I've got a noise going on that the best I can describe it is a clickity clack. I took the belt off and ran the motor and it's still there. I've noticed you cant really hear it on start up, or for awhile after. It seems like it's only audible after the motor warms up a bit.

It's loud enough that I can hear it from inside the cabin with the doors and windows closed, but it's not loud enough to be distracting unless Im listening for it.

I was worried about a timing chain, but from what I've read around here, OHV motors almost never seem to have timing chain issues... it's all about the SOHC for timing chains. And now, since I ran it with the belt off... it sounds like it might be more in the top end of the motor towards the valve covers maybe.

Could it be a lifter or something? Do these motors ever get messed up rockers or push rods?

 

[patmac6075]

Just taking a stab here, but perhaps it's a stuck lifter? Try to isolate where it's coming from...try taking the biggest screwdriver you have, hold the handle next to your ear and touch the blade around the area you think the noise is coming from...think of it as a very crude stethoscope.
How often do you change your oil? What weight did you use last time? What were you doing to the vehicle just before this started...i.e. Were t
Messing with anything?
If it is a stuck lifter, you can try putting a half can of SeaFoam in the oil....run the engine for 100 miles or so then change the oil and filter.
That's what I'd do.

 

[ranger7ltr]

Did this noise start after an oil change??? I had a similar "ticking" in another vehicle and it started after I did and oil and filter change...My Audi R8 started this after I worked on it and I dropped the oil filter and the oil too and after the problem went away...

The OHV does have a habit of sludge build up especially if the oil goes too long in-between service...My Explorer 4 liter had 172K when I replaced it with a built engine and the old engine had an alarmingly large amount of sludge on the top end...That engine had a head gasket leaking and when I pulled the heads to change it I was amazed that the engine ran as well as it did...

Now I was not the original owner; got it with 150 k on it; but I did change the oil and filter every 1500 miles for the first 22000 miles I put on it... This was to try to flush the sludge out of the engine that I had found in the bottom end when I bought it and started it up... I found the oil pump was dead but I also found the engine would only take 3 quarts of engine on total...

I cleaned the oil pan and bottom end and hoped that any left in the engine would be removed...

Obviously I was wrong...

 

[Friborage]

I just changed the oil a few days ago, but this has been going on long before then.

I also just did the valve cover gaskets, but again... this noise was long before that.

It's running 5w30 pennzoil HM. I'll probably wait a little bit since I just changed the oil, and when next time comes around I'll run some seafoam through and see if anything changes. It didnt look at all gunky like that when I had the valve covers off, so hopefully it's not a big problem.