Possible Lifter tick??

Ive seen posts about possible lifter ticks for 8th gen and below so not sure if 9 gen had the same problems but i think i may have a problem. Please read and and any help/advice would be greatly appreciated.

a couple of weeks ago pulling out of a parking lot i hit the gas kinda hard but nothing too crazy. that led to my service engine soon light and traction control lights going on and car running like crap for 30 seconds until i pull over.
i turn the car off and back on and it starts fine. traction light goes away but engine light still on. it seemed to be driving fine so i just continue on. later on when i get home i open the hood and hear some kind of tick. i am not sure if that was already there or came from this incident. my stepdad says he thinks its the lifters. the code for the check engine light was random 3rd cylinder misfires. i have been driving it since, about 3 weeks, and it has driven fine like always. last few days i think the car has been running a bit weak and gears not shifting as cleanly as before.

Has anyone had a similar problem and what should i do to fix it? i do not want to take to dealer and get railed for over a G. im thinking of selling it possibly before it gets real bad because im not sure if it is worth fixing if it is something major.

again any help would be greatly appreciated.

How many miles does your car have? If that's the code, I think it could be a bad spark plug?

Its a 2005 with 87,000. Also when idle now the engine seems more jumpy. If it is just spark plug would there be the ticking?

Injectors click, well when there working. Its one of those sounds you don't pay any mind to until your listening for something wrong. Touch a screwdriver to the injectors see if it feels on par with the ticking if so no worries. Replace all plugs my Galant was misfiring so bad one day I thought my tranny was dying ....NGK I recommended.. they brought my baby back. I also had the jumpy idle. You probably had detonation in the cylinder and fouled the plug...replace them all though

I think when your engine is misfiring, it might be idling lower or unevenly, thus causing the lifter tick to be a lot louder. I would suggest change the spark plugs with NGK as master_visionary just mentioned and then go from there. They are cheap and easy enough.

I just went through this earlier this summer, my tick was getting louder and louder. I changed my spark plugs, and the tick went away. It was weird, but it makes sense given the above posts' information. Also, the tick went away after the spark plug change, before the oil change, which really threw me for a loop.

alright thanks for the help, i will try that and let you guys know if that solved the problem

i am seeing there are multiple types of ngk. which do you guys prefer: standard, vpower, gpower, laser plat., laser iridium, iridium IX

how difficult is the spark plug replace? is there a write up anywhere on here? thinking of doing it by myself. wondering how much work is needed or reprogramming of idle

;-)

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Originally Posted by bhssoccer89

i am seeing there are multiple types of ngk. which do you guys prefer: standard, vpower, gpower, laser plat., laser iridium, iridium IX

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I have vpower. My g is a new being but platinum and iridium are the best if you willing to spend a lil more

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Originally Posted by bhssoccer89

how difficult is the spark plug replace? is there a write up anywhere on here? thinking of doing it by myself. wondering how much work is needed or reprogramming of idle

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1: pull the boot off the plug
2: using a 5/8 plug socket remove plug
3: using same tool install new plug
4: replace boot
5: smile and wave

The new plugs should fix Your idle if misfire returns your probably burning oil and fouling plugs a new piston oil ring or valve guide seals may be in your future

Sounds like you car is just in need of maintence.

You can start with:
Spark plugs
Oil Change

Then move on to other things like plug wires, air filter, drive belt(s)....so on, fuel additive won't hurt either.

i changed the front three spark plugs since the back three are really hard to get to. so far it seems like the idling is smooth and gear shifts are smooth. 2 of the spark plugs were covered in oil but the tips were dry, so i dont know what caused that. looks like that was the problem as of now. im going to see how long it takes to start running like crap again.

anyone know what could be casuing the oil covering the spark plugs?
what is the cylinder orientation? where is the 3rd cylinder located? front, back, left, right?

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Originally Posted by bhssoccer89

i changed the front three spark plugs since the back three are really hard to get to. so far it seems like the idling is smooth and gear shifts are smooth. 2 of the spark plugs were covered in oil but the tips were dry, so i dont know what caused that. looks like that was the problem as of now. im going to see how long it takes to start running like crap again.

anyone know what could be casuing the oil covering the spark plugs?
what is the cylinder orientation? where is the 3rd cylinder located? front, back, left, right?

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Oil on spark plugs means the seals on the tubes the spark plugs sit in are leaking. The odd-number cylinders are the ones at the front of the car; the even-numbers are the ones in the back.

Getting to the back ones isn't the easiest, but it's not too hard, I removed the manifold without moving the throttle body, made it pretty easy. Keep track of all your bolts, it's not a whole lot, and the sensors can slide off the metal tabs that hold them on the manifold, this way you don't have to disconnect anything.

X2 ^^^

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Originally Posted by wetamup2k3g

Oil on spark plugs means the seals on the tubes the spark plugs sit in are leaking. The odd-number cylinders are the ones at the front of the car; the even-numbers are the ones in the back.

Getting to the back ones isn't the easiest, but it's not too hard, I removed the manifold without moving the throttle body, made it pretty easy. Keep track of all your bolts, it's not a whole lot, and the sensors can slide off the metal tabs that hold them on the manifold, this way you don't have to disconnect anything.

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I couldn't have said it better myself.

They are called tube seals and when you go to the auto part store they usually come with valve cover gaskets, which you might as well do once you are in there. Also I hope you used NGK R spark plugs don't get talked into buy that Bosch twin electrode crap. Your car calls for NGK R platinum plugs, its what it runs best with.

how hard of a fix are the tube seals?

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Originally Posted by bhssoccer89

how hard of a fix are the tube seals?

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Not too bad, once the valve cover is off, they pop right off the tubes, pull them off with your hand, push the new ones on with your hand. When you do that, you should change the valve cover gasket, they can be a bit of a pain as they don't fit perfectly in the channel (at least the Fel-Pro ones I got didn't).

Don't stretch them, push on them only to get them to fit in the channel; there are instructions on how to do it properly in the package when you get it. I had some gasket maker on hand, I squeezed some (just a little, don't go crazy) into the channel on the valve cover and put the gasket in; this helped to keep it in place.

I then sat the valve cover down on the cardboard packaging on the ground and put a hammer on it to keep it there to help it set up some so that when you go to put the valve cover back on the head, the gasket doesn't slip out on you.

Do NOT over-tighten the screws when it goes back together; this will warp the channel and cause an oil leak down the line. Just snug them if you don't have a torque wrench to torque them to spec (I don't know the spec off-hand; a Haynes manual will).

Seems like a lot, but if you can change oil, you can do this!!

I redid mine and and put some silver rtv around the inside of the tube seal an the top where it meets the valve cover didn't even buy new ones and haven't had any problems since

wetamup2k3g when you removed the manifold to get to the back plugs did you have to replace and of the seals?

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Originally Posted by bhssoccer89

wetamup2k3g when you removed the manifold to get to the back plugs did you have to replace and of the seals?

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I did, it didn't look like I needed to, but I got the gasket kits for the valve covers, spark plug tube seals and gasket kit for the intake manifold and EGR tube/valve and replaced them all. Since you're in there, might as well change it all. Good luck!

do you by any chance remember where you purchased all of that?

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Originally Posted by bhssoccer89

do you by any chance remember where you purchased all of that?

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Autozone. Can't remember prices unfortunately.