If it knocks on hard acceleration, especially if the oil is hot, it is probably a balance shaft bearing. If it knocks on coast-down then it is a rod bearing.

If it ticks it is most likely a lifter. These have a distinctive sound. Any DSMer with grease under his or her fingernails could tell you in an instant if it is a lifter.

BTW, the oil light comes on at 2 psi - pretty useless. Plus the oil sender in a higher mileage car like yours may have varnished over. If this has happened the light may never come on.

 

asking on a messageboard if the ticking/knocking from your car is bad is like asking if the lump on your neck is cancer... Go see a professional because obviously no one here can hear or see it.

 

http://www.royalpurple.com/prodsa/rpro.html

No offense, but you're a little off base with that comment. First of all, 20W50 is offered as fully synthetic. Secondly, you can use whatever oil you want. The heavier oil increases your oil pressure, which is desirable especially if you're running high hp engine. It will not damage your engine, although Mitsu claims it will. Mitsu also claims that using a different iridium NGK spark plug in the same heat range as stock will change my vehicles' compression as well .

Point being, different tuners will recommend different oil weights based on their experiences. I recently switched to 10w40. 20w50 is a little extreme IMO, but definitely not detrimental on a race engine

 

That's a little hostile, young grasshopper. I suggest you spend a few minutes mediating and doing your research before you let your fingers do the walking.

There are a number of excellent 20W50 full synthetic oils, like Mobil 1, Neo, Redline, Amzoil, Castrol green, all of which give you better protection for high HP motors than 10W-anything. I have years of experience with Roadrace, and have a fully forged 450HP pump gas motor built by RoadRace Service in my Evo.

There is a long time private-invitation internet board that has members who have built more high HP 4g63 motors than anywhere else. Most of the major DSM / now Evo shop owners are on it, and they discuss where they see failures in these motors. There are numbers of posts from very well-respected names you would recognize immediately that compare main bearing wear and failure history with Mobil 10W30 versus various 20W50 oils. These are not guesses, they are based on engine teardowns and inspection of the parts. Let's just summarize by saying that 10W30 is NOT recommended for high HP 4g63 applications, and 20W50 has been found to be a much better oil for protection of engine internals.

I'd not personally put 10W30 in any 4g63 that had significant mods of any kind. I might not even put it in a stock motor. I also wouldn't run a car hard until it was up to operating oil temperature, either, but that's just me. As I said, you do what you want. It's your motor, and your $.

 

Avtually the stock motor bearing clearances are VERY tight. The factory aims for .001 on the mains and .0015 on the rods. These clearances require a 10w oil and thats why its recommended. A 20w oil on a cold motor could produce a spun bearing if the engine is run hard when cold. Aftermarket bearings which almost always go in a rebuild have bearing clearances set on the loose side. They will be .002-.0025. These clearances will need 20w oil or the engine will have very low oil pressure at idle when hot.

As far as oil pumps go. They dont just go bad. If they do go bad they will seize up. What most likely happen here is the rod bearings were not getting enough oil from the engine being low on oil. Unfortunately when you can hear a rod knock its too late for any fast fixes like dropping the oil pan and installing new bearings. The crank is toast when you can hear audible noises. You need a lower end rebuild at this point. Dont bother with bad advice about it needing a new oil pump. That will be a very expensive waste of time.

 

His motor has 98,000 miles on it. I bet the original factory clearances are alittle larger now. However, I was careful to observe that one should make sure his or her motor is at operating temperature before running it hard (no matter what oil is used). With that said, I'd rather take have the comfort of 20W50 capability on the hot end than the capability for hard use before warmup but with less protection on the hot side. Depends on what you use your car for, I guess. On forged motors, we apparently agree that 20W50 is best, either way.

 

Now this is VALUEABLE info! The ticking started when I put the cams in but thats just every so often and its not loud. Like when im sitting in the car i wouldnt hear it but this is more audable. It does knock harder on deacceration, or does because noticed. So much for a warning from the oil light!

 

WOW? ummm Crank toast? thats gotta be extremely bad. You sure that its too late to drop the oilpan and install new bearings? the car wasnt that low on oil it was @ the lower oil marking.

 

You should have mentioned this in the begining of the thread. Most likely its lifter tick .... was it bled properly?

 

Lots of assumptions, but you can't tell unless you decide to take a look. Meanwhile, you might check the lifters, first, and see if that quiets down the ticking.

 

Problem solved... It was a combo between a wearing out bearing and 3 bad lifters.

The crank wasnt toast, bearing wasnt gone but it was getting down to the brass. Replaced bearings and put some JAM lifters in. Noise GONE!

 

Just curious...who fixed it (dealer, other mechanic, self) and what did it cost?

Glad you're back in business.

 

It costed me 75 bucks for the coated bearings. 160 for the lifters (JAM) and 439 for the comp 280 cams. I did all the work myself.

 

If you've got the skills and a place to work the money you can save on repairs is enormous. Good job. This is sweet.

 

160 for lifters wow how many did you have to replace was it three. THe lifters for my old car an eagle talon were like 160 for all 8