I have a 96 SWB with the 3.5l engine with bad Lash adjusters.

the ticking (tapping) noise is really anoying me because sometimes it gets very loud, and other times it just Okay and works fine.

I have considered changing them before but due to their HIGH price and due to the fact that I need 24 peices of them the total amount is well beyond my pocket.

What I am asking is if there are long term effects of these bad VLA and the loud tapping sound? is it going to cause me huge problems in the future, like eating up the cam slliders(followers) or what ever thay are called.

I am planning to change them in about 6 months and that car has been tapping for almost a year...... So should I expect a major breakdown??? broken stuff in the valve train?? or any thing.

a year ago I replaced the valve stem seals and it was pretty expensive to buy all that parts and gaskets, I wanted to change the VLA's but here they cost akmost 510$ alone, adding the really neccesary parts I would go bankrupt.

anyways I hope there is no effect of these ticking Adjusters!

3esso

That's high. What if you bought them from one of the Internet Mitsu dealers listed on this forum and had them shipped? Shipping couldn't be that much, even on 24 of the little rascals.

I'd try some tricks first. Have you used the "rev above 3000 for 30 seconds and kill the motor" trick? Takes several tries if it works. I'd also try about a pint of Dexron atf in the oil for a couple hundred miles, then change the oil AND filter. This will help get rid of any varnish that may be hanging them up. I think you now know it was a false economy to not replace them the first time you were in there...

I'm not sure if this guys still around but he's worth a try.

PartsDinsaur, A retired NAPA dealer located in Az. I got mine for $8 each.

I've seen whole sets on ebay for the 50-80 dollar range.

I looked for them on eBay and I found really good prices, but I wasn't/still not sure about their quality. what do you guys think about them??
There are two sellers selling the same brand (Hy-Kifters Johnson) I guess:
Link
and another same Brand:
Other link

with the additional shipping charges they are still cheaper to get, the only thing that concerns me is the quality? Need you oppinion guys.

And about the revving procedure I have been doing it almost on daily basis because somtimes the noise gets very loud that I am afraid that something will break lose in the engine.

btw I change the oil and the filter every 7000 Km thats 4300 Miles( this is the interval suggested by most of mechanics and the local dealer)
and this is what I noted: the tapping noise only becomes annoyning in the last 2000km or almost 1300 miles, after the oil change the engine becomes very quite and there is no tapping for a while at least! I don't know if this means something else than bad VLA's

and eddy can you tell me more about adding atf in the engine? any side effects? because when I changed the stem seals the mechanic said he could clean the VLA's with diesel and/or kerosin as a temporary fix for them!!

thanks guys for your input

Change the oil more often. See if that helps.

The adjusters may be fine, but as your oil gets worn you may be getting more trapped air in it. As the adjuster leak down the oil system then fills them back up again with pressurized oil, if that oil has air in it the adjusters will be noisy new or not.

Newer adjusters may leak down slower and not get as noisy, but the real issue is your oil. It may be getting contaminated a bit faster than when your motor was new if your ring seal is not as good or your driving cycle is more severe.

As others recomended go for an extra oil change. You may want to consider getting your oil tested at a lab to make sure that its not getting contaminated with a slow coolant leak or a leaking air filter.

Kevin C

I've used ATF in the engine to clean sticky lifters before and it works pretty well. I sub one qt of ATF for one qt oil (on a 5qt engine) and change it out after about 1500 miles. Just be aware that you can cause oil seals to start leaking doing this (it'll also clean away dirt build up around the seals which may start weeping/leaking). I did this two times when I bought my 87 about 1 1/2 yrs ago which had a wicked loud VLA tap (1st oil change with ATF, 2nd all oil, 3rd w/ ATF and all oil since)...she runs smooth and quiet now...though every now and then I do get an occasional tap when starting cold.

As for the quality of the ebay lifters...I don't imagine there are too many companies that make the VLA's for our vehicles...so most are probably re-branded from just a few actual manufacturers.

So am I keeping the Oil for a long time?? or could it be that the oil I use is not that good???

I use a 20w-50 Fuchs Titan regular oil and I do change the filter every time, should I be considering synthetic?

Now I am starting to believe that the lifters could be fine, as the tapping only comes whan the oil gets old/worn, so I might change the oil in shorter intervals

btw I check my coolant times to times and it is okay nothing is leaking -thanks god-

about using the ATF it think I will keep this as a last resort when things really gets bad, because it seems like a risky action also most of the engines seals and gaskets are old; so I don't want to get my self into more trouble at the moment

the 1998 and up lifters have a bigger 3mm oil hole