I have what sounds like when you were younger, and would put a baseball in your spokes on your bike coming from my crankcase. Its an even sound that seems to follow the RPMs. When I was talking to a guy at work about it, he mentioned adding some SeaFoam to the crankcase as probably the lifters were dirty. He said to just add the entire bottle to it, it wouldn't hurt it.

What's everyones opinion on SeaFoam and will it help with the noise?

Thanks!

 

I think it is crazy to jump to a solution like that without looking under the hood at everything that rotates according to engine speed.

Personally, I'm not sure you should even put SeaFoam in the engine oil.

Does it vary with ground speed or engine speed. Make sure of that first 'cause it doesn't sound like you are sure. It helps a lot to know where to start looking.

 

I would not.
Seafoam can't help.

That engine can't have "dirty lifters", it doesn't have hydraulic lifters at all. All mechanical, manually adjusted.


Got oil? Check it.
Is the oil clean?
Got a recording of the noise?

 

Haha yeah I was thinking that. Old school mentality where people have seen 1 engine and think that they've seen them all. Surprised he didn't ask you to check the pushrods

I'd personally not muck around as a ticking noise could mean somethings possibly loose in the head and about to go for a walk around the engine smashing all in its path.
I nearly went there once after the guys who timed my cams in my Pulsar must not have torqued the retainers down, took the cam cover off when I noticed it was getting noisier and found a bolt almost out! Could have cost me a few thousand bucks in goodies.

If it's got enough oil in it then I'd take it to a mechanic and let them have a listen.

 

Did the sound just start one day, or did it get worse gradually?

 

I'd probe around with a engine stethoscope harbour freight sells a cheap workable one..

First check the external rotating stuff, for obvious loose stuff, (Tip a timing light works great for finding wobbly pulleys. )

Then check the valve train (Just like a valve adjust,,, as a matter of fact do one while your in there its worth it...)

A broken valve spring can cause some interesting noises..


Cheers

 

I've noticed the OP mentioned someone suggested SeaFoam as some sort of magical fix-all engine cure.

This reminded me of a very interesting video I saw once on YouTube mythbusting the crazy claims of SeaFoam (which was originally designed for different engines for boats ).

For your viewing pleasure:

Seafoam Mythbusted Part 2 Don't believe the Lies!!

 

Thanx for all the responses. The noise has been gradually building. I can never remember not hearing it, but it has gotten louder after my cross country trip where it was completely loaded down well past its maximum load. The noise sounds like its coming from the crankcase. The noise follows the RPM's. As they go up, the sound gets faster. I'll just take it to a mechanic and let them check it out.

 

Clicking like that could be:
1.) Need valve adjusted
2.) Piston slap
3.) Rod / Crank bearings are shot

#2 & #3 are due / can be caused by low oil levels or constantly beating the crap out of the engine. Do you know if it ever ran low on oil? Only fix is engine rebuild.

#1 could be the result of over revving and just normal wear / tear on a higher mileage engine.

Notice that SeaFoam doesn't fix any of these. Never start throwing things in the engine oil, it will only hurt.

As noted before, there aren't any lifters in these overhead cam engines but there is a little adjustment screw with a jam nut to ajust valve clearances. I'm adjusting mine this summer at approx 65K miles on the clock due to ticking sounds especially in winter. Really hear it until temps come up to 175 deg F but always there.

 

I'm one of the folks who has used it a lot, not the way the fool in the video is dumping it in the intake manifold. Seafoam is a highly effective cleaner and when mixed in the fuel WILL clean injectors nicely as well and get the oil spooge off the back of the intake valves if its not too caked up, and if your not direct injected. If you've fuel fouled your cat with bad injectors, the Seafoam or Chevron Tecron fuel additive will sometimes rescue the fouled cat (I'd estimate about 3 out of 5 for me so far... )

Seafoam has been in use in the marine industry for decades, its often used to fog store a 2 stroke engine. Which basically is running the engine at idle and spraying a fog of the product in to the intake at idle until the engine fouls the plug and stops. The purpose being to put a thin coat of it on all the internal perts to they don't rust on the boat while parked.. Its was also use before Stable and other additives came out to keep the fuel in a boat from going bad while parked..

The only thing I've seen that will truly decarbonize the tops of pistons and the head is water.. Water injection on a turbo car will clean the tops of the pistons..
But that wasn't the complaint for the OP as I understood it.

My 07 fit was running rough, I did all the normal stuff coils/plugs/valve adjust and was still getting the codes of bad cat and misfire. 3 tanks of gas with a can of seafoam per tank the it cleared up.. YMMV

 

I didn't post the anti-SeaFoam video and I don't agree with the cinematographer test methods and conclusions. I wonder how long his mower lasted after the test.

My point was that the original poster talks about pouring SeaForm into the engine oil, thereby thinning the oil to a potentially low viscosity to un-stick nonexistent valve lifters.

It just seemed to me that the original poster would benefit from slowing down and doing a better diagnosis of the problems before doing anything possible detrimental to his engine.

I like SeaFoam. I have a bottle for breakfast everyday. In reality the only thing that I can say truly helped / hurt was Lucas Ethanol Treatment. I think it ate my catalytic converter. All better now.

 

Oh yea,, just had to respond after watching the twitchy dude on the vid..

Best thing I've found for unsticking lifters is to run a really good synthetic oil but yea with no lifters it aint likely to help..

I'm betting on a out of adjustment rocker or broken valve spring.. Just opened up the fit last night on my way to the head gasket and remembered how all of valve springs it has..

 

Engine has 114k. I've changed the oil every 5k-6k and can't remember it ever consuming/dripping oil. I like to say I've been gentle on it, but it has done some loaded down trips, through the mountains. My wife on the other hand... She's killing my MPG's, lol.

How difficult is it to adjust the valve clearance? I know mine has never been done.

Thanks for the response.

 

That may be what is needed. I have a 2011 Sport AT (63K miles) and left a parking lot into heavy but fast traffic and didn't realize I had the AT in "S" Sport mode and over revved the engine. I noticed a change in valve clearance related engine noise after that event.

I bought the tool (10mm Jam Nut Adjustment Tool) for $20-some. We are in a spell of very cold weather with snow coming. I plan to adjust the valves once in is consistently warmer.

There should be threads in the maintenance section of this forum by others that have done valve adjustments.

 

Its a 2 hour job give or take, I did mine removing the upper half of the intake on a GD.

All I used is a box end wrench and a screwdriver for the actual adjustment.

 

I just replaced a 160km engine after blowing a rod from undiagnosed rod knock. It started as a small tick under load at specific rpms, that would get gradually louder, but fade a bit when I changed my oil.

I was told it was just normal cam noise by the dealer when I asked them about it during a service. So I thought it would be fixed when I could get a valve adjustment.

​​ The ticking got significantly louder for about a week before the rod finally blew when I was asking for a bit too much in fifth gear going up a grade.