View Full Version : typical valve sound coming from 4cyl motors
alphanumeric
04-21-2005, 07:40 AM
well.. I dont know how to explain the sound..but its a dinky 4cylinder sound.. almost sounds like a diesel engine! anyone know what I am talking about
you can really hear it when you fire up your motor.. or when u put it into drive while the car is not moving.. or when excelerating.. it goes away after 20miles an hour becuzz of wind noise.. my 190 2.3 did this as well..
what can I do to make this noise go away? I almost wanna say tightenn the valves down! haha but I dotn know what I am talking about.. this is on a 00 c230k with 70k miles
CKlasse
04-21-2005, 08:00 AM
Low on oil? :D :D
ahh the commen lifter noise maybe?....
normally due too two things....your oil is too thin(or lack of:D),or the lifters are worn out....
and you'll find your injectors add to the tapping noise as well...,
and the purge valve does help either!!
does the tapping stop as you rev the engine in neutral??
locopr31
04-21-2005, 01:11 PM
The same is happening to my c280. It is starting to sound like a truck.
audiophile
04-21-2005, 02:28 PM
my 230 does the same thing. i noticed when i use 10-30 oil on it its more evident. when i switch to 15-50 for the summer it's quiter.:rolleyes: oh yeah mine has 126,000 miles.:)
ShollyC220
04-21-2005, 02:30 PM
Head gasket leak here... sound gets louder as oil level goes down. That's when I know to add more.
-sholly
fastmayte
04-21-2005, 06:02 PM
check your tensioneer shock, mines doing it, just put some force sidways to the tensioneer shock while the engine is running (becareful not to touch the drive belt), see it that makes it quiet down
SLAMMED_C
04-21-2005, 06:51 PM
well the noise you speak of is most likely the valvetrain.. sticky lifter or something.
the expensive way to make it go away is replacing parts!.. the cheap way is to run tranny fluid in the engine.. it has great lubricating properties.. more so then engine oil.. but it doesnt have the same things as engine oil (like detergants ect..) so its not good to use for long periods of time. but putting a liter or so of transfluid in place of a liter of engine oil will help with freeing up the sticky lifters.. but you will want to flush out the engine oil and replace it.. its a good idea to maybe do it near an engine oil change.. so you can put a new filter in too.
its worth a try... also using a synthetic oil may help too.
alphanumeric
04-21-2005, 07:31 PM
23k exactly! when I rev it in N I cant hear anything becuzz of the S\C.. ya the purge valve is embarrasing too! I always hear it open during the drive thru of a fast food place.. along with the anying lifters..
well it could be an oil issuer.. im sure its not something worn out.. the previous owner garaged the car and an old lady owned it...
I will do an oil and filter change this weekend... do you think synthetic oil would be best to fix this sound issue?
Originally posted by alphanumeric
23k exactly! when I rev it in N I cant hear anything becuzz of the S\C.. ya the purge valve is embarrasing too! I always hear it open during the drive thru of a fast food place.. along with the anying lifters..
well it could be an oil issuer.. im sure its not something worn out.. the previous owner garaged the car and an old lady owned it...
I will do an oil and filter change this weekend... do you think synthetic oil would be best to fix this sound issue?
It sounds like a sticky lifter as slammedc said,...and i also think using a synthetic with its high detergent levels will help free it maybe.... its worth a shot man!
iv also heard a few storys about engines running synthetics after years of mineral oil deposits,and bad oil change intervils...
the result was clogged oil jets after the synthetics strong detergent shifted it all round....but its just what iv heard....
mine ran mineral and i changed to mobil 5-50 with no problems....
heh yeh im going to look at ways to stop the purge valve noise!
1997c230
04-21-2005, 08:02 PM
My c230 does it as well. Synthetic oil doesn't help as I'm running 0-40 Mobil 1 and I still get the noise. I've heard the using seafoam can make the sound go away if added to your motor oil. This was on the Legend forum when I had my Acura as their motors do the same thing. Just do a search online :)
jnenad16
04-21-2005, 08:59 PM
just try what slammed_c said. flush or ATF substitute.
nenad
winhard
04-22-2005, 07:47 AM
I have a 00' 230 Kompressor and it sound like that when I start the car in the morning. I guess that's what it supposed to be. Don't worry about it too much....;)
Win
alphanumeric
04-22-2005, 09:33 AM
imma go throw in 1qt of trans fluid into my engine and see what happens.. I am due of an oil change anyways... then I will change my oil sat or sunday along with an oil filter.....
do you guys think I should use 15 50 oil? what about synthetic? what weight should I use? I never even thought about using that stuff.
jnenad16
04-22-2005, 12:35 PM
I would go with 10w-40 synthetic mobil1 or if you want to spend some $$, get redline.
Hey Alphanumeric...
what happened with your tapping sound?,did the oil change correct the issue?
Rgrds.
Paul
swank
05-08-2005, 03:29 PM
Your not talking about the auto idle drop are you? Your engine will rev to up gradually to a low rpm then stall and drop back down gradually.
Originally posted by swank
Your not talking about the auto idle drop are you? Your engine will rev to up gradually to a low rpm then stall and drop back down gradually.
possibly not..., unless that causes valve train noises?....
alphanumeric
05-17-2005, 12:22 PM
its still doing it.. I need an oil change bad!!!! I been so busy.. its almost been 1 monthy since I said I was going to change my oil.. and it still has that 1qt of trans fluid in it! bah!
im just going put a lil exhaust system on my ride so I dont hear it haha.. maybe thats why all the dinky 4cyl hondas have loud exhaust.. so u dont hear the dinky motors
hey alphanumeric...
i just started mine up after 5 months on axil stands this week....and it seems to be making a valve tapping noise too!!...
coolin
08-22-2005, 05:59 PM
I bought mine with 30K on it and it has always made a lot of lifter noise, especially at start up...and ESPECIALLY when it's due for an oil change.
When I bought the car from Benz I had the salesman start three cars he had on the lot and they all sounded the same.
Does anyone have an idea as to how durable these engines are?
Alphanumeric...I'm with you on the purge valve...I feel kinda ghetto when I'm rolling through the drive-thru at mc donald's.
alboogiee
08-22-2005, 06:42 PM
i remember reading on this bored that that is b/c of the 0w oil, i stiched to 10w and the noise isnt so bad, but still while the car warms up it still sounsd like diesel
MirageHatch
06-06-2006, 02:44 AM
sorry to bring this thread back from the dead. my merc does this a bit too. i guess in a way im glad to know its not just mine. it isnt a major problem, just need to turn the tunes up a little and you cant hear it !
i think im due for a service (about 60k miles) in 3500 miles so i will get them to advise on it too.
cheers.
benzonline
06-06-2006, 06:38 AM
Is this "typical valve sound" a slight cheap knocking sound when the engine is cold and you drive off? I remember hearing it in american 4cylinders!!(not that I owned one)
As for the engines being good....indeed these are! They are bulletproof but that also depends what you do to it and treat it.
The C220 my friend has sounds indeed...worse. My favourite for the 202 is the C280 engine...loved it cause I felt like I was driving a benz....so refined and smooth...but the 4 cylinders are more reliable and better on gas.
rollinrealbig
06-06-2006, 02:51 PM
wow I also have that same problem with my 4cyl.
I know its my lifters making the sound ... just that Ive heard they run like $40 a piece (I Think)so I thought id need to get some money saved up, replace the lifters that are bad (hope its not too many of em) and also take care of the valve cover gasket cuz mines been crying a little and in the summer heat I know its gonna get worse!
MirageHatch
06-06-2006, 04:11 PM
yea mine tends to do it all all temperatures under accerleration..
not all the time but enough to hear it when the stereo is off.
So can you fix it by replacing lifters can you?
xvvvz
12-16-2006, 08:52 AM
Did anyone ever replace their lifters and find out if the replacement made a difference?
Mines always been noisey(tapping sounds)...and the lifter pistons are in great shape.
using a thinner oil could make the noise louder...as the lifters are self adjusting,and use oil pressure to take up the difference...if they are worn then they will not retain the oil they need to keep tight clearance between valve and cam...
Originally posted by 23K
Mines always been noisey(tapping sounds)...and the lifter pistons are in great shape.
using a thinner oil could make the noise louder...as the lifters are self adjusting,and use oil pressure to take up the difference...if they are worn then they will not retain the oil they need to keep tight clearance between valve and cam...
hm must of missed this thread, Im in the same boat as most of you.. I suspect the ex owner had her nice and warmed up when I came to buy it, so I never noticed it ah that age old trick, Would "Gear" / Diff oil do the same trick as the ATF for the sticky lifter bussiness?
the thing is though, my cars oil looks like new, the 4 times ive checked it, its always a nice and golden.
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