Broke college kid, HLA or lifter noise/problem

[hyost87@ymail.com]

hey, I have been driving an 88 929 for about a year and its a great car, the HLA (hydraulic lash adjuster) or lifter would make loud clacking noise until pressure was restored when the car was started after sitting for a few days. After the car ran for about an hour the noise would go away. recently I let the car sit for 6-8 weeks and when I started the car the noise was louder than ever, I let the car idle for about an hr and drove it at very low rpm, but the the lifter would not quiet down. The last oil change was 4500 miles ago, could this be it? Or is my problem much worse and I have to replace the HLA or the lifter? How much would the parts cost and how challenging is this type of repair? Is there any type of oil additive I can use or anything I can do to drive this car longer without major repair? need help, broke college student..

Thanks

[Matsuda 9]

ok, lifters will make noise after sitting for a while if they are old.

ok what oil grade you running, thick oil will make it worse. oil change if the car is sitting then you should change oil a bit more frequent then usual mileage.

before changing oil though, pour about 1/2 litre of ATX fluid in. drive for a day or two and then do a oil change. ATX fluid has a lot of cleaners and hence helps to clean out gunk. do this every 2nd oil change, if this does not help then you are looking at a dead HLA.

Changing HLAs is not hard, but fiddly. and with all that effort changing one and then finding out that the others a ticking too... for me not worth it

[jw8320@live.com]

Oil change 4500 miles ago?! Have you checked the oil level recently? Any smoke fromthe tailpipe?

[hyost87@ymail.com]

Oil change 4500 miles ago?! Have you checked the oil level recently? Any smoke fromthe tailpipe?[/b]

I check the oil frequently.. it doesnt look that bad, its not black at all, still good color but it does feel like it is breaking down a bit when i felt it with my fingers

[hyost87@ymail.com]

ok, lifters will make noise after sitting for a while if they are old.

ok what oil grade you running, thick oil will make it worse. oil change if the car is sitting then you should change oil a bit more frequent then usual mileage.

before changing oil though, pour about 1/2 litre of ATX fluid in. drive for a day or two and then do a oil change. ATX fluid has a lot of cleaners and hence helps to clean out gunk. do this every 2nd oil change, if this does not help then you are looking at a dead HLA.

Changing HLAs is not hard, but fiddly. and with all that effort changing one and then finding out that the others a ticking too... for me not worth it [/b]

so for you not worth it meaning-- just bring the car to the junk yard? Im scared to even drive it because i feel like some serious damage will occur like throw a rod or something.. its really clanking and it wont get better after like an hour of idle time..

also it had some problem with the lifters but driving it everyday it was fine, its when i let it sit for about 2 months the problem started, could letting it sit have really caused such a serious problem that it cant recover from it?

thanks again

[NoD]

Lifters are 12bux per unit.

If its hla tick it is not dangerous to drive, just annoying.

If you want the tick to go away rev the engine up and hold, it should pump the hla's up, and it will decrease the sound, but if the hla's are broken, then the sound will come back.

Some engine oil make the hla more prone to tick, i know castrol made my hla's tick, but it went away when i changed back to mobil1.

Changing the hlas are easy, you can inspect and measure if the hla's are good or bad, there should be a post containing the procedure somewhere on this site. But i would go for new ones.

[Matsuda 9]

i meant not worth doing one HLA.... if you going to do it, do all.

[hyost87@ymail.com]

Lifters are 12bux per unit.

If its hla tick it is not dangerous to drive, just annoying.

If you want the tick to go away rev the engine up and hold, it should pump the hla's up, and it will decrease the sound, but if the hla's are broken, then the sound will come back.

Some engine oil make the hla more prone to tick, i know castrol made my hla's tick, but it went away when i changed back to mobil1.

Changing the hlas are easy, you can inspect and measure if the hla's are good or bad, there should be a post containing the procedure somewhere on this site. But i would go for new ones.[/b]

what if its not the hla tick, what else could it be..and what can I do?

[hyost87@ymail.com]

Lifters are 12bux per unit.

If its hla tick it is not dangerous to drive, just annoying.

If you want the tick to go away rev the engine up and hold, it should pump the hla's up, and it will decrease the sound, but if the hla's are broken, then the sound will come back.

Some engine oil make the hla more prone to tick, i know castrol made my hla's tick, but it went away when i changed back to mobil1.

Changing the hlas are easy, you can inspect and measure if the hla's are good or bad, there should be a post containing the procedure somewhere on this site. But i would go for new ones.[/b]

btw its way past a tick, its louddd. real loud clattering

[NoD]

if it went away when the oil gets warmer and the oil pressure builds, then its probably hla.
clattering could indicate that more hlas are collapsing.
there could be other things wrong, but since it started up after sitting for a couple of months i suspect hla.

what else to do.
as matsuda says
Change oil, use a brand and grade that did not result in tick, if possible use lighter oil