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Noise | Solid lifters | Bucket Tappets

M

Myrosia

CEG'er
Joined
May 27, 2003
Messages
171
Location
Shelby Twp, Michigan
1999 Ford Contour L4-122 2.0L DOHC SFI.
Manufactured: 10/98
130.000 miles

Motorcraft Oil Filter FL2005. Currently using Mobil1 Synthetic 5W30. Was told that this oil is most problematic oil it's been the subject of numerous noise complaints.

The issue: getting that tack tick tack tick noise quite a bit.

I want to use Motorcraft Semi Synthetic 5W30 oil with STP Blue added.

Although, now I was told that my engine has bucket tappets (solid lifters) and they are adjusted with shims.

Can this be done on my car and whom should I have do this? Is it expensive?

Is there any illustration online showing this process?

Thanks
 
engine addatives are garbage, oil is preformulated to be the best thing for your engine, why would it need an addative to make it any better? If anything an addative screws up the preformulated balance of addatives that the engine oil already comes with..

as for your oil change... The motorcraft Semi-Synthetic is a good oil. But Mobil1 full synthetic is the best way you can go. trying different oils is okay if you think that will make a difference, they give it a shot.

but its pretty well known that the zetec is a fairly noisey motor, and there really isnt that much that can be done.
 
As I have said before, I would just not worry about the noise. Besides, it goes away when the engine gets warm. :shrug: My engine is as loud and as strong as ever. If you're entirely concerned about the noise, pick up a Focus Zetec air intake and install that. The intake is very loud in itself and would muffle out the infamous tick a bit.
 
the lifter tick isnt going to do any damage. its extremely common on the zetec engine.

for reference my old engine had 241K miles on it before i blew the clutch and pulled everything. now the cams and lifters are in a guys car out in California. so they will last for a long time with no issues other than the tick.
 
I hate Mobil 1, thats my opinion and I am sticking to it. Lost the engine in my 97 SE V6 at 106,000 after running Mobil 1 all its life and had another car that leaked like crazy after starting to use Mobil 1. For years now I have been using Motorcraft with one quart of Lucas every oil change and my 98 SVT has 127,000 on the original plant with no leaks nor noises.
 
limeyscott said:
I hate Mobil 1, thats my opinion and I am sticking to it. Lost the engine in my 97 SE V6 at 106,000 after running Mobil 1 all its life and had another car that leaked like crazy after starting to use Mobil 1. For years now I have been using Motorcraft with one quart of Lucas every oil change and my 98 SVT has 127,000 on the original plant with no leaks nor noises.
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Thanks, I am going to use Motorcraft 5W30 Synthetic Blend Murray's Auto Store along with Motorcraft FL-2005 Oil Filter.

I also was going to use either the STP Blue or Red as the additive. What's the difference between the two and should I just use Lucas? If so, which Lucas?
 
I like that tick, tick. I tell everyone that I put a deisel in my Contour.

Sooo many believe it!!
 
c150L said:
I like that tick, tick. I tell everyone that I put a deisel in my Contour.

Sooo many believe it!!
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That's all well and fine although, if you were to have purchased in 1999 a Ford Contour L4-122 2.0L DOHC SFI with very little miles on the engine, there was/would be no tick noise. That's my contention.
 
Myrosia said:
That's all well and fine although, if you were to have purchased in 1999 a Ford Contour L4-122 2.0L DOHC SFI with very little miles on the engine, there was/would be no tick noise. That's my contention.
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Wrong. My 59k mile Zetec (well, 65k by the time winter rolled around and the tick was more prominent) had a very definitive tick. It is barely any louder now than it was then. And now I'm at 90k...
 
zorrex said:
Wrong. My 59k mile Zetec (well, 65k by the time winter rolled around and the tick was more prominent) had a very definitive tick. It is barely any louder now than it was then. And now I'm at 90k...
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When I purchased my car it had not noise at all. I would have not purchased a car with engine noise.

Also, I noticed most people on this forum talk about SVT, mine is a 2.0L 4 cylinder. And I have heard the SVT and they are noisey. So, you need to take that into consideration.
 
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When I replaced my VCT solenoid, and had my cams out, I measured and ordered all the buckets I needed to get everything back in tolerence. I put them in and it was the same tick tick. Not worth the trouble and money to put them in. The ticking is not hurting anything.
 
Dec1000 said:
When I replaced my VCT solenoid, and had my cams out, I measured and ordered all the buckets I needed to get everything back in tolerence. I put them in and it was the same tick tick. Not worth the trouble and money to put them in. The ticking is not hurting anything.
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It may be nothing, but can be very load at time.

It's embarrasing too.
 
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As you were instructed to do in your other ticking noise post, adjust the valves first and quit worrying about what oil or additives to use. You were probably hoping that someone would come up with a better/easier answer if you started another post but we all read the same posts so that isn't likely to happen.
Karl
 
if you think its bad in a contour you should drive an early 90's mazda protege.

UGH it literally sounded like a diesel. I think the lifter tick in those is louder then the motor.

My old pre98 there was a definitive "tick" to it with the first 2 minutes of driving, it would afterward almost entirely go away, I could still hear it if I turned my music off and had all of the windows up and no heater/A/C running. But other than that I couldnt hear it at all.
 
Someone at my work had a Zetec 1996. Sounded like rods for sure, but it always quieted down as he left. Maybe oil pressure is a tad low?
 
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