i hear a wierd ticking sound when i first start my car. when it warms up it stops. is something wrong? i heard a focus do that once too. i have a 95 zetec.

usually when a car ticks when it starts up and then the sounds go away you have a hydralic (sp?) lifter that is either sticking or is on its way out the door.

If it goes away when you let it warm up and the sound doesnt bother you too much then it should be ok to let it go- but if you want to lifters are around $2.50 a piece and you should be able to change them all for less than $50.

the dealer will want prob in the neighborhood of around $200+ to do the job-

Trust Scot. He knows what it feels like to have a car that ticks.

Anyway, how noticeable is the sound? You may also be hearing the sound of the fuel injectors because they will tick slightly. If its the lifter, you are just hearing the slack between parts until the oil is able to pump up the lifter, removing the slack.

Now I want to go see if my car ticks.

its noticable. my boyfriend said it could be the lifter. i was just checking. it sounds like somethings slapping around in there

I had the same problem with a 95 zetec...turned out not to be a lifter, the timing belt was severely worn and about to snap. If your car has over 60k miles on it, I would get that looked into.

Timing belt Change is in the range of 300-400. It sounds to me like that's what the problem is. The test for it is too start the car and rev the engine. If the sound goes away after stepping on the gas then it's a belt, if it's louder and faster then it's the lifters.

how do i easily visually check the timing belt?

it must be the lifter then because it stays ticking

seriously....get it checked anyway!

Originally posted by Kremithefrog:

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how do i easily visually check the timing belt?

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The upper timing cover is on the passenger side of the engine. You need a 8mm Socket and wrench to unscrew the two bolts then pull it out around the PS line. Check for Cracks in the belt.

thank you much

Originally posted by Kremithefrog:

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how do i easily visually check the timing belt?

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  First, remove the two screws indicated in this picture by red arrows:



  You'll have to wrestle the cover a bit to get it off around that metal tube.  Do not try doing this with the engine running!  Make sure that the motor is stopped!

  Here's a picture with the cover removed, and the belt exposed.



  You may run the engine with the cover removed, but make sure that the engine is stopped before you try to remove or reinstall the cover.  WIth teh cover removed, and the engine running, make note of how much the top of the belt �??flaps�?� up and down between the two cam pulleys.  When I got my Mystique, the belt was flapping abotu an inch or two, causing it to hit the top of the cover.  This was is most likely due to the fact that the tensioner pulleys needed to be replaced.  With a new belt, and new tensioner pulleys, it flaps by only about 1/4 or 1/2 an inch at most.

thank you,,,, i am off to remove the cover WITH the engine running...hehe just kidding