Possible stuck lifters on n/a 944

LowTechRedneck · 03-22-2008, 07:32 PM

The lifters on my 944 are making a heck of a racket whenever I run the engine, sounds like one or more of them are stuck. Granted, the car was sitting for who-knows-how-long before I bought it last year, and it has run for maybe 5 minutes tops in that time (bad rubber-disc clutch means it can't really go anywhere right now, I only ran it once to see if it WOULD run.)

I'm going to put some fresh oil in and see if I can coax them to unstick, but if that doesn't work, does anyone know if there is a proceedure for detecting which of the lifters might be bad short of ripping the head off?

Idealy, I'd replace them, but everyone seems to want about $68 apiece for them, so I'd rather not go that route unless there's no alternative short of living out of a cardboard box and eathing Ramen for a month or two

Thanks

Razorback1980 · Razorback1980's Garage

Put some SeaFoam in the oil and run it for a while. It does a great job cleaning the lifters. If it doesn't straighten it out, then you can tell which cylinder is weak by pulling plug wires. If you pull the wire while it's running and it doesn't change the way the engine is running, that's the weak cylinder...basically the one with the problem.

I bet the Sea Foam will fix it.

Brando · Brando's Garage

And if the seafoam trick works, don't forget to do an oil and filter change afterwards. Put in some Brad Penn 10w30.

Slam · 03-24-2008, 10:11 AM

Five minutes isn't enough time for the lifters to come up to pressure if they've completely drained. If they're making a racket after 20, then you've got trouble.

Brando · Brando's Garage

If a car has been sitting, not running for that long, I'd still run a detergent of some sort through and do an oil change just to clean everything out. Definitely a good idea to change all the fluids.

I'd run one small bottle of Marvel Mystery Oil through, give it a day of driving. See if that cures the lifter noise. Then drain it out and replace with some Brad Penn 10 W 30 oil. If you still have prolonged lifter noise and/or problems after the course of a day you may have other issues. As stated by Slam, if they're making a racket after 20, then you've got trouble.

HondaDustR · 03-25-2008, 08:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Razorback1980

Put some SeaFoam in the oil and run it for a while. It does a great job cleaning the lifters. If it doesn't straighten it out, then you can tell which cylinder is weak by pulling plug wires. If you pull the wire while it's running and it doesn't change the way the engine is running, that's the weak cylinder...basically the one with the problem.

I bet the Sea Foam will fix it.

May I suggest pulling the fuel injector connectors instead? Either that or wearing insulating gloves. I pulled a wire on mine while it was running and got hit pretty good!

It jumped right around the whole boot into my fingers.

Razorback1980 · Razorback1980's Garage

Yes, that would work as well. LOL Getting shocked....I hate it when that happens.

LowTechRedneck · 03-25-2008, 10:28 PM

Thanks for the suggestions everyone

When it comes to electricity though, nothing beats the time I was connecting up a pair of batteries on an old diesel truck with a 24V system, and while turning the wrench on the one terminal, I accidentaly touched it to the terminal on the adjacent battery....

"Fireworks" kinda falls flat as to describe what happened next....

HondaDustR · 03-26-2008, 06:36 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Razorback1980

Yes, that would work as well. LOL Getting shocked....I hate it when that happens.

Besides then you won't be flooding the cylinder with raw fuel if you pull the injector connector.

philcav7 · 03-27-2008, 06:33 AM

Has anyone experinced gasket leaks after using seafoam or other related oil treatment/detergents? I only ask because, like many others, I experienced an gasket leak after running M1 synthetic oil in my car. I would assume that other oil treatments may have similar effects. Obviously, gunk build up from dino oil may have some negative impact but, can help seal old gaskets.

I also agree that the lifters may be noisy because they need to be primed. A few minutes of run time may not be enough to get them going.

BTW, why are the lifters so damn expensive? I am pulling my cam housing next week. I was going to put new lifters in "while I was in there" but quickly changed my mind when I saw the price.

Personally, I would get the clutch sorted out first. It will be much easier to troubleshoot (and find additional problems

) when you can actually drive the car.

Slam · 03-27-2008, 09:05 AM

Not a gasket leak but my lower balance shaft housing sprung a leak after such a cleaning. The kicker was that I had just been down there doing the oil pan gasket.

My shock story? Picking up an RX-7 with my bro. "Hey, Rog, you crank it while I hold this spark plug against the block to see if we've got spark." We had plenty.

LowTechRedneck · 03-27-2008, 12:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by philcav7

Personally, I would get the clutch sorted out first. It will be much easier to troubleshoot (and find additional problems

) when you can actually drive the car.

Oh yes, I'm doing that right now, it had one of those early rubber clutches in it, I've got a new clutch, new pilot, new bolts, all the stuff, I just have to put it in, I was just asking since I've got it torn apart right now, might as well see if I can get that issue fixed too.

philcav7 · 03-27-2008, 08:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LowTechRedneck

Oh yes, I'm doing that right now, it had one of those early rubber clutches in it, I've got a new clutch, new pilot, new bolts, all the stuff, I just have to put it in, I was just asking since I've got it torn apart right now, might as well see if I can get that issue fixed too.

Good luck with the clutch job. I hear they're fun.

BTW, where is Pennsyltucky?

HondaDustR · 03-28-2008, 12:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by philcav7

Has anyone experinced gasket leaks after using seafoam or other related oil treatment/detergents? I only ask because, like many others, I experienced an gasket leak after running M1 synthetic oil in my car. I would assume that other oil treatments may have similar effects. Obviously, gunk build up from dino oil may have some negative impact but, can help seal old gaskets.

.

It could, but synthetic oil generally leaks more easily. The main reason synthetic is so good is that the polymer molecules are much smaller than that of dino oil, and are consequently less prone to heat breakdown, and will also flow into smaller microscopic spaces to lubricate moving parts. The flip side is that the molecules will fit through smaller holes....and more of them will fit through existing holes.

LowTechRedneck · 03-28-2008, 12:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by philcav7

Good luck with the clutch job. I hear they're fun.

Yeah, I have the whole back end out of the car right now. I can see why a clutch going bad can be a deal breaker on an older 944 considering how much it would cost in labor alone just to get to the darn clutch in the first place.

On the bright side, it gives me a chance to pressure wash all that stuff and get that furry road-grime/gunk off it.