my dad just bought a 98 grand vitara v6 it had been sitting for a while and when its running the lifters are making a cliking noise i was wondering if anyone has had this happen and what they did to fix or if they just know how to fix it


   -chad

You can replace the lifters, you can change use an oil flush & change the oil & filter, you can run a high detergent oil - these are listed in order of "aggression" and cost.  There is no guarantee that the last two will work, it really depends on how much "gook" is in the engine.

Also worth being aware of - these engines do not use a timing belt, there are chains with hydraulic adjusters, and neglected maintainance can also affect the adjusters and cause chain rattle at start up - make sure the noise you're hearing does not come from the front of the engine.

Sounds like collapsed/stuck lifters. You can try the high detergent oil, seafoam, or other commercially available engine flush/cleaners route to see if that will recover the lifter. The hydraulic valvetrains are not designed to have any clearance and when they do they cause alot of wear damage, address this asap.

my 2.0L does that too, but an oil change usally cures it, but lately the front timing chains ratles at cold start up, wish i could fix it but i got a feeling its maybe too late. got a spare engine to replace anyways

thanks for the help and my bad its a 99 not a 98 mines a 98 i got confused

I had persistant lifter noise at start up (2 liter engine with 152K on it).  Last October/November during an oil change I added about 2 ounces of Sea Foam to the fresh oil.  I ran it for a couple thousand miles... and noticed less lifter noise and it didn't last as long.  At the next oil change interval I added 2 more ounces of Sea Foam to my oil.  Long story short... at the next oil change I did not add any Sea Foam because the lifter noise had completely disappeared.  I believe the primary cause was varnish build up on the internal parts, to include the lifters and chains (tensioners?).  I also think it is "more better" to do this during cooler seasons versus the 100+ degree days we have been experiencing.

I personally believe the Sea Foam removed enough of the varnish build up to free up their movement.  I am a Sea Foam fan.  I've used it in my gas for a couple years to keep the injectors and throttle body clean.  Now I am convinced it works great as an oil additive occasionally as well.

I also agree with fordem.  IF the engine has had too many miles with the wrong oil or infrequent oil changes... additives aren't going to help the engine. It will require about $1400 - $1500 repair in parts and labor if a garage does the work.  See below:

http://www.zukiworld.com/forum/suzuki-grand-vitara-vitara-chevy-tracker-(gen-2-platform)-1999-2005/nasty-2-5/