Lifters ticking?

[geeprs1313]

I have a question and it may have been asked and answered before but please help.  I have a 2009 Unlimited Rubicon that started ticking out of the blue the other day.  My mechanic said he was sure it was the lifters and for a possible temporary fix to add some engine oil additive because there's 12 of them and there's no way of knowing which one it is.  I did, it stopped immediately until 2 days later and another dose of the additive did nothing.  I then went and got the oil changed thinking that may fix it but there was no change.  By this time I'm getting really upset because I was afraid I was heading for some major engine work.  I took it back to my mechanic and he told me that it's fine to drive with it, that it's not hurting anything, just an annoyance and that it may come and go- which it has, it hasn't done it at all today.  I completely trust my mechanic as a professional but also because he's a friend...just kind of wanting to get a second opinion- anybody else have one?

[67alecto]

No experience with in a jeep, but I've had cars with a symphony of clicks from lifters over the years.  My usual solution was to put in a heavier weight oil and put it on the list to address the next time I had the engine apart.  I never considered it a "must fix now" issue.

How many miles do you have on it?

[geeprs1313]

It's only got 93,xxx. Still a baby in my opinion.


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[Rich]

It's only got 93,xxx. Still a baby in my opinion.


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Need more info , how long you owned it , oil change frequency, weight oil used . You can start with a good engine flush which acts like a solvent for gummed uped varnished lifters. Then a good grade oil change and check results.

[geeprs1313]

Actually, since I posted this question I have had to replace the whole engine.  I was sitting in idle waiting to pick up my daughter from school and it kind of shook and vibrated for a half a second and then just quit.  All the electrical still worked, but it would click once when I tried to turn it over.  Turns out a cylinder broke off below the retainer.  I'm just glad I wasn't driving anywhere when that happened!!  There was enough damage inside that a new engine was really the only option.  So even though my odometer says 100,XXX the motor has 2,XXX some miles on it and so far there have been no problems.
Thanks for checking in with the questions though!

[geeprs1313]

As an addendum to the new engine post-  when the ticking noise originally started I took it to Higher Standard Offroad to get Curt's opinion on what the noise was and he thought it might be the lifters.  I went in there the other day to get my tires rotated and balanced and he told me that since I brought it to his attention last year he has had many Jeeps around the same year as mine (2009) that had the same problem and apparently it's a common occurrence.  So I guess it wasn't the lifters but the cylinders that could be the issue?  (I'm extremely mechanically challenged so if I'm wrong about some of this please feel free to correct me).   I just didn't know if anyone else had a similar situation or a Jeep around the same year, but I wanted to pass the info along so that you'd be aware.