I believe that I have a lifter problem; here's the data: >Engine has <10k miles >Engine oil and filter changed every year >Engine oil is Ferrari recommend weight >Just started hearing ticking noise last month >Ticking noise heard on first start-up; lasts less than 5 seconds >After first start-up, need to "cold soak" engine overnight to hear noise again >Car is garaged in warm climate; overnight ambient rarely less than 60 degrees F I have read the F-Chat threads on engine ticking, but have not found any suggestions for fixing lifter ticking. Hoping there is a way to fix this without removing the lifters for service. Thanks.
Seems more likely that it is the valve in the intake plenum. Try pushing it manually and hear if the ticking stops.
Thanks for your note. Two questions: 1) Does the intake plenum valve typically only make noise for a few seconds, and then not repeat until a cold soak? 2) I thought the intake valve noise was a problem at high RPMs, not idle. Aldous suggests this in the link below: Ferrari 360 Air Intake System | Aldous Voice
My 360 did this but only for maybe 2 seconds. I believed it was the hydraulic lifters pumping up with oil pressure after bleeding down overnight. I never worried about it and can't see it causing a problem. Interestingly my 430 does not do it. If it is a lifter noise the only way to fix it would be new lifters and it may still do it. A cracked header can sound just like a lifter noise but I would guess it would last longer than 5 seconds. A smoke test would rule this out.
Thanks for the note. >I never timed the duration of the noise, so it might only be 2 seconds, also. At any rate, it happens for only a very short period of time.
Can you point to where you think I have suggested this? It was not the intention and it should be corrected. The ticking noise due to the inlet manifold valves is present at low rpms. Cheers...
Sorry for the misinterpretation. When you wrote "...noisy top end" I thought you were referring to the top end of the engine RPM range. Image Unavailable, Please Login
Google it...it's a thing. Short version: - Add fuel system cleaner and top up with fresh gas - Bring car up (gently) to full operating temperatures (oil esp) - Drive at full load for 15 minutes in 2nd and 3rd gear - Don't be shy, bounce her off the rev limiter Works wonders.
Classic bent pushrod, oops, they don't have pushrods...LOL Well something in the hydraulic lifter is causing it to bleed down, or worse there is something worn or broken. Pay the to the Gods it's not the latter. It may be even be an oil supply problem to the one lifter. These are items of harsh reality. I hope it is something easy but you need to know the worst possiblity. It rarely goes away on its own given the care you have given the engine. I've heard of people changing oil brands and weights and having things change for the better. You might try a brand change. Please keep us informed as to what you are doing and what the resolution was. One more thought on the line of the before mentioned Italian Tuneup. If you had some carbon buildup, maybe that is in order.
I believe that the main objective of the "Italian Tuneup" is to remove products of incomplete combustion ("carbon deposits"). Can you tell me how this relates to noisy lifters? Thanks.
Most people would probably get it. BTW: Thanks for all the great information you have shared throughout the years.
In my former Maserati Gransport I had a recurring ticking. Tried changing oil and considered more expensive possibilities but ending up trying an additive called Rislone. Didn't expect much but it eliminated nearly all the ticking. Might be worth a try. My recollection is that this was a fairly common problem with one of the Ferrari engines, can't recall which one though. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Plenty of anecdotal evidence to suggest that it helps. You'll see people discussing "Italian tuneup" on many popular car forums and mentioning it helped with noisy lifters. In fact, I took my Spyker out yesterday for a drive - first one in 6-8 weeks - and guess what? Upon startup, I heard a ticking/tapping sound (i.e., noisy lifters?). I thought to myself - well, now isn't this ironic?! I proceeded to drive a favorite backroad loop keeping revs well above 5,000 rpm for much of it. Noisy lifters? No more. What's the worst that can happen? It doesn't do a damn thing to solve the problem but at least you had a great drive. :^)
First ensure you make the right diagnosis. Second if it is a lifter with innocent noise on start-up like an old man with a hearing aid and good batteries could not hear its not a big deal. If something is banging like a hammer on a refrigerator door that's a different story. Driving too few miles despite oil changes is just as bad as too many miles. The newest 360 is 10 years old while oldest is 17. 10,000 miles is just a crime at 1000 miles/year or less. Driving can free up a sticky lifter.
Assuming the valve are carboned up the valve would ride high of the valve seat, thus reducing dimension and the hydraulic follower can't extend to close the gap. Gives you valve tick when cold until warm. Only thing I can come up with.
Problem solved. Changed the oil and drove it like normal, but made sure that the oil temp was hot before bringing it home. Did not use any additives. I couldn't use the car much for the last three or four months, and when I did, the oil temp barely moved off the peg; thinking this was root cause.
Sorry to resurrect an old thread but there is information here that I believe was helpful instead of just starting a brand new thread I am hearing a ticking noise (it is more pronounced when cold but it doesn’t go away) They are not the headers (I replaced them with Fabspeed because I had an OEM header starting to make a ticking noise and this is a different one) The car uses Pennzoil 5w-40 (recommended by Ferrari) and it was recently changed 4 months ago (3k miles) It is not the plenum butterfly valves because those are making a different ticking noise as well, and when you pull them this specific noise doesn’t go away. Italian tuneup? Well I drive the car pretty often and pretty hard so I don’t think I have carbon buildup. So my only idea is that these are indeed the hydraulic lifters Please listen to this video and let me know what you think (Noise is coming from the right side) If they are indeed the lifters what is the process to fix the noise?? Replace, readjust? Is this a big job? What about an additive like "rislone" advised. Thanks
well I went to the shop and the noise is coming from the Fabspeed headers, I ruled them out because they have been installed a bit over a year!!!! hopefully it is a just broken or loose stud and the headers are not cracked.
Better to be headers rather than an internal issue to the engine! Let us know what the final verdict is.
