back in the early 90's (I purchased the car in early 1989 with 60,000 miles), I chased a rough idle. I replaced the lifters -- but they were not the problem. I turned out to be a lousy mechanic and a stretched timing chain due to a bad tensioner. From the early 1990's I started to do all my own work on the car.

As for the lifters, it is a common complaint. I have found that if you run synthetic oil over a period of time like 25-30kmi, many of the issues disappear. I have used synthetic for the last 200kmi or so, and the lifters sound great.

I would not touch the lifters, try synthetic but do not be surprised if it takes some time for the noise to go away. Also, you will notice increased oil consumption for a short time.

__________________
Jovan

'84 (11/83) 190D 2.2 5-Speed; Silver/Blue; Motor No. 00354, 402k mi (340+kmi mine)

'89 Porsche 911 Turbo Coupe; Black/Black; 53kmi
'05 BMW 530i 6-Speed; 302kmi
'19 Range Rover; 30kmi