Maybe a valve tick 1995 e320
 

Just did my head gasket because of the typical 1995 e320 leak that makes the cabin smell like an oil field. I am pretty sure it is a valve tick, tick, ticking away as opposed to an exhaust leak but I do need to yank out the stethoscope. I thought that was pretty strange acquiring a valve tick after reworking the head but I am hoping that there is some foreign object stuck somewhere where it should not be. My first thought is to add some Marvel Mystery Oil or Risoline (sp?) to the oil to see if I can move the potential foreign matter down to the oil sump so I it can be gone.

Thoughts , suggestions, guffaws?

Thanks,
Jim Lee

I have mistaken a noisy smog pump as valve tick, also, if you have the early version of the belt tensioner (the one with the little shock absorber) they can sometimes rattle a bit as well. Somewhere I remember reading a suggestion about adding a flat rubber washer to the top shock mount to quiet the rattle. (May have been a post by Arthur Dalton.....)

Hope this helps.

J. M. van Swaay

Hi

I just finished the head gasket replacement, and a valve job since I am in there. The engine runs fine for about 30 minutes and then suddenly developed this valve tick.

Possible cause is somehow an old piece of silicon gunk ended up in an oil passage and causing a valve lifter to make that noise.

Question 1: should I just drive it a few weeks to see if it passes like a piece of Lego in a kid?

Question 2: Should I bite the bullet, pull the cam shafts and inspect the lifters? What are the signs of a bad lifter?

I should add that this is my sister's car and she let hack mechanics work on it for a long time. I found all kinds of silicon junk outside and inside the engine.

thank for any insight.

I just solved the same problem in my '94 e420 that I have had for a few months. Car would start fine but then develop a ticking noise after fully warmed. Changed the plastic camshaft oil tubes located under the valve covers and, as car was due for an oil change, switched to a 5w-40 fully synthetic oil (I believe that MB recommended a 15w-40 mineral oil and no clue about what car had in it before). Your camshaft lubrication setup may or may not differ because your car has a different engine. Have heard that oil additives with silicone can do more harm than good because they block oil passages. Good luck.

Flint's mystery oil added to the engine oil has resolved much valve ticking in my day
 

Flint's mystery oil added to the engine oil has resolved much valve ticking in my day.

Red bottle

1/2 to one half quart in the oil fill.

So, it is OK to drive with that valve ticking noise, and you can make it go away by

1. Changing the plastic camshaft oil tubes, and
2. Going to synthetic oil.

Is that right ?

Been there with my 95 E320. After replacing my head gasket, I had a valve tick that brought my spirits down. It went away after one or two weeks.

Then I simply let my sister drive it for a couple thousand miles and deal with it later. I think the silicon gunk I find in the engine convinces me that one of the valve oil galley is stuffed up with it.