300m 3.5L ticking noise

I have a 2000 300M with the 3.5L, I have been expericing a "ticking
noise" at cold start, most noticable after car sits a day or two. The
first time I took it to the dealer they thought wrist pins or skirt
rattle. It was under base warranty so they put a crate motor in, low
and behold a few days later the same situation. After taking it back
they said there was a service bulliten addressing this problem,
requiring shims in the overhead???? After doing this we still have
rattling, took it back and they said they would replace
lifters????????????? I thought this was a SOCH engine???, anyway, has
anyone else experienced this problem???? maybe have to switch to a
synthetic oil????
The "tick" sounds deeper than roller followers if an ohc. Any input is
appreciated..

 

From a thread titled "Ticking noise when car starts" on the 300M ezBoard
(http://pub88.ezboard.com/f300menthu...ssageRange?topicID=592.topic&start=21&stop=24):
"My car did the same thing for a while as well. Come to find out, it was
the expansion valve on the A/C line that had gone bad. Ticking noise is
gone now."

The first post in the thread is where the OP posts the same symptoms as
you. The last post is what I pasted above (in between there is a "Fram
filters are awful" discussion that you can ignore) Seemed like a good
non-obvious answer for an elussive problem like you appear to be having
(if it undeed turns out not to be the lifters) - hey it's worth
consideration since a new motor didn't fix it).

Bill Putney
(to reply by e-mail, replace the last letter of the alphabet in my
address with "x")

 

They replaced the engine because of this?! And it didn't solve the
problem ?!

Do they need zone manager approval to do this?

And it could be the AC expansion valve?

 

That's according to what the guy posted on the 300M ezBoard. I was kind
of puzzled too, but I'm just the messenger. 8^) But the fact that a
new engine was put in and the problem is still there is why I referenced
the odd-ball solution of the expansion valve.

Bill Putney
(to reply by e-mail, replace the last letter of the alphabet in my
address with "x")

 

miller68 wrote:

The 3.5 has rollers at one end of its rockers and a "hydraulic lash
adjuster" (essentially the internals of a hygraulic lifter) at the other
end. Don't know if that's your noise or not, but that's how the overhead
works in that engine, and yes it can "tick" very much like a hydraulic
lifter. It will also sometimes make a deeper rattling noise briefly (in
the case of my '93 with over 200,000 miles, less than 1 second) on a
cold start as all the lash adjusters pressurize.

But since yours is there even after an engine change, I'd wonder if you
have an exhaust leak, cracked flex plate, or other problem associated
with the car and not with the engine itself.

 

Thanks for the help!!!

 

Could the dipstick be wrong? I've found if the oil goes slightly
below the min mark (wasn't paying attention one month) the engine
definitely clicks. A little oil to bring it above the minimum mark
(damn where it should be) and no click. If they stuck in the wrong
dipstick, that could be your problem.

 

My guess - just noisy fuel injectors. Sometimes it is best not to worry
about those little noises your engine makes. That isnof course if you have
nothing better to worry about.

Dan