Bought 1998 xj with 3.2 liter engine.

valve cover gasket was leaking so those were replaced, and in doing that we checked also tensioners and those were in good condition.

after oil change i noticed clicking sound from right block. It gets louder when engine warms up. It also goes in sync with rpm more rpm faster clicking.

so i thought that it has something to do with selected oil 5w-40. It is going back tomorrow to get 10w-30.

then i saw some video with the same exact sound and it was the VVT. But i cant find this vvt in my engine. It is not on top of the valve cover and not in front? Are there some engine types without this vvt system?

 

could be a chain guide. When you say you checked the tensioners and they were in good condition, does that mean you left an original plastic secondary tensioner in place? If so, that could quickly become a catastrophic mistake.

The VVT assemblies are shown in pretty good detail here

 

Thank you for replying. we did leave those original tensioners back in place.. Is it ok to just change those inner tensioners and not the outer ones?

So there should be those vvt elements in front of valve cover or on top. Problem is that in my engine, there are no vvt elements. I will take photos tomorrow.

 

When you pulled the valve covers off, the timing chain tensioner between the intake and exhaust cam sprockets *must* be replaced if the entire body is plastic. It might appear orange in color from oil discoloration. It’s not easy to see if the plastic body is cracked. If the entire body is plastic, replace them immediately before you do anything else to try and resolve this noise.

 

Ok, so these are the tensioners that are currently in engine.


it seems that they have been replaced at some time. I asked the mechanic to take fotos from these tensioners. This car didint have any service information.

so the plan is to trying to locate this vvt unit on right side. No success on that issue, i will send photos tomorrow so you can see the issue.

tomorrow new oil change to 10w-30. Because the noise gets louder when engine heats up so my thinking is that the oil too ”thin”.

thanks for replyes

 

That looks like a new chain as well. Is there anyway you could get a sound clip for us to listen to?

 

10w-30 is "thinner" than 5w-40 so, if the noise is due to oil viscosity, it could be worse with 10w-30. 3.2 Lit. engines do not have VVT.

 

So here are voice samples

When engine is cold, no clicking sound

when hot it makes this clicking sound

oil change to 10w30 didnt help

mechanic told that sound comes near the firewall so not from front of engine.

 

Prior to oil change, was there any noise whatsoever even after engine was up to full operating temperature??

Pull the right bank (this is the side with the noise correct?) ignition coil cover. After you have it off, reinstall the air intake and start it up. Does the noise get louder? I know this is going to sound weird but, to me it sounds like spark is jumping a gap between the coil and spark plug. When I worked at Mitsubishi a long time ago, the 95’-99’ GS-T engines would misfire out the side of the spark plug wire and sound exactly like your second sound clip. You could also pull all the ignition coils out on that bank and see if there’s any oil inside the spark plug tubes. If so, remove all the oil out of there, make sure the coils and spark plugs are clean and dry then reinstall everything (minus the coil cover). Start the engine and see if there’s any improvement.

 

It is important to determine where exactly the noise originates. A valve not closing all the way
will give you a tapping noise from that valve area. Just a few thousandths gap in the valve
clearance will make a noise. It could also be a rift of carbon on the valve seat. You could do a
leak down test to confirm that possibility. Lifters can also be the source of a ticking sound. A
deeper knock coming from down inside the engine could very well be a rod bearing. A rattle
from the front is normally a timing chain issue.

 

that was some alien level hearing and diagnostic man! Thank you!!

so i did remove the ignition coil cover, sound got louder. I removed the coils and they were horrible specially in number 2 cylinder from firewall, cleaned those. But when i started to get the plugs out the first one wasn not even tightened, it was so loose that probaply would have been able to tighten that few turns.

New spark plugs and cleaned coils back and voila! No more clicking. What a relief!!

was it the plug that started to move after warming up or jumping spark, i dont know but anyways grateful for your advice.

 

Alien level, that’s certainly a new description for sure. Lol! Glad you got it situated. I’ve been in the auto repair field for 29 years and as a detective on automobiles, I’ve learned to keep certain noises, vibrations, smells and clues as a means of diagnosis. A lot of these are not mentioned in a book and is strictly OJT.

 

I knew there was something about addicted that was a bit too savvy.
Now I know why.

 

Thanks. I suppose I owe a serious amount of credit to Google as well right? Just kidding. 😁