I need help! Is it my lifters? What else could it be?

ADAM0426XX

MEMBER
2000 LEXUS ES 300
89,000 MILES

I have a 2000 lexus ES300 with just over 89,000 miles on it. For the past year I've been hearing this rattling noise from the engine when I accelerate at ant speed but worse when going below 35mph. Because I dont drive it much anymore for fear of a breakdown, when I start it after a week or so of letting it sit the rattling is REALLY bad and loud for the first 10min or so then it quits back down (but still loud). Is this my lifters? If so, are they adjustable on my car or would I have to have them replaced? What else could it be? What are my options? Please get back to me ASAP. Thanks Adam

3 Replies

KASEKENNY

MECHANIC
18,907 POSTS

This does sound like you have a lifter issue. However, there are a couple things that you can do to try and confirm this. Can you raise the RPM and they quiet down or does it get louder and speed up as the RPM increases?

If they quiet down then what you are doing is raising the oil pressure and this actually pumps up the lifter and they quiet down. If the noise does not quiet down and get faster or louder then more then likely you have a bearing issue.

The fact that this goes away after a while points to a lifter issue.

What I would do is start with changing the oil and look for metal in the oil because if you have metal then you have a bearing coming apart.

https://www.2carpros.com/articles/how-to-change-engine-oil-and-filter

Otherwise then you do have a lifter issue and unfortunately there is no lash adjustment on these, you just need to replace them if they are collapsed.

Please let us know what you find. Thanks

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Wednesday, September 15th, 2021 AT 6:11 AM

MOTORMANIC

MEMBER
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Try one-half to 1 pint (quarter to half a quart) of automatic transmission fluid in a fresh oil change. Do this 4-5 times with regular oil changes and it will de-varnish the surfaces of the pumping plates in the hydraulic lifters. This has worked with every engine I have ever had that has hydraulic lifters. After doing this, for the rest of the life of your car, replace one quart of motor oil with one quart of Rislone oil additive. It comes in quart size bottle, is transparent blue in color and is very high in detergent properties. Worked in every engine I have ever owned. Got 288,000 miles out of my '01 Olds Alero V6. Miles stopped at 288,000 simply because it got into an argument with a KIA SUV (no brake lights) and lost! ;>). BTW, the above practices will not harm the engine with regular oil changes. Hope it helps and is cheaper than having mechanic tear down the engine for no reason.

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Wednesday, September 15th, 2021 AT 6:11 AM

KASEKENNY

MECHANIC
18,907 POSTS

Thanks for adding to this post. That is good info and does work at times and worth giving it a shot. Unfortunately if there is already a collapsed lifter or damage then it is unlikely that it would flush them out but you are right, for the cost, it is not going to hurt anything to try it.

Please let us know if there is anything we can help you with in the future. Thanks for using 2CarPros.

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Wednesday, September 15th, 2021 AT 6:13 AM