So I bought this car from a mechanic off of craigslist who had claimed in the ad that he had replaced the car with a bunch of new parts. The parts mentioned in the ad included the following, four new tires, timing belt, water pump, serpentine belts, radiator, engine cylinder head, head gasket, head bolts, valve cover gasket, catalytic converter, O2 sensors (both front and back), ignition coil packs, spark plugs, front rotors, front brake pads, and front calipers. The car has a clean title and has passed smog check, also has a fresh oil change. The first thing I noticed was the car had a ticking (similar to a sticky hydraulic lifter), I looked at the engine bay and noticed the new head because it was shiny. I thought about mentioning the ticking noise right off the cuff to the owner but did not and never asked about it. The car was already warmed up. I then proceeded to take it for a drive. It drove just fine and I drove it up to forty five miles per hour to test it and did not go any faster and then returned back and bought the car. It has been three days now and I have had more time to take closer inspection of the car. I did not have my own mechanic inspect it. Looking back I could have probably gotten the car for several hundreds less. I have verified that that rotors, pads, calipers, radiator, catalytic converter serpentine belts, front O2 sensor, tires, spark plugs and ignition coil packs are all new. What has me concerned is the engine cylinder head, whether the inside of the head (camshafts, valve stems, hydraulic lifters, and so forth) are also new. I am worried that the engine head has used parts inside but outside casting is new. How could the car have a ticking or sticky lifter if the engine cylinder head was truly "all new"? I have done some reading on forums and heard that the possibilities for the ticking could be the fuel injectors (though I doubt this.), Butterfly valves in the intake manifold, or hydraulic lifters. I welcome any answers, questions, or opinions. Thank you.
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Tuesday, June 20th, 2017 AT 8:19 PM