2000 Golf 2.0 intermittent ticking

[mattchuu]

Hey all,

i've been lurking around since i bought my MK4 about 8 months ago, but i'm finally in need of advice that's not posted already...

When the engine is at temp, above 2k rpm, a single lifter will tick. As the oil gets on in age, the ticking will happen at slightly lower RPMs.

i realise this is probably just the good old golf ticking sound, but it only happened after the last service, when the mechanic put 10w40 in it.

i've bought some 5w30 vw approved oil (i can't remember the brand off hand) and i'm yet to put it in, but i was just wondering - is the ticking because the oil is too thin at temp or too thick?

At idle, the engine sounds fine - as well as when cold. No dash indicators, and the oil looks fine when taken out. Fuel efficiency is legendary and the car is generally very well behaved otherwise.

any ideas on what to do first?

Thanks!
Matt.

[Coralon]

How many km's on the engine? And what 10w40 did the mechanic use?

Not sure what spec oil the 2.0 calls for but I would definately go for a good quality varient of whatever the manual says.

[balkanac]

could be that one of the lifters is not getting enough oil. I have a similar problem with my bmw. I use fully syntetic penrite 0w 40 and since i started using this oil the lifters are much quieter. I also did the oil flush before i started using this oil. one or 2 will start making noise if i drive it gently thru the city, but a nice 5 min spirited drive fixes it. I guess it needs revs to get the oil to the failing lifters.

Im not saying that you should use this specific oil in your car, just giving an example. My engine is 20 years old so this oil is much better that the oils they were making 20 years ago.

[grtuned]

You sure your not hearing the Evap solenoid ticking?? This happens intermittently and can be confused as it originates from the engine bay area left side if your looking front on. If your sure it's not this then issue may be something else, best bet would be to have a mate or mechanic hear it..

[mattchuu]

Hey thanks for the help!

Its got 170k on it, it takes VW 502 oil. It was a Castrol that the mechanic used.

I think i'll grab an OEM filter and give slightly thinner oil a shot for the next couple thousand ks.

I've eliminated the EVAP solenoid - jeez that thing is louder than my nail gun when it runs!

I took it down to VW Classic at Kirrawee this arvo and he suggested new oil and a long drive - so i guess this is my first foray into VW fault finding!

I've heard that the valves on the 2.0s can be noisy, but are they prone to failure as well?

and it looks like i'll have to order a service manual from santa this year!