tombeck

I recently bought a 2016 Wrangler. I noticed that the engine has a tick on the driver side. I have been reading a lot about Pentastar lifter tick. Does this sound like the dreaded lifter tick?

Engine Tick


Thanks,

Tom

resharp001

I can't listen here at work, but I'd always tell anybody that if you THINK there's a tick, then there is certainly a problem. . The sooner it's opened up the better. If you are a DIY'er, this is not a terrible job. It is such a common issue on this 3.6L, and there is not a whole lot else that is going to be making a ticking noise in the valvetrain cept maybe an actual valve issue, but that is not a common thing for us.

tombeck

Copy that, thanks. That's kind of what I figured. Guess I was in denial lol. Guess I'll be opening up the valve cover. Hopefully the cam isn't trashed.

resharp001

If you have not found them yet, Motor City Mechanic has some great videos on YouTube that will walk you through the whole process. He's also got a good video that will show you what is an acceptable cam to reuse and what is not. I had to dig into my driver's side recently and that cam had some good scoring on it, but was still re-useable. It's all about catching things in time really.

I've got a thread here in case it helps -
https://www.jk-forum.com/forums/stoc...k-tick-357513/

tombeck

Awesome, thanks. I will definitely check out those videos and your thread!

CAB CSM

YES I ended up replacing the engine

icrashbikes

Hmm.. My valve covers are so accessible right now I'm thinking of just doing this preemptively. I checked all my stored codes and I never had a misfire, but I might have to kick myself if I ignored this opportunity and it started ticking in 5000 miles. I have 167k on the clock now so it doesn't seem outrageous to spend a couple hundred bucks extra and get in there while it's easy. Then again, if it ain't broke? Great info in that thread and the videos.

resharp001

I'd typically say go with the "if it ain't broke" theory here; however, do you have the battery box out of the way on the passenger side? If so, that might be one thing that would make me suggest just do it all. If not, I'd just wait. Only my opinion. I've removed that passenger side VC enough times to know it's just wasted effort to try and do it with the battery box there. I've seen that it can be done, but it's so much more effort, and that passenger side VC is such a PITA already due to the PCV and the firewall. There's just not much room to maneuver things. The real problem is that if you do that, why stop there? just go ahead and remove that timing cover and rebuild the timing too.....167k is starting to get up there!

icrashbikes

Yeah everything is out but the engine. So I can tilt it forward and back, it's real easy to get in. I landed on pulling the valve covers to inspect. If anything looks amiss, I'll start replacing stuff. If not, I'll do the seals and call it good.

resharp001

If you've never replaced that PCV valve, probably good time to do so just as preventative maintenance as well. That thing is such a pain to access on this 3.6L. I've removed my passenger side VC enough that this last time I finally had it with that dumb "fuel line" bracket that goes over the cover. I know it has nothing to do with the fuel lines, but I believe that is what the parts catalog refers to it as. Anyhow, I cut that mofo in half so it's still there, but it really only attaches via the 2 bolts up by the intake and the 2 bolts that are down on the underside of the head are no longer used. Little things like that drive me insane. I looked hard at the bracket on the drivers side that the upper intake bolts to, and which blocks removing the valve cover, but I ended up leaving that bracket in there. I really question how much support that really provides for the intake manifold. I have aftermarket fender liners so they are pretty quick to yank off to access the lower bolts to that particular bracket, but again, it's one of those things that aggravates me to remove to get the VC off.

Heck Justin.....have you replaced all the wire loom in your engine bay yet? LOL, I could keep adding to your to-do list!