irish21

I have a '96 FWD manual (12v, of course) that I just turned over 70,000 miles. I had the timing belt and waterpump done, and thought I'd be set for awhile. Recently, however, I've noticed what I think is some valve clatter when I'm outside the car and it's idling. I can't hear it from inside. The Oil level is fine. I took it to a mechanic (non-dealer), who said it's probably some bad lifters. Did a search here and determined that that problem is fairly commmon with these engines, and not particularly harmful, just annoying. Two questions: 1)Does the diagnosis sound right? 2) Anyone know how much getting the lifters replaced would run? I know from the search that they're inexpensive parts, but the labor involves removing the cam, and I don't know enough to have an idea how much time that entails (doesn't sound quick, though). Any insight would be helpful. Thanks.

20vTurbo

I would like to know too, only I have a '98 1.8T, and I think I have more tick than normal. I heard lifter job costs $650. How many lifters are in my engine (1 per valve?). I also heard that it could be only one bad lifter and not all of them, is this true? I also heard the job takes aorund 3 hours but I dont know if that's 1 lifter or all.

irish21

Yeah, you have 20 lifters compared to my 12. One per valve. From what I could find, though, the lifters themselves are fairly inexpensive, and once the cam is off, you may as well replace all of them. Of course, with 20, even $10 each would add up real quick. For once, I'm happy to have the 12v and not the 30v V6. If 3 hours is the labor time, mine would hopefully be under $500. Hopefully someone who knows a little more will chime in. Good luck.