clicking/rattling noise in ford tempo...valve tap?

Question

hey-

my friend has a '91 ford tempo with 120,000 miles on it. recently we've noticed a clicking and rattling noise near the engine when she drives and accelerates. the car was brought to a garage where they " didnt know what was wrong ", but her dad and my dad both agree that it sounds like a " valve tap. " i looked it up and all i can find is that a "valve tap" is expensive to repair, but exactly how much is "expensive"? she's looking to sell this car to me but i'm just wondering :

1. does this NEED to be repaired
2. is it unsafe to drive
3. if it does need to be repaired about how much is it?

thanks a lot in advance!

Answer 1

Without seeing the vehicle it's hard to say. With 120,000 it could be just a valve out of adjustment , worn valve guides, or possibly weak valve springs. Burnt valves can tap but you usually notice a miss in the engine when running. Best thing to do is have your mechanic take a look to determine the cause. If the head needs rebuilding it will be quite expensive. Replacing springs or adjusting the valves won't be quite as harsh on your wallet.

Answer 2

Ok. First things first.
With that many miles on the car, it would be foolish to get just this done . In order to fix this you must tear down the engine and that could cost up words of 900-1500 depending on what the labor rate is where you live.
No it is not unsafe to drive. it will loose some power because the valves are out of adjustment
This is what the lifters do, open and close the valves.

Over time the lifters wear and as thy do thy start to clack. This could also be from oil not getting to the lifters.
I would sudject have a shop check the oil pressure, it could be that the reason thy are clacking is low oil pressure.
Hope this helps you

Answer 3

drain a quart of oil out, replace it with a quart of marvel mystery oil. this works wonders. what has happen is on or more of your lifters has collapse and wont pump back up. which causes the valve lash you hear. unless it gets really noisy i wouldnt worry to much. do what i said and it should stop the problem.