I have a 1996 2.8 12v FWD. The car has about 148,000 miles (not sure because the odometer faded out?). recently the engine developed a ticking noise on the passenger side of the motor. I have read that a ticking issue is common for this engine however I have not found any post of why?

I have been considering doing the timing belt, since it is most likely due for one. My issue is what if I am going to need a motor? I really haven't had a chance to tear into this concern, I just parked the car and have been driving my truck but I miss the car and the mpgs, Is it possible that it could be a lifter? it is in the general area the sound seems to be coming from. The tick slowly developed and has slowly gotten worse to the point of being noticeable it has and still is running fine other than the tick. There are also no codes at this time. any info or ideas of what commonly ticks or could be the issue would be very much appreciated. Thank you.

 

i would put a can of seafoam in the engine oil and see if anything changes. it could be sticky lifters, or some sludge restricting oil to some part of the engine. or it could be just a leak somewhere that makes a ticking sound.

if you want to know if your engine is still in good shape, do compression and leak-down tests. if those are fine you probably dont have any major problems. i would do a full seafoam treatment (search the forums for info) and change the timing belt, water pump, etc.

 

There is a half way decent vid on youtube for the seafoam. Just type in 2.8 audi a4 seafoam. 2 kids fighting with wasps lol. Anyhow I went off of this and it worked great and cleaned the girl up. Just don't stick the whole tube in the seafoam, just let it sip.

 

Thank you, I will give the sea foam treatment a try.

 

yep - my bet is on the lifters.