My car is full of crazy noises. One of the craziest is when I first start the car I can hear what I think is a lifter(s) tapping like crazy for a few seconds. Can still hear it until the car warms up, but it sounds more like a valve tap (after the first couple seconds of craziness.) Can it be tightened? What should I do? Heavier oil? Seafoam my oil? Other attitives? Drive it like I stole it til something breaks?

30v btw

 

See if it's coming from the ends of the valve covers (back end of passenger side, front end of driver side). Use a screwdriver as a stethoscope. If it is, you likely have failing cam chain tensioners and are hearing chain slap. Try seafoam to see if sludge is blocking an oil capillary somewhere but if not, you could be looking at CCTs as it seems sunken litters and valve tap are awfully rare on these cars.

 

i can second the OP's concern on this matter. it really is a terrifying noise upon first starting the car. but it settles down after a few seconds. i tried a thinner oil, oem oil filter, and just recently sea-foamed the crank-case but nothing seems to make it better. i did VC gaskets about a month ago because of an oil leak, only to find out that stupid me didnt trace the leak far enough forward and up. the leak is coming from the drivers' front of the head so im "assuming" its the Cam Tensioner. i have yet to investigate the tensioner with my steth but it seems to be the common concensus. after all my motor does have 167k on it... my question now, is in order to r&r the tensioners, do i need that special cam locater bar to hold the cam gears when im replacing the tensioners? i had to borrow one to do the timing chain.

 

Legend, what engine do you have. If it's a 1.8T then it's a cam seal leaking at the front of the head - the tensioner is at the back. If it's a V6, the driver side head has the tensioner at the front and it's at the back for the passenger side head.

 

I just had t-belt done at a shop, and had the vc gaskets replaced. on my receipt it says tensioner ($69.00) but it's seperate from t-belt tensioner, and serp belt tensioner. I assumed it was the cam tensioner, but maybe not. camshaft seal was also replaced. Wouldn't you think they would've noticed and told me there was an issue then? What long term effects am I looking at by letting it go, whether it's lifters or cam tensioner?

 

That was probably the hydraulic damper, aka hydraulic tensioner. They weren't anywhere near your cam chain tensioner doing the timing belt.

 

Its a 30v 2.8

 

They weren't anywhere near the cam tensioner doing the valve cover gaskets?