bought my truck 9 months ago (2000 xj 4.0 150k miles ) and has had this ticking noise at idle ,,but doesnt get any louder as i give it gas .... and hasnt gotten any worst .. what could it be ?.. dont know much about 4.0 engines .. are there lifters ? are the rockers adjustable ? .. going to replace the valvecover gasket soon ... just wanna know if it would be an easy fix..thanks

 

The ticking sound you here is more than likley lifters,they can be adjusted but because they are hydraulic lifters do not require it,this is a normal thing for 4.0s and many motors,when you change your valve cover gasket I would just make sure the rockers and push rods are all tight.

 

hydraulic lifters are NOT adjustable maybe your thinking rockers?? and in this case they are NOT adjustable either......they are pedestal mount..commonly known as Bolt down. they are torqued to 15-20ftlb on the assemble line and sent off. lifter are what your hearing....my jeep does the same..i have new lifters,Headgasket,Headbolts ready to go in.

 

They are not adjustable like solid lifters,you are right,and that is what I said is it is not required,but if someone wanted to make sure they were set correct they could place it at tdc and loosen them and reset them at 19ftlbs which is the correct setting,if set at 15 they will make alot more noise.

 

TDC and the cam has to be on the Base circle for each cylinder being checked...

 

where are the lifters on a 4.0 are they accesable when you take the valvecover off ?

 

think you need to take the head off to get to the lifters but you should be able to diagnosis it by taking the rocker cover off and seeing if any of the rockers are loose as in no pressure from the follower

 

as far as i know ALL inline motor the lifters are under the head........V line motors for the most part can have them removed if you take out the intake....fish them out with a magnet....depending on how generious the car maker was for clearance.

 

Jeep had a tsb on a ticking sound because of the purge solenoid also wich you can see on the passenger side firewall that is fixed with another rubber mount.Just a suggestion to check before you go taring into your lifters.

 

deff comming from one of the back cylinders

 

I had this problem once and thought it was lifters and it ended up being a wrist pin, which was not worth fixing in till the engine needs a rebuild.

 

haveing the same ticking problem....a couple of the lifters and rods do have a little play in them im going to check if they are at 19 ft lbs or not but if not .... whats next??