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Originally Posted by M1Combat
3. If it's a lifter what's the best course of action? Also... It's intermittent. It just plain comes and goes. I can certainly hear the valvetrain at very small throttle settings. This sound is in addition to that. I feel like if it was a lifter it would be consistent or wouldn't be changeable with the throttle. I may have to go take a ride but I'm pretty sure that if I open the throttle a touch when it's happening I can make it silent. Maybe something with the variable valve timing setup?
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Valve clatter might indicate a worn cam chain guide but that would be rare with only 36K miles on the engine.
As Topless suggested, it could be a lifter. A collapsed lifter can be replaced with the engine in the car but the cams need to locked via a special tool (that you can fab yourself) and then the cam cover needs to be removed. It's not a fun job due to the tight spaces, but it can be done.
If its intermittent, I wouldn't do anything invasive until you know for sure exactly what the problem is. Seems like additional trouble shooting is needed to isolate the source of the ticking sound.
Quote:
Originally Posted by M1Combat
4. Maybe it was for the older 98x chassis but I read somewhere that the swaybar end links (not the swaybar itself) are a little thin and can bend, and cause alignment issues. Basically when they bend it would cause a pre-load/cross-weight at the ASB.
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The sway bar ends should be really easy to check. Just take a look and see if they are bent or damaged. If so, the stock sway bar ends are easy to replace. My guess is that its not the sway bar ends.
Does the car drift right or left when driving straight? Any other symptom of mis-alignment other than the steering wheel being off?
If the only symptom is the steering wheel is off, then the front tie rods need adjustment to bring the steering wheel back to center when the front wheels are straight. There is also the chance that the front tie rod(s) is damaged/bent/worn and that is why the previous owner couldn't get the steering wheel aligned straight. Any alignment shop should be able to check this and adjust it correctly (if that is all that is needed).
I have no idea why someone would put a new tire on to try and correct this problem (unless I have completely misunderstood the problem).