I'm usually pretty good with cars but my son's car may need some work that is beyond what I am willing to attempt. He has a decent little 1999 VW Jetta 2.0 with about 125K on it. It recently had a major oil leak from the oil cooler flange gasket. This is a pretty common issue with this car and a pretty easy repair. We got that done and the oil leak is gone. However, while it was leaking the valve train was apparently oil starved for a bit too long. It now has a pretty loud lifter tapping. We tried some Lucas oil treatment and its been driven for several days and the noise is still there. My son says at times the noise seems to get better but it comes back. This leads me to believe that one of the hydraulic lifters is likely sticking. Neither the oil level indicator or the oil pressure indicator has returned since we repaired the leak (this car has separate indicators for both). Other than the noise the car runs great.
I looked up what is involved in replacing the lifters. The head does not have to be removed but the camshaft does. So the timing belt and pulley would also have to be removed to install new cam seals. Then everything has to be reassembled exactly right or major engine damage will result when you attempt to start it. From what I was able to see, it looks like a qualified mechanic could do the job in well under 2 hours.
If anyone has any ideas about how much this would cost and a recommendation for a good mechanic near the Southeast side of Indy, that info would be greatly appreciated. I realize there could be other parts bad such as a cam or valves but I want a mechanic that won't try to gouge me by recommending everything under the sun be replaced.
A product called "Rislone" has also been recommended for this problem. We plan on trying it before taking it somewhere but as I said, we already tried a Lucas product. Spending a few dollars to give it a try is worth it though if it has a chance of helping.
I feel the car is worth putting a few hundred bucks into if necessary but much more than that and I'd have to really think about it.
I looked up what is involved in replacing the lifters. The head does not have to be removed but the camshaft does. So the timing belt and pulley would also have to be removed to install new cam seals. Then everything has to be reassembled exactly right or major engine damage will result when you attempt to start it. From what I was able to see, it looks like a qualified mechanic could do the job in well under 2 hours.
If anyone has any ideas about how much this would cost and a recommendation for a good mechanic near the Southeast side of Indy, that info would be greatly appreciated. I realize there could be other parts bad such as a cam or valves but I want a mechanic that won't try to gouge me by recommending everything under the sun be replaced.
A product called "Rislone" has also been recommended for this problem. We plan on trying it before taking it somewhere but as I said, we already tried a Lucas product. Spending a few dollars to give it a try is worth it though if it has a chance of helping.
I feel the car is worth putting a few hundred bucks into if necessary but much more than that and I'd have to really think about it.
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