Hello all Saturn owners.
I recently replaced a Cylinder Head in my 2000 Saturn SL1 (225K). The old head cracked internally and put oil to antifreeze (real mess). I got a "new" head from junk yard, cleaned it and installed it along with brand-new head gasket. No more oil to antifreeze, car is running fine, I thought I saved it...

... but I'm now having a new problem - **an intermittent clicking (ticking) noise** - in sync with engine RPM - hot and cold. Sometimes it goes away after car wars up, sometimes it remains till I turn the ignition OFF. So the problem is intermittent.

I suspected worn hydraulic lifters (that compensate gaps) so I took the valve cover and rocker arm frame off then I pulled out all 8 lifters one-by-one. I cleaned them all in gasoline, primed with clean oil and reinstalled. The clicking problem remains...

What else can I do to find what is causing that intermittent clicks ?
Please help me troubleshoot this. Any advise is welcome.

 

I would just replace the lifters as a set. Did you have the "new" head inspected for a cracked or burnt valve or seat? Are there umbrella type seals on these engines (IDK), but if so you should replace them too. I'd suspect that by now they're old and brittle.

 

I ordered this "new" head from junk yard. They claim they have "visually inspected" it after cleaning. The head arrived in pretty good shape - way better than my old one. I pulled "new" lifters out - they all looked good except for one - that one I could push down with rocker arm. Other 7 were firm. So I replaced that one with the one of my old lifters. After I put the rocker arms back together, that lifter was also firm - just like the others. I thought I fixed the problem but no - still the same intermittent clicks

 

This is how Valve Stem Seals and Valve Lifter look on my Saturn SL1

 

I don't know what else to suggest other than maybe a worn rocker arm with too much clearance. You may have to get your feeler gauge out and start checking clearances if you can find the specs. GLWI