300m 3.5L ticking noise

From a thread titled "Ticking noise when car starts" on the 300M ezBoard

:"My car did the same thing for a while as well. Come to find out, it wasthe expansion valve on the A/C line that had gone bad. Ticking noise isgone now."

The first post in the thread is where the OP posts the same symptoms as you. The last post is what I pasted above (in between there is a "Fram filters are awful" discussion that you can ignore) Seemed like a good non-obvious answer for an elussive problem like you appear to be having (if it undeed turns out not to be the lifters) - hey it's worth consideration since a new motor didn't fix it). Bill Putney (to reply by e-mail, replace the last letter of the alphabet in my address with "x")

They replaced the engine because of this?! And it didn't solve the problem ?!

Do they need zone manager approval to do this?

And it could be the AC expansion valve?

That's according to what the guy posted on the 300M ezBoard. I was kind of puzzled too, but I'm just the messenger. 8^) But the fact that a new engine was put in and the problem is still there is why I referenced the odd-ball solution of the expansion valve.

Bill Putney (to reply by e-mail, replace the last letter of the alphabet in my address with "x")

The 3.5 has rollers at one end of its rockers and a "hydraulic lash adjuster" (essentially the internals of a hygraulic lifter) at the other end. Don't know if that's your noise or not, but that's how the overhead works in that engine, and yes it can "tick" very much like a hydraulic lifter. It will also sometimes make a deeper rattling noise briefly (in the case of my '93 with over 200,000 miles, less than 1 second) on a cold start as all the lash adjusters pressurize.

But since yours is there even after an engine change, I'd wonder if you have an exhaust leak, cracked flex plate, or other problem associated with the car and not with the engine itself.

Thanks for the help!!!

Could the dipstick be wrong? I've found if the oil goes slightly below the min mark (wasn't paying attention one month) the engine definitely clicks. A little oil to bring it above the minimum mark (damn where it should be) and no click. If they stuck in the wrong dipstick, that could be your problem.

My guess - just noisy fuel injectors. Sometimes it is best not to worry about those little noises your engine makes. That isnof course if you have nothing better to worry about.

Dan