Hello guys, thank you very much for taking your time to read my fourm.
I have a 2009 Chevrolet Suburban that I love to death and is my favorite. I do really regular oil changes, keep the interior 100% mint, and make sure the car is working at its best.
today I woke up and went to go start my car and was greeted by this sound. I have never heard this sound before. The sound gets faster when I press the gas peddle. I have not driven it today, and only reved it in park to hear the sound. When I accelerate a little, the sound “tics” (I’m not sure what to call it) gets faster. I changed the oil last week with full synthetic. The Truck has 159,000 Miles. Do you guys know possibly what the sound is so I can fix it? Thank you guys so much!
have a wonderful day,
Mack
edit: I have a video, but for some reason it is giving me a hard time to upload

 

Most likely a cracked exhaust manifold or a lifter about to go. Those motors are notorious for lifters collapsing.

 

Ooooh I see. I have noticed that after driving for a while and the engine is warm, the tic/knock goes away. I have been reading that this means my engine is starved of oil somehow and after driving gets oil to the part starved and stops it. Should I take it into a mechanic to get diagnosed? Or do you guys think it’s fine to just keep driving it. I called a mechanic near me and he said I should not drive it whatsoever and tow it in immediately. I am very good with tearing apart engines and transmissions, but I am hoping that is not necessary. Should I just forget about it and keep driving?
sorry For all the questions, I am thankful I have you guys to ask.
mack

 

Go get it checked out or drive it until it breaks(which it will) From what your describing it's on they way out. My buddy just lost a lifter at 170,000 miles and it wiped his cam lobe. He bought a reman and we put it in.

 

Oh man. I seriously hope that it won’t kill my engine. On average how much does it cost to replace a lifter?. If I forget about it and keep driving it and the lifter goes out, what will happen? Will the engine stop running while driving or will it not start whatsoever? The car only drives 8 ish miles a day down to work or so. What causes the lifters to go out?
also, the engine is only at 159,000 miles. Is it really going to go out this early?
thank you so much
mack
(I apologize for the many questions again)

 

Welcome to the forum. Take a piece of hose and put one end near the exhaust manifold and while listening at the other end, move it around to see if you can locate the leak.

Also take a mechanic's stethoscope (or a long screwdriver) and probe around the valve covers and heads to see if the sound is there.

 

If your very good with tearing engines down then you should know what kind of damage a collapsed lifter can cause.Yes if the lifter collapses and is driven for a period of time it produces metal shavings will reach the oil pump and be pumped throughout the whole engine. Replacing lifters requires removing the heads. Upwards of a 2500.00 dollar job at a shop. Tis the reason why some people just spend an extra 1500 and get a reman engine. If you can do the work yourself 5 to 600 for lifters and another 200 for head gaskets and misc stuff. Or buy the afm delete kit that comes with timing cover, cam, lifters etc. Get it diagnosed before you cost yourself thousands more than needed.

 

Sorry I forgot the verify, I am a ATV mechanic. The atvs I work on engine’s and trans are much different set up. I have never torn apart a cars engine or transmission that’s why I was hoping it wouldn’t come to me having to risk prying my engine open. I also do not have a mechanics stethoscope as I have never had to use one on an atv in my experience. I will try a screwdriver as you said On average how hard do you guys think it is to replace them? I have good knowledge in atv engines but not cars. I know basic knowledge but nothing advanced. I am going to upload my video onto YouTube and post the link here so you guys can hear.
Mack
EDIT: I uploaded it to YouTube so you guys can hear it. I have never heard this noise until a few days ago. Here is the link
https://youtu.be/-RhroEJNAaY

 

Yeah that sounds like a lifter tick. Not hard just involves your time and double checking everything you do from pre-assembly prep to assembly. There are bunches of youtube videos on these engines.

 

There was also something else weird. Sometimes it’ll tick, and sometimes not. For example today when I went to start it for the second time (I didn’t listen for it the first time) I didn’t hear any tics, even though it was before. Is it normal to not tic, then tic again? Maybe when the engine warmed up the first time I started it it went away. I noticed I only hear it when the engine is cold I believe
edit: I am taking it into a MOPAR shop tomorrow and they are telling me to tow it in and not drive it to not ruin my engine. I will keep you guys updated for anyone with this problem in the future