Lifter tick is a light, fast ticking from the top of the engine that follows engine speed, caused by a hydraulic lifter that is not holding oil pressure, is worn, or has collapsed. Low or dirty oil is the most common and easiest cause to fix. On engines with cylinder deactivation, such as GM V8s with Active Fuel Management and the 5.7 Hemi with MDS, the special deactivating lifters are a well-known failure point, and a failed lifter often brings a misfire and camshaft damage with it.
What a hydraulic lifter does
Lifters ride on the camshaft and transfer its motion to the pushrods and valves. A hydraulic lifter fills with engine oil to take up clearance automatically, which keeps the valvetrain quiet. When it cannot hold oil, or its internal parts wear, the clearance returns and you hear a tick each time the valve opens.
Lifter tick vs other noises
- Lifter tick: light, fast and from the top of the engine, at half engine speed; may quiet down once oil pressure builds.
- Exhaust leak: a similar tick that is loudest when cold and fades as the manifold expands.
- Rod knock: a deeper knock from the bottom of the engine that rises with load; see engine knocking.
- Injector tick: a normal sound from direct-injection engines.
Common causes
- Low oil level or pressure: check the dipstick first; see low oil pressure.
- Dirty or wrong-viscosity oil: sludge and varnish keep lifters from filling.
- Worn lifter or camshaft lobe: a lifter roller that stops turning wears the cam lobe; the tick usually comes with a misfire.
- Cylinder deactivation lifters: on GM AFM engines and the 5.7 Hemi with MDS, the deactivating lifters can stick collapsed.
AFM lifter failure on GM V8s
GM’s Active Fuel Management shuts off four cylinders at light load, on V8s cylinders 1, 7, 4 and 6, using special lifters that collapse on command. When one of these lifters sticks, the valve stops opening on that cylinder: you get ticking, a misfire code for that cylinder and rough running, and continued driving can damage the camshaft. The usual repair is replacing the lifters, guides and often the camshaft. The Gen IV 5.3 engines in our LS engines listings, the LY5 and LC9, are AFM engines; see the LS engine specs chart.
What to do about lifter tick
- Check the oil level and change the oil and filter with the specified viscosity.
- Note whether the tick fades as the engine warms or persists.
- Read codes: a misfire on one cylinder with ticking points to a lifter or cam lobe; see engine misfire.
- Have the valvetrain inspected if the tick persists; a failing lifter gets worse, not better.
On the 5.7 Hemi, see 5.7 Hemi tick. If cam and lifter damage has spread metal through the engine, compare a replacement engine on our engines page.
More guides: VVT solenoid · oil pressure sensor · 6.0 Vortec common problems · engine ticking noise · 5.3 Vortec problems · 5.7 Hemi problems · LS7 problems · LT1 problems · 6.0 Vortec problems · exhaust manifold leak vs lifter tick · what does a camshaft do? · bad rocker arm symptoms · bent pushrod symptoms · bad oil pump symptoms.
Trouble codes: P0301 cylinder 1 misfire · P0304 cylinder 4 misfire · P0306 cylinder 6 misfire · P0307 cylinder 7 misfire · all OBD2 codes.
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