Dreaded Effing lifter tap...... - SOLVED

[Blackcar]

Lifter gets stuck and doesn't compress which causes valve to touch piston and bend push rod in my thinking .

 

[B-train]

So, got the answer from the Insurance that they won't cover it due there being a TSB about lifters in these vehicles. I figured they'd find a way out of it, just super shitry that it happened sometime in between getting hit and repaired at the body shop.

I had my friend at the dealership throw a hail Mary and put a new pushrod in and see if it was quiet......it worked! He changed the oil and now it's ready to roll again. Just not sure how long (1k or 100k?). That leads to another question: keep it and run it until something fails, or trade it off while it looks great and runs good?

It needs a trans temp sensor that fails in the harness - $1250 ( have to pull the valve body to replace). Trans service at the same time. I haven't committed to that yet, gonna let it soak a day or 2 to see what the wife and I feel about it. KBB puts it at 15 -19k private party, and about 14k trade value.

Insights welcomed.

 

[L8T BURB]

So, got the answer from the Insurance that they won't cover it due there being a TSB about lifters in these vehicles. I figured they'd find a way out of it, just super shitry that it happened sometime in between getting hit and repaired at the body shop.

I had my friend at the dealership throw a hail Mary and put a new pushrod in and see if it was quiet......it worked! He changed the oil and now it's ready to roll again. Just not sure how long (1k or 100k?). That leads to another question: keep it and run it until something fails, or trade it off while it looks great and runs good?

It needs a trans temp sensor that fails in the harness - $1250 ( have to pull the valve body to replace). Trans service at the same time. I haven't committed to that yet, gonna let it soak a day or 2 to see what the wife and I feel about it. KBB puts it at 15 -19k private party, and about 14k trade value.

Insights welcomed.

Good news that you got it running back smooth again for what seems like a low cost.

As for me, I would ship that thing out as quickly as possible. You've got the right idea to let things marinade for a couple of days and talk it over with wife and determine best steps forward. Lets say you land at 14k trade value... and the engine lets go within a year. Best case scenario, you only refresh the cam and lifters via DOD delete for around $2400, you've now spent roughly 20% of the value of the vehicle for that repair.

Not terrible... but lets say you've got other things that start to creep up. Transmission issues... various electronic modules known to fail such as blind spot monitor false positives, the digitizer of the radio touchscreen, etc.

These are all things to consider. You know your financial situation and goals better than anyone... but from what information I see being presented here, I wouldn't hesitate to send this thing on and move into something else.

 

[Geotrash]

So, got the answer from the Insurance that they won't cover it due there being a TSB about lifters in these vehicles. I figured they'd find a way out of it, just super shitry that it happened sometime in between getting hit and repaired at the body shop.

I had my friend at the dealership throw a hail Mary and put a new pushrod in and see if it was quiet......it worked! He changed the oil and now it's ready to roll again. Just not sure how long (1k or 100k?). That leads to another question: keep it and run it until something fails, or trade it off while it looks great and runs good?

It needs a trans temp sensor that fails in the harness - $1250 ( have to pull the valve body to replace). Trans service at the same time. I haven't committed to that yet, gonna let it soak a day or 2 to see what the wife and I feel about it. KBB puts it at 15 -19k private party, and about 14k trade value.

Insights welcomed.

Congrats on the easy fix, even though I would wager it's a temporary band-aid.

On the bigger picture, as @L8T BURB says, only you know your financial picture, available time for making repairs, and your need for 100% dispatch reliability each day.

I'm going to differ with the recommendation though based purely on my own preferences, knowledge and beliefs about these trucks, plus my knowledge of investment strategies. With the exception of our 3500HD (which I bought to keep for 20+ years), I like to buy dry country vehicles when they're close to fully depreciated yet still in excellent condition, then do all of the work needed to get them back to like new condition, mechanically and cosmetically. This way, I know exactly what I have and I get the peace of mind that goes with knowing what to do when/if anything goes wrong. Over the past 35 years, this strategy has served me very well, with low vehicle costs allowing my wife and I to save enough to hopefully retire early. The $50,000 you might spend on a newer rig, saved and invested over 20 years at an average of 7% (my investments have done much better than that over the same length of time), would be worth $193K.

The only way I know for workaday people to become millionaires without either rich parents or a windfall of some other kind, is to save early and often, and avoid spending big money on depreciating assets at all reasonable costs.

 

[B-train]

Congrats on the easy fix, even though I would wager it's a temporary band-aid.

On the bigger picture, as @L8T BURB says, only you know your financial picture, available time for making repairs, and your need for 100% dispatch reliability each day.

I'm going to differ with the recommendation though based purely on my own preferences, knowledge and beliefs about these trucks, plus my knowledge of investment strategies. With the exception of our 3500HD (which I bought to keep for 20+ years), I like to buy dry country vehicles when they're close to fully depreciated yet still in excellent condition, then do all of the work needed to get them back to like new condition, mechanically and cosmetically. This way, I know exactly what I have and I get the peace of mind that goes with knowing what to do when/if anything goes wrong. Over the past 35 years, this strategy has served me very well, with low vehicle costs allowing my wife and I to save enough to hopefully retire early. The $50,000 you might spend on a newer rig, saved and invested over 20 years at an average of 7% (my investments have done much better than that over the same length of time), would be worth $193K.

The only way I know for workaday people to become millionaires without either rich parents or a windfall of some other kind, is to save early and often, and avoid spending big money on depreciating assets at all reasonable costs.

I love / live what you stated @Geotrash

Good words to live by, I should be retired early as well based off of similar principles. I have usually done the buy lightly used/somewhat depreciated and then run them for as many miles as feasibly possible. I'm not afraid of maintenance or repairs, but I'm stuck in a new territory in life where I'm on the road now, sometimes weeks on end, and am unable to scramble to fix as needed for the wife or kids. She, being a typical female (no offense to female members here!) is not mechanically inclined and we have a limited number of trustworthy sources to lean on if needed.

Part of me wants to keep the truck, drive it until it breaks, then put a 6.6L and new torque converter in it and run it some more. $7500 is WAY cheaper than the alternative. However, as the kids have grown and are now driving, the need for a fullsize SUV isn't as relevant. My wife likes the new Buick Envista.......it's sharp, but a throw away shit-box in my mind.

I would be perfectly content with another used vehicle, but dependability, and ease of repairs (ie: warranty) seem to be on her list now..........The fact that for 25 years I've kept her in top notch stuff seems to have gone out the window based on the fear of "what if?"

Sometimes I just want to live by myself away from everyone, with 2 older dependable vehicles, my atv, guns, garden, and my dog. LOL

 

[MobileHomie]

Lifter gets stuck and doesn't compress which causes valve to touch piston and bend push rod in my thinking .

No. When the lifter is collapsed the distance the pushrod travels is less, there will be no valve to piston contact.
I did a lot of research when my lifter collapsed.
It is the geometry of the pushrods and placement of rocker arms above the valves. They do no push strait up and down like an old small block but instead have a pronounced angle that works 'fine' until a lifer collapses. The gap created from the collapsed lifter causes the pushrod to bend in very short order.

 

[Geotrash]

I love / live what you stated @Geotrash

Good words to live by, I should be retired early as well based off of similar principles. I have usually done the buy lightly used/somewhat depreciated and then run them for as many miles as feasibly possible. I'm not afraid of maintenance or repairs, but I'm stuck in a new territory in life where I'm on the road now, sometimes weeks on end, and am unable to scramble to fix as needed for the wife or kids. She, being a typical female (no offense to female members here!) is not mechanically inclined and we have a limited number of trustworthy sources to lean on if needed.

Part of me wants to keep the truck, drive it until it breaks, then put a 6.6L and new torque converter in it and run it some more. $7500 is WAY cheaper than the alternative. However, as the kids have grown and are now driving, the need for a fullsize SUV isn't as relevant. My wife likes the new Buick Envista.......it's sharp, but a throw away shit-box in my mind.

I would be perfectly content with another used vehicle, but dependability, and ease of repairs (ie: warranty) seem to be on her list now..........The fact that for 25 years I've kept her in top notch stuff seems to have gone out the window based on the fear of "what if?"

Sometimes I just want to live by myself away from everyone, with 2 older dependable vehicles, my atv, guns, garden, and my dog. LOL

Yep, that would be enough to change my calculus, too. My wife and I are fortunate in that we both work from home, so the only dispatch reliability she cares about is being able to pick up the kids from school, take them to appointments, drive them to events and friends' houses, etc. She LOVES her little Land Rover LR2 "water bug" for this purpose, and it's dead-on reliable because #1 it's a Volvo under the hood, and #2, I've been through every major system with a fine-toothed comb, replacing every possible wear item and trouble-prone part, and I know it's tip-top. And she's as frugal-minded about cars as I am, so she's fine with this because we have the Yukons and now the Suburban, as backup and for longer trips.

If I were in your shoes though, and my wife cared more about having a newer car, I would definitely pick up a cheaper, newer but nice SUV, like the newest CR-V or Mazda CX-50, and treat it like royalty. It would only need to last us 5 years until the kids are out of the house.

 

[B-train]

Yep, that would be enough to change my calculus, too. My wife and I are fortunate in that we both work from home, so the only dispatch reliability she cares about is being able to pick up the kids from school, take them to appointments, drive them to events and friends' houses, etc. She LOVES her little Land Rover LR2 "water bug" for this purpose, and it's dead-on reliable because #1 it's a Volvo under the hood, and #2, I've been through every major system with a fine-toothed comb, replacing every possible wear item and trouble-prone part, and I know it's tip-top. And she's as frugal-minded about cars as I am, so she's fine with this because we have the Yukons and now the Suburban, as backup and for longer trips.

If I were in your shoes though, and my wife cared more about having a newer car, I would definitely pick up a cheaper, newer but nice SUV, like the newest CR-V or Mazda CX-50, and treat it like royalty. It would only need to last us 5 years until the kids are out of the house.

You betcha! The Mazda line is something I've looked at and do like the CX-50. The last Mazda I looked at 2 years ago was a Mazda 6. They are made in Japan, the fit and finish is great, and they don't feel the need to change crap up every 3 years to try and keep a customer base. And, they come with 4 cylinders.......not 3 like the cheap GM ones.

We shall see. I like your situation, but we drive A LOT, so the warranty aspect makes sense for the wife. I could care less and keep a Murphy kit in my 2008 Denali.....to scare away problems. LOL

 

[L8T BURB]

Since you're talking about the Mazda CX-50, I feel I should chime in.

As I moved on from my Suburban, I also had the realization moment that I didn't necessarily NEED a massive 3 row vehicle. I also drive a lot, usually in the range of 15k to 20k per year taking kids to/from ball practices, games, day trips, etc. MPG is very important to me, as well as warranty (especially given my Suburban experience lol).

I opted for the 2024 Ford Escape with the 2.5 Hybrid. My understanding is that the Escape is in most ways, the Ford version of the CX-50. They make the Escape in a 2.5 full hybrid, and a 2.5 plug in. I opted for the full hybrid, as I've had GREAT luck with that drivetrain in Toyotas 2.5 hybrid. The idea of plugging in is a turnoff, so I didn't consider the plug in version.

If you've never driven a hybrid, I'd say, don't knock it till you try it. The CVT is buttery smooth, and consistently logging over 40MPG is something that never gets old.

Best of luck in your endeavors. I look forward to seeing what comes from this!

For reference, below is my 2024 Ford Escape ST-Line Select Hybrid. The only mods I've done are 5% tints and added a set of Lincoln Corsair wheels I found on marketplace.

 

[B-train]

Since you're talking about the Mazda CX-50, I feel I should chime in.

As I moved on from my Suburban, I also had the realization moment that I didn't necessarily NEED a massive 3 row vehicle. I also drive a lot, usually in the range of 15k to 20k per year taking kids to/from ball practices, games, day trips, etc. MPG is very important to me, as well as warranty (especially given my Suburban experience lol).

I opted for the 2024 Ford Escape with the 2.5 Hybrid. My understanding is that the Escape is in most ways, the Ford version of the CX-50. They make the Escape in a 2.5 full hybrid, and a 2.5 plug in. I opted for the full hybrid, as I've had GREAT luck with that drivetrain in Toyotas 2.5 hybrid. The idea of plugging in is a turnoff, so I didn't consider the plug in version.

If you've never driven a hybrid, I'd say, don't knock it till you try it. The CVT is buttery smooth, and consistently logging over 40MPG is something that never gets old.

Best of luck in your endeavors. I look forward to seeing what comes from this!

For reference, below is my 2024 Ford Escape ST-Line Select Hybrid. The only mods I've done are 5% tints and added a set of Lincoln Corsair wheels I found on marketplace. View attachment 440711
View attachment 440710

Yep, that is definitely a cousin to the Mazda CX-50. The Mazda 6 shares the same platform as the Ford Fusion which have been proven by multiple members of my family to be extremely reliable. Nice looking rig you got! And 40 mpg is pretty stellar.

I did have a Toyota Sienna hybrid van as a work rental this summer for a week in FL - that thing really impressed me. I drove it like I stole it and still averaged 32 mpg!!! It also cruises nice at 95 mph. I definitely fit "the mad white male stuck in a minivan" stereotype a few times in traffic. LOL. Nice to try but, I would never own a minivan.