I should know better than to type here and show my ignorance, but
others on the list are so generous, it would seem mean to stay
silent...

I have found that clicking sounds that go away with prolonged driving
are often exhaust leaks near the engine which seal-up at higher temps.
 I say, use your hands, SAFELY, to check for puffs of air around the
manifolds at COLD start-up.  DON'T get hurt.  You might also feel the
puffs of cold exhaust on your cheeks or eye lashes if you are lucky
with the leak's location.

The increasing trend in time-to-seal supports this theory.

The diminishing effect of oil changes is, I suggest, optimistic listening.

gab

ps - if you think checking for cold leaks on an ICE is scary, try
doing it on a steam turbine!

On Mon, Sep 10, 2012 at 11:25 PM, Scott Daniel - Turbovans
<scottdaniel@turbovans.com> wrote:
> Hi,
> I would say it's unlikely a spring inside a lifter is broken.
>
> get a good 'hydraulic lifter cleaner additive' and put some in the oil.
> It's not uncommon at all for them to get gooked up a bit ..
> I normally put some cleaner type additive in any waterboxer that has
> only oil in it, or has sticky lifters.
> Marvel Mystery Oil is one , of many.
>
> Doesn't sound like you do this, but if you fire it up, like to move it,
> say a minute of running.
> Do that several times and it will contribute to lifters being noisy.
>
> I don't recommend letting it idle cold for a good while.
> Start gently ......drive off gently in about 30 seconds ..
> with some load on it , it will warm up more easily.
> Idling is not good for engines really ..especially cold.
>
> Especially cold.
> Scott
> www.turbovans.com
>
>
>
> On 9/10/2012 8:10 PM, KKALnSF wrote:
>>
>> Hello,
>>
>> We have an  87 Syncro with about 70k miles.
>>
>> When we leave the van unused for several days or more, upon start-up a
>> loud ticking emanates from the right side of the engine.
>> If we let it idle for 5-10 minutes, the sound slowly disappears.
>>
>> We have noticed the sound has become more frequent over the last year.
>> We have noticed the problem appears to be less frequent after we change
>> the oil
>> We have noticed this does not seem to occur when the engine is warm.
>>
>> Last weekend we noticed the ticking seemed more like a clacking which
>> was  louder than previously and it took 30 minutes of low speed driving
>> for the noise to slowly subside.
>>
>> I made an inquiry with our local mechanic, who didn't hear the noise but
>> believes the spring inside the lifter is broken.  I'm not sure how that
>> could be the case if the noise goes away after the engine warms up.
>>
>> Has anyone dealt with this type of noise?
>>
>