In my last thread I explained the odd symptoms my car was displaying and just broke down and resealed the top end. Upon reinstalling the motor first start up I noticed a tick which sounded like the passenger side rear. I went ahead and pulled the valve covers off and checked the clearance on the lifter shims all were okay. The cams sprockets are tight, timing is perfectly aligned, head gasket issue was caught extremely early on so no overheating damage. Before the motor came apart it was not making this noise. Any suggestions?

the lower cover of the engine bellhousing. it's metal and often gets bent during engine lifting/removing/big jobs.  tigthen the 2 bolts holding it to the bellhousing and make sure it's bent far enough away from the torque convreter or flywheel. 

 

is it the original engine or might it be another year EJ25?

Sometimes people put too much RTV sealant on gaskets and they make little blobs that break off and travel to the tiny holes in the hydraulic lifters, thereby preventing them from filling up as fast or at all. Does it make that noise for the first 10 min and stop?

cnc