Lincoln Town Car Engine Ticking
Hello everyone, I have a 1999 Lincoln town car with 93,000 miles on it. The valve train is ticking a bit, nothing crazy but it’s definitely ticking. It’s always done this, as far as I know, and I’ve been around the car my whole life (it was my grandpa’s). I heard somewhere that it’s totally normal for one of those 4.6L V8s to have some ticking and it’s nothing to worry about, but I just thought I’d double check lol. Thanks for any help you can give me.
This car has been quietly ticking like this for at least 10 years, probably longer. It wasn’t driven much after my grandpa passed away but every couple days my nana would go out and start it. As far as I know the ticking isn’t any louder than it was back then, so it hasn’t gotten worse 
. I do know for a fact the car probably hasn’t had an oil change in 10 years because no one drove it hardly at all 
. Thats the next thing I’m going to do to it, that should help some shouldn’t it?
I do know for a fact the car probably hasn’t had an oil change in 10 years because no one drove it hardly at all
Yikes! The oil and filter should be changed once a year even if the car is not used much to remove condensation that accumulates. If your lifters are sludged up and worn the damage is already done and it's not likely anything is going to help quiet them down. Oil and filter should still be changed ASAP nonetheless. You could try the ATS 505 CRF carbon cleaning additive that Scotty has talked about and recommended.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c-babZWqH34
If I keep up on the maintenance, no, overdo the maintenance, do you thing I can still get a lot of mileage out of the engine? 😂 Changing all of the fluids more often like a car from the 50s required?
Can't say, it depends on the current state of the engine. No need to adopt 1950s intense maintenance with modern oils. (Many 1950s engines did not even have an oil filter and oils back then practically had the sludge built in.)
Maintenance won't fix pre-existing damage, if any. Change oil and filter to start with and see how it goes. If cooling system has not been flushed with fresh antifreeze and a new thermostat installed in 10 years or more that should be done as well.
I will definitely replace all of the fluids very soon. Thankfully it doesn’t burn oil or coolant at all and it’s not even remotely as loud as the Volkswagen in Scotty’s video (you have to have the hood open and be on the side of the car where the valve cover ticking is coming from to even hear it), so I think I should be able to squeeze a few more years out of this engine 😂.
I've seen engines go for many years and miles with a light lifter tap.
Since this additive clears out the oil sludge from the engine, is there a chance it could cause my engine to start burning oil? I was wondering since the car hasn’t had an oil change in so long, could the sludge be the only thing keeping it from burning oil? Like a sort of barrier? I just thought I’d ask before I used the additive because right now, the car doesn’t burn any oil at all. Like it probably hasn’t even been topped off in ten years because the level hasn’t gone down any since it was filled 😂
It’s paid for. It’s hard to know what is wrong with it. Especially since it isn’t been driven. Best case scenario, change the oil and filter, and it will run for some time. Worst case, it is on its last legs.
Since it’s not too expensive to change to oil and filter, try it. See what happens. That is the only way to know.
No, it's not normal. With a 23 year old car, I's suspect the hydraulic lifters are just worn out.
Do I need to be worried? It runs strong, and like I said it doesn’t tick very loudly. With the hood closed you can’t even hear it.
Do I need to be worried?
If the lifters are ticking, then eventually it will cause engine failure (unless something else gets it first).
Unless you rebuild engines for a hobby, there isn't much you can do about it. So, no I wouldn't stress about it, but I would get started on plan B now, for when the old thing finally does kick the bucket.
Probably lifters as others have stated, but an exhaust manifold leak can also cause that kind of sound.
It doesn’t have an exhaust leak, I wish I could say it did 😂. This car has been quietly ticking like this for at least 10 years, probably longer. It wasn’t driven much after my grandpa passed away but every couple days my nana would go out and start it. As far as I know the ticking isn’t any louder than it was back then, so it hasn’t gotten worse 🤞. I do know for a fact the car probably hasn’t had an oil change in 10 years because no one drove it hardly at all 😅. Thats the next thing I’m going to do to it, that should help some shouldn’t it? Do you have any recommendations for additives that will help at all? Is my car basically dead? 😂 Thanks again for all of your help.
Since this additive clears out the oil sludge from the engine, is there a chance it could cause my engine to start burning oil? I was wondering since the car hasn’t had an oil change in so long, could the sludge be the only thing keeping it from burning oil?
No one can guarantee or predict for certain what is going to happen with a poorly-maintained, decades-old engine.
Sludge is never good in the long run, it can clog up oil passages and cause catastrophic internal engine failure. You do not want it in there. If you want a more gentle and gradual way to clean contaminants out of the engine do a few oil changes at low mileage intervals, say 500-1000 miles and see how it goes. After doing that if all is OK you can consider a more aggressive engine cleaner like ATS 505 CRF.
This is what leaving sludge in your engine can lead to:
