Rebuilt head making noises

[ctrench]

So i tore apart the engine this part weekend and did a bunch of maintenence work and put on a rebuilt head... now i have her running and all i hear is SUPER loud chattering coming from the head, like she needs an oil change really bad. Should i drive around town to let the oil circulate through or what?

Any info, advice, or suggestions is appreciated. Thanks!

[— kung fu jesus —]

Collapsed lifter, most likely.

Video would be good.

[★ revlimiter ★]

^ Probably hit the nail on the head. Is it an NA head? If so, I'd bet a lot on a lifter that just needs to get filled with oil.

I've heard good things about Marvel Mystery Oil for this sort of thing. Add some and let the oil circulate. Or you could put in the thinnest synthetic you could find. I've never seen anything thinner than Royal Purple 0w20, so that might be a good choice.

[Caoboy]

Letting the oil circulate will help. When Gunwoo put in a new head on my car, I had some crazy tick as well. We let it sit for a while. rev'd it to 4,000 RPM, and it went away.

[ctrench]

thanks for all good info. i drove it for about 50 miles round trip today, and it is still ticking bad, but it has quieted down a lot,

I was told by a miata veteran, to put in a little atf in and drive it for about 20 min then flush the oil and then change it with light weight then after about 1000 miles change it again to what i would normally use. this sound alright?

[The Platypus]

When I used to get the tick, I changed to 5w30 Mobil 1 and after I changed it I revved it to about 3000 and kept it there for a minute or so and it went away for good.

[ctrench]

well i drove her 50 miles at about 2800 rpm, so its not like the normal oil change where it takes a minute to sound good. Idk yet, im going to keep driving it for a couple days and see if anything happens

[— kung fu jesus —]

Try some Shell Rotella T6 5w40.