We have a 93 Jeep Cherokee. The oil level is good & the guage for oil pressure reads good, but the lifters still sound like it is low on oil. WTF?

Did it happen all of a sudden?

we just went & got it recently (when the engine in the Ford truck blew). I guess it may have suddenly started, but not really sure.

They are not chattering really bad, but they can definately be heard

Hmmm. It sounds cam and timing belt related. I would check out the timing belt and tensioner. The tensioner can make a clicking sound like lifters when it's going bad. You don't want to push it too far or your engine may suffer extensive damage.

just went & checked the belt. It's ok. Did an old trick my Grandpa taught me about 100 years ago where you take a screwdriver & put the blade on the valve cover & the handle on your ear. It is definately the lifters.

Let it run for a bit then. Maybe it's gummed up from sitting..... Check the oil closely and make sure that it hasn't been thinned by something.

I was thinking it may be gummed up too. Maybe I should take the valve cover off & make sure the oil ports aren't restricted??? Would the oil pressure guage still read good even if that was the case?

As far as letting it run, we have put a few hundred miles on it since we got it

Sounds like you need to tear into it starting with the valve cover. Maybe it's just a loose lifter...

Right on, thank you, Jim.

No problem. I'm in the same boat today. Gotta tear into the daily driver.....

We had a Jeep Cherokee Sport 4.0 we bought the truck in 2001 w/ 130k and drove it up until last Dec. When we traded it in on our Dodge Magnum it had 298k. My point is this, the thing had a lifter "tick" from the first day we bought it until the day we traded it in. This was more than a tick, it was fairly loud chattering. We changed the oil every 4k miles and turned the radio up loud enough so we didn't hear the chatter. That truck went through 2 sets of tires, an alternator and a clutch in the 6 years we owned it and the [censored] thing ran and drove perfectly the entire time (other than the chattering). Beleive it or not it still had the original battery in it when we traded it it. We bought it inn 2001 for 3k and they gave us 1500 trade in, LOL. By far one of the best vehicles we've ever owned!

Cool, that makes me feel better about it. Just got back from getting a valve cover gasket, so I'm gonna take a peek anyway. The $4 the gasket costs isn't worth the 1/2 hour drive each way to take it back anyhow.

2.5 and 4.0 motors were notorious for lifter noise. Father had one and peeved him to no end. Car ran until he sold it, with 278k miles, same motor.

Try some of that Gold Eagle or similar engine oil flush, change the oil, and try 5w30 weight.

Me to. My K 1500 needs the driver door handle and lock replaced. Subsequently the passenger lock needs replaced as well. These door handles are a PITA. Everything including the glass has to come out in order to replace it.

dump a quart of kerosene in the oil and let it run for 30 seconds to 1 minute. NO MORE! DRAIN THE OIL and give it an oil change. then bring me my quarter skin!

Thanks, guys. I pulled the valve cover & it seemed pretty clean in there & everything is in working order. The guy who had the cover off last put some kind of form-a-gasket on with no gasket. The crap was as hard as a rock. I put a new gasket on & it really deadened the noise. My oil pressure is higher too. Broke some kind of plastic deal where the heater hose plugs into. Gotta fix that now, well Afro-engineer it anyway.

It's not a lifter. My former boss had a Jeep Cherokee that made the same noise. The dealer could never find the problem until a week before he traded it in. Though I do not recal exactly what it was, I seem to recall that it was an emission systems device for which there is a tech service bulletin. My hazy memory tells me it was the vapor return solenoid.

I'll call him in the morning to see what he remembers.

2500103 - DUTY CYCLE PURGE SOLENOID CAUSES A TICKING-LIKE SOUND FROM ENGINE COMPARTMENT
Date: 2/21/03

Model Year(s): 2002-2004

Description: This bulletin involves isolating the Duty Cycle Purge (DCP) solenoid from the vehicle body.

Details: The customer while sitting in the passenger compartment may notice a ticking-like sound when the engine is idling. The sound may be more noticeable in colder ambient temperatures. Mechanical contact between the DCP solenoid and the body of the vehicle may be the cause of the ticking-like sound.

The ticking-like sound may also be described as a tapping or clicking-like sound. The sound may appear to be similar to the sound produced by a worn or loose engine valve train component, such as a valve lifter.

Got it fixed & is running good. Thank you all for your help.