Chrysler Repair: 3.0 V6: Engine noise in the morning (cold start), power stearing, valve lifter

Question
Hi Roland,

The water pumpp and timing belt was raplace about November of 2006 but I hardly have put 25,000 to 30,000 miles in this last 4 years. I did used a mechanic stetoscope and the sound  is around the front center of the engine and close to the distributor base. Very hard to really pinpoint.

Roland, does lubrications problems disapear whent engines get warm sometimes, or when they happened they will stay and continue getting worse ( in canshaft, lifters and rocker arms mechanism)? Something interesting is that the noise does not increase when I increase the RPM in the engine , more like it the noise happens at low RPM's even if I accelerate the car the noise will not get higher but it will come back on deceleration. All happen when engine is not jet warm. Later afrter 20-40 minutes no more noise.

Cordially,

Frank
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The text above is a follow-up to ...

-----Question-----
Hi,

The car is an 1989 Dogge Dynasty with a 3.0 V6 engine. In the morning when engine is cold I get a noise very simmilar to the one we hear when the water punp needs replacement. However, after the car warms up in the next 20-40 minutes the noise goes away and the engine sounds great. I disconected the belt for the alternator, power stearing and AC and still does the same nose in the morning to later go away. Could I be having some lubrication problem from a oil  pump going bad ? Or can it be my canshaft or its bearings going bad, the distributor bearings? Could you please tell me How can I pimpoint this problem, because I do my own repairs and this is a big job as you know?

Cordially,

Frank
-----Answer-----
Hi Frank,
You may have ID'd it already as the water pump is in my experience a component that sounds worse at cold start than after it has warmed up. If the oil pressure is ok by the gauge and you don't hear valve lifter clicking then it probably is not something related to oil lubrication. How long since the waterpump was changed? or the timing belt? which might be ready for a change anyway.
You might also take a length of small diameter rubber hose and use it like an ear horn, holding one tip in your ear and point the other end to probe around the engine to hear if you can localize the source of the noise that way. It is not pinpoint but it should tell you where in general the noise is coming from.
Roland

Answer
Hi Frank,
It could be that as you increase the rpm the oil pressure rises which lubricates whatever parts are making noise, so it seems to be not proportional to the rpm directly. I do know that the early 3.0L V6 engines had a problem with premature wearout of valve guides which was corrected in the early 90's via a change of design or materials. So you may have that as the cause of your noise if the heads haven't been worked on for that issue. I believe that you can replace the guides without removing the heads, but I am not sure how that is done if indeed the guides are worn. Are you burning oil, particularly at start up? That would be indicative of that design problem having taken its toll.
Roland