Chrysler Repair: engine, valve lifters, valve lifter

Question
automatic sebring 2002 4door
hears clicking when starting the car. More like a loud knocking sound. Coming from the top of the engine. It has 62,000 miles bought it least than a year ago. at the milage of 24,000. wondering if there's a minor problem or if i have to buy and engine

Answer
Hi Jamaal,
I am not up to speed on the Chrysler engines used in the 2000 time frame, but if the clicking/knocking sounds like it is coming from the cover on the top of the engine where you add the oil then I suspect it is associated with the valve train, perhaps a collapsed or clogged valve lash adjuster (also known as a valve lifter). If the clicking goes away after a short time, then that is pretty clearly what the problem is. If that is the situation, you might well be able to get rid of the problem by changing the oil, and maybe before you do that get a can of internal engine cleaner that advertises itself as cleaning valve lifters. Usually you add such a cleaner and drive the car for a few 10's or 100's of miles, then changing the oil. While you have the clener in you might want to avoid high speed driving because it may thin the oil so that it is less effective at preventing wear that is more severe at high engine rpm's. Then replace the old oil/cleaner mixture with the proper grade of oil specified in the owners manual (probably 5w-30 or 10W-30). This may solve the startup knocking problem. I wouldn't be concerned with such a noise if it goes away shortly after starting up the engine, but if you can easily clean out the lifter in this manner it would be less worrisome for you. A persistant knocking that is present all the time when the engine is running is of greater concern of course.