Mitsubishi Repair: Timing, hydraulic lifters, mitsubishi dealership

Question
Called a Mitsubishi dealership and managed to get a mechanic on the phone.  I was a bit surprised that he was willing to talk to me.  He said that this happens to them all the time and won't hurt anything.  He said the problem sound was the hydraulic lifters bleed off when you hand crank the engine.  I restarted it and let it bang away while I gritted my teeth. It took about 2 minutes for the engine to warm up and the noise to disappear completely.  Go figure!  I was ready to tear the head off looking for the bent valve!  I did reset the timing belt back one tooth on the rear cam.  I should have a new tensioner tomorrow and get it back on the road.

Thanks again,
John

Answer
John,
Glad to hear things are running better now.  Noisy lifters on older Eclipse were a common issue.  The oil passages in the later Eclipse (2000+ models) had passages 3 times larger and prevented a lot of that clacking.  Just be sure you're using the correct oil weight as recommended for your engine and keep it full.  That should prevent that lifter noise even on cold starts.
Good luck!