2003 Santa Fe 2.7L - "Sticky Lifter" sound.
 

My daughter purchased a 2003 Santa Fe with a 2.7L engine in it a few months ago. It has 151,xxx miles on it and It has not been kept up well - so I'm having to make up for lost maintenance.

I had to fix some vacuum leaks for it to pass smog. I pulled a carfax report on it and noticed the timing belt had not been done since it had 63,000 miles on it - so our mechanic just put a Timing Belt and Water Pump on it. The plugs and wires look older than dirt but it runs and idles OK. I have new plugs and wires to install on the vehicle soon.

For the past month (before it had the timing belt done) it emits a sound at start-up that sounds like "sticky lifters." The sound goes away after it has warmed up for a few minutes.

I'm thinking "start small" and do an oil change with some good oil (Mobil 1, 10w-30 High Mileage, full synthetic). Some people have posted on Hyundai Forums these cars don't "like" Mobil 1 Full Synthetic oil. They recommend Castrol GTX High Mileage (a synthetic blend) instead.

We live in Las Vegas, NV. For a short spell (about 2-3 weeks) temperatures can get down to high 20s or low 30s at night and 50s in the day time.

Anyone encounter this "sticky lifter" sound? What was the cause?

Recommedations for Oil and Filter? I usually use Mobil 1 Full Synthetic with a Mobil 1 Filter, but I'm not adverse to Castrol.

We have a 2005 Santa Fe 3.5L and I noticed the sound once on start up until the engine was revved to about 1,500rpm for a minute. After that, I added a can of Marvel Mystery Oil to the full crankcase of motor oil and ran it for about 500 miles to clean deposits out of the oiled areas of the engine (lifters and valvetrain included). The noise did not return and I had the engine oil changed to High Mileage regular oil since.

Often a lifter tick like yours that goes away after some warm up is caused by a low quality oil filter. Make sure you get an oil filter with silicone check valve rather than a rubber check valve.

Suggestions on brand/ type?

No. Just go to the parts store and read the labels.