Clicking sound coming from engine

[Thelt]

I have a clicking sound coming from my engine. I have the 3.0 V6. I think it might be in the valves. How hard is it to adjust them yourself?

[loytotoy]

On occasion my dealer has told me me they have adjusted my valves; but I don"t believe it. When I had my plenum gasket replaced a deferent mechanic said they could not be adjusted without removing the head. Its not worth that expense. However when my head gasket was replaced and the heads were milled the conspicuous ticking stopped after 13 years of sounding that way. My guess is you can't fix it without a major headache.

[Thelt]

Originally Posted by loytotoy

On occasion my dealer has told me me they have adjusted my valves; but I don"t believe it. When I had my plenum gasket replaced a deferent mechanic said they could not be adjusted without removing the head. Its not worth that expense. However when my head gasket was replaced and the heads were milled the conspicuous ticking stopped after 13 years of sounding that way. My guess is you can't fix it without a major headache.

If you went 13 years with it and it never became a problem then I probably should not worry about it then huh?

[loytotoy]

Yes. When it was new it sounded that way and it never changed until the head gasket was replaced at 129k in December 06.

[kathyricks]

The owners manual specifies a valve clearance check every 60,000 miles. Failure to check and adjust the valves is a major cause of exhaust valve burning on the 3.0L V6.
Exhaust valve burning, in turn, is a major reason many 3.0L V6's end up in the junkyard.

Only the valve covers need to be removed to adjust the valves. The complicated part is that alot of other stuff must be removed in order to gain sufficient room to remove the valve covers and check the valve clearances.