Engine Lifter Noise

[Aarvix]

First video is normal DI tick, second video if your electric cooling fan, both sound completely normal to me.

 

[Nasscar]

I think Aarvix is on the money. Nothing to be concerned about.
Just in case you are unsure, DI is the direct injection system which is quite audible.

 

[terraform848]

Excellent. As long as she's purring like normal than I don't care how loud she is. Thanks for the replies

 

[Aarvix]

for comparison sake, here's the noise my car makes on cold starts (which I don't believe is normal)

 

[oddball]

for comparison sake, here's the noise my car makes on cold starts (which I don't believe is normal)

Mine does the same when it's actually "cold" out (for Dallas....). If it was a pushrod engine I'd say it's the hydraulic lifters clacking until they fill up. I don't know what kind of follower/tappet this thing uses, but that's my best guess. I'd try thinner oil but there's no oil pressure gauge.

So, totally normal until the engine seizes.

 

[Aarvix]

If it was a pushrod engine I would have adjusted valve lash already, but alas I have no experience with DOHC heads.

I do know our engines use solid tappets (not technically a lifter, and no "pumping up" needed), so I suspect I have a tappet with excessive, possibly out of spec clearance. Unfortunately from what I've read, fixing it requires the tappet to be replaced (there are no shims), which requires the cam to be removed. I'll be damned if I'm doing that on my dime while it's under warranty.

First step is to convince Kia to pull my valve cover and check the clearance. I'll report back.

 

[SafetyPilotCal]

for comparison sake, here's the noise my car makes on cold starts (which I don't believe is normal)

This is 100%, to a T, the exact same noise my car makes on cold starts. Same as you, it's much more obvious on "Texas cold" days. It did it on the factory fill oil and on the 5W-30 synth + MOS2 I have in there right now. I'm interested to find out what you hear from the dealer.

 

[Dajackal]

for comparison sake, here's the noise my car makes on cold starts (which I don't believe is normal)

That is spot on what my Kia Stinger GT (in Florida) sounds like upon a cold start. Interested to see what you get for a response. Mine stops at about the 40 second mark as well....goes away on giving it a bit of gas. I'm old-school and hearing that "knock" worries me. If you remember the old 80's engines you'll understand lol

 

[Dajackal]

for comparison sake, here's the noise my car makes on cold starts (which I don't believe is normal)

That is the exact sound my 2018 Kia Stinger GT is now making. I started noticing it at about 26k miles. Like yours, when I give it a little gas it goes away. After about 40 seconds it's gone. It just doesn't sound normal ! Interested in what you get for a reply. I'm a bit concerned as the car didn't make the noise until some miles were on it. The engine is definitely "broken in" at this point so why did the noise start at 26k ?

 

[STINGER]

Mine does the same. It doesn't sound normal, but for the stinger that is normal, DI and fan at work. The colder the car is the more the sound will be.

 

[5tinger]

The tapping noise from a cold start is very normal for solid tappets in the 3.3L T-GDI used for Stinger.

I'd be very interested to see a stinger that doesn't make that sort of noise during a cold start.

 

[cncBilly]

for comparison sake, here's the noise my car makes on cold starts (which I don't believe is normal)

Normal!

 

[G-880748]

Same here (North Carolina - Nov 2017 build date, purchased with 109 miles on it Nov 2018). I have close to 58k on it. By now it takes about 50 to 60 seconds for the ticking to go away so it's definitely not getting better as the miles roll by.
I spoke with a my dealerships' certified Stinger mechanic early on about this issue and he did tell me that it's a tappet that's out of spec and would be a bear to fix as you have to tear apart most of the top of the engine, then measure and get a tappet ordered that is the correct size, which will take forever to get in he suspected. He thought it would take about a month in total.
After some grumbling but knowing that there is a 100k warranty on the engine I let it go...for now. Of course the 60k service is coming up. It'll be an interesting conversation at that time.
I'll keep you posted.
Otherwise everything is fine. I'm impressed with the car still. On a sideline: Now I got a set of giro disk semi metallic pads...ready to install and be done with the pulsing brakes. The Akebonos I have on the front are so-so. Better than stock but till a ceramic pad.

 

[Dajackal]

The tapping noise from a cold start is very normal for solid tappets in the 3.3L T-GDI used for Stinger.

I'd be very interested to see a stinger that doesn't make that sort of noise during a cold start.

Thanks for the "Normal" replies. I have some plans for this car...it's going to become my "hobby" and I'd hate to think I'd be sinking money into something that will soon RIP. All the great explanations make sense as well. Great place for knowledge !!!

 

[Marc Collins]

Thanks for the "Normal" replies. I have some plans for this car...it's going to become my "hobby" and I'd hate to think I'd be sinking money into something that will soon RIP. All the great explanations make sense as well. Great place for knowledge !!!

Yep, it's sadly a product of the tappets and DI. At least for my Stinger, the DI-related noise at start-up is more muted than any other DI car we have had in the past 5 years. It's the new default start-up sound for cars, I guess

 

[5tinger]

Thanks for the "Normal" replies. I have some plans for this car...it's going to become my "hobby" and I'd hate to think I'd be sinking money into something that will soon RIP. All the great explanations make sense as well. Great place for knowledge !!!

Stock Internals are good for 800HP brother.
It's an overengineered beast, the modern day 2JZ-GTE

 

[Bigbikes]

The tapping noise from a cold start is very normal for solid tappets in the 3.3L T-GDI used for Stinger.

I'd be very interested to see a stinger that doesn't make that sort of noise during a cold start.

MINE

 

[5tinger]

MINE

Mind posting a video?

 

[Aarvix]

Well time for me to eat a little crow.

I just returned from the dealer and can say with 100% certainty that my noise is the high pressure fuel pump.
This is not a tappet noise, it's the solenoid in the pump.

The service manager recorded a video of a cold start in which he unplugged the fuel pump electrical connector and the noise immediately subsided (engine continued to run, so if it was tappets the noise would not have stopped).
NOTE: this will throw a code, so have a way to clear them if you decide to test this.

I'm still embarrassed by the noise, but short of replacing a perfectly good pump (on my dime) with one that might have the same noise, there's nothing I can do.

Perhaps the new 3.5 will have a quieter pump that can be swapped, one can only hope...

I've asked for a copy of the video and will post it if I receive it.

 

[cncBilly]

Well time for me to eat a little crow.

I just returned from the dealer and can say with 100% certainty that my noise is the high pressure fuel pump.
This is not a tappet noise, it's the solenoid in the pump.

The service manager recorded a video of a cold start in which he unplugged the fuel pump electrical connector and the noise immediately subsided (engine continued to run, so if it was tappets the noise would not have stopped).
NOTE: this will throw a code, so have a way to clear them if you decide to test this.

I'm still embarrassed by the noise, but short of replacing a perfectly good pump (on my dime) with one that might have the same noise, there's nothing I can do.

Perhaps the new 3.5 will have a quieter pump that can be swapped, one can only hope...

I've asked for a copy of the video and will post it if I receive it.

No need to post. As most of us tried to tell you it's NORMAL.