Subject: lifter adjustment
Question:

1993 eclipse 1.8 auto.
i bought this car new for my son while he was in college. he wore it out almost. I came back from a 9 year stay in japan and took over the eclipse for my wife to drive. he bought a new car. the car actually runs pretty good. even though it sat in a orchard for almost 2 years before we came back. anyway, the car came out real well from the orchard. the tapping noise is the only real issue i have now. from reading all the questions you have answered, tapping in that model is standard or not uncommon. not really wanting to put alot of money into the car, it has 123k mileage with a timing belt change at 93k. shortly after that he rebuilt the transmission. can the lifters be adjusted, to get rid of the tapping noise, or do they have to be replaced? it seems pretty simple. thanks

sam mcgee sends.
Answer: Sam,
There is no adjustment you can manually do to the lifters (Mitsubishi likes to call them hydraulic lash adjusters - HLAs). You can remove all 8 of your lifters and clean them out. I believe most service manuals give some sort of description how to do this. That may help with your tapping noise.

From 1989-1999, Mitsubishi used HLAs with narrow oil passage ways. Just about evey Eclipse owner I know has heard tapping from time to time. It's usually the worst after an oil change or on cold starts. In 2000+ Eclipses, Mitsubishi revised their HLA design and start using much larger oil passages, and that eliminated the ticking noise. In my 1990 2.0L Eclipse, I was able to purchase these new HLAs made for 2000+ Eclipses and direct-fit install them in my Eclipse. Now, your 1.8L engine is different, and I do not know if you use the same lifters. But buying 8 new lifters will easily cost you over $150.

The tapping is not causing any major problems, other than annoyance. If it is really bugging you, I would recommend removing and cleaning the lifters you have. Also remember to use the correct weight of oil recommended for your engine and make sure you never get below 1 qt from full.
Good luck!