08 Civic EX, valves became noisy at60K, valves quiet after warmup. They will probably still be noisy after I adjust them. Would the cause be excessive wear on the valves stem ends and rockers?

Noisy lifters (tappets) are caused by wear in the valve train, this is a fact of life for engines and normal. Two choices, go to the next higher viscosity oil(which will only quiet it a little), or have the valve train rebuilt. I personally have seen noisy engines run 10-15 years with no major failures!

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A quart or 2 low shouldn't cause any problems or noises. You need to determine what part of the engine the noise is coming from, does it need a valve adjustment? Is the noise rhythmic, or is it random?

which engine, options there are many.???
cant fix any engine, until you know what it there.
a civic not Tacoma. as posted.
see end for engines ????

surge 101 (running gasoline?)
it caused by 2 things. (and lots of reasons)
1: engine running lean. all engines lean surge. fix that first.
hint use a scan tool see live data........?????
2: ISC system is faulting, the idle speed controller can fail for #1
or for itself. (it can stick) clean in.


wiki list of engines. (which one???????????????)_
The sixth generation featured engine options were available along with their first Natural Gas Powered Civic, the GX. From 1996-2000 the Civic was sold under the CX, DX, EX, EXR, HX, LX, and for Canada, SE, and Si trims; all base models were made with 1.6L engines. The EX-CX are all SOHC (Honda D engine). The CX, DX, and LX all have D16y7 non-VTEC engines; whereas the EX has a D16y8 VTEC, and the HX has D16y5 VTEC-E. The USDM Si and Canadian SiR came with a DOHC (B16A2 VTEC). The first civic SI coupe EM1 was introduced in 1999 until 2000. Europe saw a DOHC 1.6 VTI hatch and sedan and a DOHC 1.8VTI engine was available for the Domani related five-door liftback and esta
end quote.
I CAN NOT GUESS>!!!

check your battery connections then charge the battery over night then check the charging system

If your engine is 1980 or above, virtually all lifters are hydraulic and are self adjusting. No manual adjustment can be performed. When they get too noisy and a high quality oil change or oil additive will not quiet them, time for a valve job and component replacement. Just a note: poor quality fuel, poor ignition components (worn as to produce weak plug firing) and improper/faulty emissions sensors/devices can cause lifter noise due to misfire, timing advance/decline, and imcomplete combustion. A thorough tune up is always recommended before assuming internal engine parts are bad. If you have a check engine light on, codes there may give a route to a solution as well.....MIke

Hi , usually a knocking / pinging from the valve cover indicates a lifter tapping. Could be worn out or just worn. Do you change your oil every 3000 with high quality oil? (I always have used valvoline standard with outstanding results) Dirty oil and filter and or incorect weight oil and or using synthetic oil in older cars can result in lifters tapping. If your oil is under 2000 miles since last change and you used a high quality oil (watch who changes your oil, some places use inferior oil because its cheaper) you can buy a pint of oil treatment formula to quiet noisy lifters to coat the lifter and quiet it down. It is a sign of engine wear, but one lifter tapping a bit wont really hurt your engine mechanically. If they all get noisy, time for a valve job. Root cause is wear due to insufficient lubrication. The lifters on newer cars are all hydraulic and they self adjust. No manual adjustment is possible. Bottom line: keep your oil changed regularly using a high quality non-synthetic oil for your 1999 vehicle.
Please rate this answer! Thanks, Mike

To do the camshaft seal, he had to take the cam out or at least loosen the rockers. He probably didn't adjust the rockers properly after reinstalling the cam.

Valves need adjusted. If it's really bad you might have lost a jam nut off the valve, this would be the nuts that lock your setting in on the valve adjusters. Also, get down low under the front of the car and confirm it's not coming from the oil pan, this would be bottom end bearings and bent crank. Hopefully valves just need adjusted, call a good shop and it will gain you more power, cleaner emissions and better mileage. Oh... and peace and quiet.

ENGINE CLICKING NOISES
A clicking or tapping noise that gets louder when you rev the engine is probably "tappet" or upper valvetrain noise caused by one of several things: low oil pressure, excessive valve lash, or worn or damaged parts.
First, check the engine dipstick to see if the oil level is low. If low, add oil to bring it back up to the full mark. Is the engine still noisy? Check your oil pressure. A low gauge reading (or oil warning light) would indicate a serious internal engine problem that is preventing normal oil pressure from reaching the upper valvetrain components. The cause might be a worn or damaged oil pump, a clogged oil pump pickup screen or a plugged up oil filter. Using too thick a viscosity of motor oil during cold weather can also slow down the flow of oil to the upper valvetrain, causing noise and wear.
COLLAPSED LIFTER NOISE
Worn, leaky or dirty lifters can also cause valvetrain noise. If oil delivery is restricted to the lifters (plugged oil galley or low oil pressure), the lifters won't "pump up" to take up the normal slack in the valvetrain. A "collapsed" lifter will then allow excessive valve lash and noise.
VALVE LASH NOISE
If you can rule out lubrication-related problems as a cause, the next step would be to remove the valve cover(s) and check valve lash. On older import engines, mechanical lifters require periodic valve lash adjustments (typically every 30,000 miles). Too much space between the tips of the rocker arms and valve stems can make the valvetrain noisy -- and possibly cause accelerated wear of both parts.
To measure (and adjust) valve lash, you need a feeler gauge. The gauge is slid between the tip of the valve stem and rocker arm (or the cam follower or the cam itself on overhead cam engines) when the piston is at top dead center (valve fully closed). Refer to a manual for the specified lash and adjustment procedure. Also, note whether the lash spec is for a hot or cold engine (this makes a big difference!).
On engines with hydraulic lifters, oil pressure pumps up the lifters when the engine is running to maintain zero lash in the valvetrain. This results in quiet operation. So if the rocker arms are clattering, it tells you something is amiss (bad lifter or worn or damaged parts) or the rocker arms need adjusting.

Let me know if you have any other questions.  Thanks for rating my response and for using FixYa!

make sure they are tight
could be time for head gaskets
make sure the old gasket from the old filter came off the block sometimes they come off old filter and stick this causes a leak due to improper seal.