Hello all, I have a 1990 Tracker 4x4 1.6 8V with 192k miles.  I had two questions for you gurus out there.  The first is the infamous 1.6 8V rattle.  My warm idle speed sensor, the one that sits off to the side of the TB above the EGR makes an annoying rattling sound.  I replaced it several months ago with a new one from Southwest Suzuki, with no help.  I am positive that this is the part that is making the sound.  I only found a couple of threads that addressed this issue, but I know there are dozens out there.  Is it possible to remove this part and still get decent MPG and driveability?  Has anyone found a decent fix for this?

My next question is about valves.  My valves started ticking pretty bad here lately.  I went in and adjusting all of them to spec, but still have a tick somewhere in the back four (closest to cab).  I currently use 10W-30 oil.  Would you recommend adjusting to tighter/looser tolerances to see if that helps, or do I need to start looking into replacing parts here?  I don't have much experience working with valves, so I'm using this as a learning experience. 

Sure it's a valve tick and not an exhaust leak?

Pretty sure, I used my poor man's stethoscope (long screwdriver), and I'm fairly certain the sound was under the valve cover.  I will recheck for exhaust leaks once I get a chance to dive under the hood again, just to be certain.

Definitely not an exhaust leak.

We removed the sensor completely on BRD HNTR's rig.  Didn't see any change, but we did put a V6 in later that year anyway.

How bad is the valve noise?  Might just be a noisy engine, my 16v has a pretty good tick to it.

I can't seem to figure out why my brake caliper bracket is rubbing against my rotor ! Any ideas? It's my everyday driver so plz help

The valve tick isn't super loud, just enough to be be annoying.  I just can't stand knocks and pings  

I just found the post about cutting the wires to the ISC.  I saw that someone had luck with adjusting the hot and cold idle screws, have any of you ever tried that method?  I'm gonna fiddle with that this weekend and see what it does.

I can't seem to figure out why my brake caliper bracket is rubbing against my rotor ! Any ideas? It's my everyday driver so plz help

Is it a drag or just a light rub?  You might want to start a new thread on this issue.

The valve tick isn't super loud, just enough to be be annoying.  I just can't stand knocks and pings  

I just found the post about cutting the wires to the ISC.  I saw that someone had luck with adjusting the hot and cold idle screws, have any of you ever tried that method?  I'm gonna fiddle with that this weekend and see what it does.

Ah, that might just be the engine.    Mine has a nice tick to it depending on how it is feeling that day.

Not sure about the hot and cold idle though, we just cut the wires once we found out what was causing the noise and never bothered to fix it.  I'll see what I can dig up.

These 16V engines do tick some, especially when warm. Lots of things moving around in the head and no hydraulics to dampen the sounds. The only time mine runs quiet is when it's cold at first start up. Always ticks at idle when warm and I've adjusted the valves several times to very exacting measurements. They're just noisy engines I think.

That may very well be it.  I might just be expecting a little too much out of an engine with 192000 miles on it! 

Solid roller rocker valvetrains are notorious for being noisey beasts.

Well, the ISC is "fixed".  I fiddled with the idle screws for about an hour with no luck, so I just cut the wires and magically the noise went away.  The odd thing is that the ISC didn't rattle at all when I took it off the TB to check it (shaking it), and it's a newish unit from SW Suzuki, so I have no idea what was making go crazy.  My ECU seems to be fine, the check light comes on and goes off when I start up, so I dunno.  Still working on that other tick.  Engine noises drive me crazy!!!

I run 10/40 in mine seems to help a bit with noise in a " slightly loose " engine.

The rattle in the ISC is not a loose part, but the valve accuating within it's housing.