Mike,
I have exactly the same problem with my Mitsubishi RVR. Clicking on the hydraulic lifters.
Warms up, it goes away. Sometimes.
Here is what I have discovered. It is exacerbated by coking of the engine. [and made worse as well
]
The Mitsi engine has much in common with the SVX, though it is not obvious. High compression for one thing. The SVX is 10:1, pretty high. The Mitsi is lean burn direct injection, and is 14:1. Stratospheric for a petrol.
Both are paired to auto gearboxes that hunt for higher gears and low revs. The result is the engines run cool a lot, and get coked a lot. The answer is use a chemical foam into the intake, or possibly a chemical additive to the fuel to decoke the heads.
Personally I use the foam into the intake method, as it goes right in with the fuel and coats and cleans the moving parts. The product I use is EcoteK, and all I can say is it works if you do it like the instructions say to do it.
It has stopped mine from clicking. You have to do it every six months or so, as the engines tend to coke up depending what quality petrol you use.
Hope this helps
Joe
