Marvel Mystery Oil worth a try? Roller cam follower ticking.

[c good]

Hi All,
I've lived with this intermittent valve ticking noise for 11 years. It hasn't gotten worse. It's just there randomly. I've done a lot of homework and have determined it's not the fan clutch. It's not piston slap (I have minor piston slap but it goes away quickly when it warms up)

I used a stethoscope again today and have it isolated to the number 1 or number 2 cylinder exhaust roller cam follower. I understand how they work to hydraulically self adjust. I also understand they can become dirty and sluggish, thus the tapping noise.

Would it be worth a try with Marvel Mystery Oil? If so, can I run the MMO for a full 4000-5000 miles? I would drain 1 quart of the new Mobil 1 oil I put in out. Is there any possibility of damage from thinning out the Mobil 1 oil?

It's really not that bad and it's lasted this long so I'm fine with just leaving it as it is.

Has anyone tried the MMO and had success for a sticky cam follower? Thanks for any/all input.

 

[Mooseman]

A whole quart? May be too thin IMHO. No sure it would do anything. I'd try replacing one quart with tranny fluid. Al least it keeps the viscosity up and has a lot of detergents.

 

[aaserv]

Definitely wouldnt go a full oil change. I like to use Sea Foam and Marvel. Mix about 8 ozs of each together. Dump it into a hot motor......I drive about 15 mins from home to a buddys shop and do my oil changes on his lift. So I dump it in an already hot motor, drive it 15 mins somewhat aggressively (getting the RPMs up a few times) then drain it and put in the new oil and filter. I change oil often, its never dark on the stick. But when I do this it drains out BLACK every time. Do that 3 times over the next 9000 miles and if there is buildup in the lifter causing your problem it will go away.... Keyword= IF

 

[c good]

What type of ATF would you recommend Mooseman? Also, how long would you recommend running it? Towards the end of an oil change interval or for the whole time?

Thanks Aaserv for your input also. I like the idea of running the Sea Foam and M.M.O. Do you drain out any oil so you don't over fill or just let the oil run a little low towards the end of it's life and add it?

 

[Mooseman]

What type of ATF would you recommend Mooseman? Also, how long would you recommend running it? Towards the end of an oil change interval or for the whole time?

Dex VI is good. I do it with a fresh oil change and run it the whole time as it is a long slow process. You could do @aaserv 's method, dump it and then run the oil/fluid mix long term. For the 15 minutes or so, I'd have no problem if it's a little overfilled with the MMO/SF.

 

[chris68369]

I have tried the marvel mystery oil and had really no improvement from it long term. Tranny fluid does help it quiet down some but really the real fix would be to replace the lifter. However that involves taking the head off and if it's your only transport and don't have alot of time on your hands to do it then obviously it can't be done. I would stick with using tranny fluid instead of mmo. However do not let ANYBODY try to talk you into using motor flush on these engines. Friend of mine tried it and no matter how many times I told him not to especially with the fact that these are heat treated aluminum, he didn't listen and tried it and got a rod knock when done. We replaced the motor while I kept calling him a dumbass until we were done putting it in. Sometimes it's just better to hear a tick tick, then a knock knock