Very Obvious ticking in engine during long idle or long drives

[fadyasha]

Hey guys,
It's been forever but work is such a pain and been traveling so much lately. Anyways Maybe 6 months ago or so I faced this while driving back from Kuwait when i heard very loud ticking noises from the engine after driving for over an hour or so on highway speeds. Turned out to be the oil I used just once which was a mistake.

I went back to using Castrol Magnetic which works like a charm for me. Recently again i've been facing this problem. If I drive for over an hour or so or stuck in traffic (mainly on the Bahrain causway) meaning I could be stuck on the boarder for over an hour or two I can again hear some very loud ticking from the engine as if my Oil levels are low.

I'm not sure but maybe my oil pump isn't as efficient as it was when I first got it. Any ideas? Thanks

 

[CaptainXL]

Only use 5w-30 and make sure you flush the engine before changing the oil. You got stuck valve adjusters which is going go require a chemical solvent flush. Flushing removes varnish which keeps the adjusters from working properly. If left this way you can develop valve problems. Its not the brand of oil you are using. Probably just the weight And lack of flushing. Remember 5w-30. And yes even use it in the heat of the middle east. 10w-30 is just too thick for our clearances and cpas imho. Thats why gm is putting it in new vehicles. That and its more pollution friendly. Doesnt use as much gas. Preferably use synthetic 5w-30.

 

[fadyasha]

Thanks Captain for the info! I'll do the engine flush and do the oil change! I remember reading was ok for 10w 30 which was slightly heavier oil.

I gotta trip Thursday and I'm sure I'll be stuck at the boarder for a while so I'll report back! Thanks again buddy

 

[Mooseman]

If you check the owners manual, it should have a chart for oil recommendations and temperatures. I use Shell Rotella T6 synthetic truck oil at 5w40 weight. Works great. For an added cleaning after the flush, replace two liters of oil with transmission fluid. Its detergents will clean everything out well. Old hot rodder trick :o. Normally you would replace just one liter but since our engines hold 7, you can replace two. I did it and found it quieted it down after a while and the oil came out black as tar at the regular oil change interval. Now stays cleaner longer.

 

[fadyasha]

and the good stuff keeps on coming lol

 

[CaptainXL]

and the good stuff keeps on coming lol

There's also a product made by Gunk. Its called Valve Medic. You just add it to your oil and change it after awhile. Can't remember the interval. But its safe to keep in your oil. I used to use this in my S10 and it almost immediately quieted the lifters. Product contains diesel fuel oil which thins the oil out. I would drain 1quart of oil and add two bottles of it. We have a large oil reservoir as moose said.

Transmission fluid isn't a bad idea either due to its high detergent content. But its gonna take longer than a solvent flush to cure the noise. For instance Gunk engine flush has special acids which breakdown the barrier between the metal and any oil based product sticking to it. Don't ask me how I know this stuff. I guess I like reading the MSDS ingredients of car care products.

 

[fadyasha]

Great info guys thanks! Seeing I would need to order the gunk product online it'll take at least 3-4 weeks to get here but will surely look it up tomorrow.

If i can get a good deal on it I'll order and wait a bit before do the engine flush, then Change the oil with 6 liters and add two bottles of gunk!

If I can't get a good deal I'll just do the flush and add 5 liters of oil and 2 of transmission oil (any specific brand?) will run it in the system for 2-3k and do an oil change! Do I have it right or am I on my way to destroying my truck lol!

 

[CaptainXL]

Sounds OK. You won't destroy the engine. As long as you have a reasonable viscosity left to the oil no matter what oil based product or flush you add to the mix then you will be OK. Shoot I've put power steering fluid in my oil before in a pinch.

 

[Mypetropig]

Hey Captain XL, you seem to have good knowledge on engine flushes.
That being said, would you have any reservation about using the Gunk engine flush on a truck with approximately 107k on the clock? I have always used a good quality oil
(5w30) and followed the OLM. To my knowledge an engine flush has never been done. Would I be safer to use MMO or tranny fluid. I dont have any issues that I am trying to resolve, just trying to get the most from my truck. Thanks.

 

[CaptainXL]

Hey Captain XL, you seem to have good knowledge on engine flushes.
That being said, would you have any reservation about using the Gunk engine flush on a truck with approximately 107k on the clock? I have always used a good quality oil
(5w30) and followed the OLM. To my knowledge an engine flush has never been done. Would I be safer to use MMO or tranny fluid. I dont have any issues that I am trying to resolve, just trying to get the most from my truck. Thanks.

All flushes are safe to remove varnish in the engine if you dont have any sludge. Remove two of the seven quarts of oil and add two quarts of gunk high mileage engine flush. Run for 15 minutes at fast idle. Drain and fill. Replace oil filter as well just like any oil change. They dont call it high mileage for nothing.

I would not consider mmo and tranny fluid to be a true flush. Not even sure if they work fast. Ive used them with lackluster results. Flushing products do exactly what they say with immediate results.

You have to get in the right frame of mind concerning flushing. The quicker you get the bad stuff out the better. You dont want to be using a non solvent flush and only get part of the junk out and let it linger. You dont want to be wasting oil trying to cure a stuck lifter problem doing multiple oil changes. I hope this methodology makes sense.

 

[Mypetropig]

Makes perfect since to me. Thanks!

 

[fadyasha]

Picked up the oil this morning, I'm a sucker for castrol

 

[fadyasha]

All flushes are safe to remove varnish in the engine if you dont have any sludge. Remove two of the seven quarts of oil and add two quarts of gunk high mileage engine flush. Run for 15 minutes at fast idle. Drain and fill. Replace oil filter as well just like any oil change. They dont call it high mileage for nothing.

I would not consider mmo and tranny fluid to be a true flush. Not even sure if they work fast. Ive used them with lackluster results. Flushing products do exactly what they say with immediate results.

You have to get in the right frame of mind concerning flushing. The quicker you get the bad stuff out the better. You dont want to be using a non solvent flush and only get part of the junk out and let it linger. You dont want to be wasting oil trying to cure a stuck lifter problem doing multiple oil changes. I hope this methodology makes sense.

Hey cap, having high mileage shouldn't be a show stopper me right?

 

[CaptainXL]

Hey cap, having high mileage shouldn't be a show stopper me right?

A showstopper for what? The flush or the oil?

 

[fadyasha]

Sorry my bad, the oil 5w 30.

 

[CaptainXL]

Sorry my bad, the oil 5w 30.

Not a showstopper unless your burning oil at a high rate. If that's the case I would do some flushes with cheaper oil first over the course of 6 months or so. The flushes may free up some rings. At which point you can then transition to the synthetic. This is assuming synthetic is relatively expensive for your lifestyle.

 

[fadyasha]

Thanks for the advice, I'll try the flush and use the new oil. I do an oil change almost every 6-7 weeks due to my commuting back and forth between Saudi Arabia and Bahrain daily. I do approximately 5000 kilos a month

 

[CaptainXL]

Thanks for the advice, I'll try the flush and use the new oil. I do an oil change almost every 6-7 weeks due to my commuting back and forth between Saudi Arabia and Bahrain daily. I do approximately 5000 kilos a month

Your changing your oil way too often. Just go by the OLM. It should tell you to change the oil between 18,000 and 21,000 kilometers. I would be more concerned with your air filter. Probably should be changed every 40,000 kilometres because of all the sand in the air

 

[fadyasha]

I hear you main reason was because of the valve ticking. Air filter I got the PCMFORLESS intake so clean it every 30 or so lol!

I hope the flush clears out my valve problem, if not will refrain from commuting with it and just keep it with the Mrs. and I'll drive the Ibiza lol

 

[CaptainXL]

I hear you main reason was because of the valve ticking. Air filter I got the PCMFORLESS intake so clean it every 30 or so lol!

I hope the flush clears out my valve problem, if not will refrain from commuting with it and just keep it with the Mrs. and I'll drive the Ibiza lol

Well if the other reason for changing the oil so soon was because the oil gets dirty quick it could mean your engine is pretty dirty amoung other reasons. That's usually not an issue as it just means the oil is doing its job at entraining particles. But getting dirty relatively early would be a concern.

As I was explaining before, do the flush right to begin with and it won't get dirty so quick.

I would be patient when flushing the engine. Don't expect a miracle right away. It may take more than one flush over the course of a few oil changes to reduce the level of valvetrain noise to an acceptible level. If you can't wait that long I would start planning now. Hope this helps.

 

[fadyasha]

Well if the other reason for changing the oil so soon was because the oil gets dirty quick it could mean your engine is pretty dirty amoung other reasons. That's usually not an issue as it just means the oil is doing its job at entraining particles. But getting dirty relatively early would be a concern.

As I was explaining before, do the flush right to begin with and it won't get dirty so quick.

I would be patient when flushing the engine. Don't expect a miracle right away. It may take more than one flush over the course of a few oil changes to reduce the level of valvetrain noise to an acceptible level. If you can't wait that long I would start planning now. Hope this helps.

Thanks for your inputs ! Nope not that it gets dirty quick I do a flush every year but since I drive alot I tend to change more frequent I guess lol!

It's been a week since the flush and oil change and must say it did the trick! I was stuck in traffic on the Bahrain causeway for 2 hours eh but the upside was that she was running as smooth as a whistle! Thanks everyone

 

[scorpio1]

CaptainxL-Thanks for all the info. Will keep this in mind for the future of my TB. But the real gem from your info is this should help me with the the same problem on a slightly higher mileage ecotec L61 that is being swapped from my old cavaier to my wifes. The L61 has a damn near identical engine structure and head design just 2 cylinders less, so the valve adjusters sticking happens on them a lot also. Mine started having this issue before it got wrecked. Now that im gonna transplant the engine its gonna get Gunk flushed for the first few oil changes in its new home. I was doing the just change the oil and filter, repeat, repeat,repeat to try and fix it, so the engine cleaner flush with will save me a headache later. Appreicate it bud.