ticking noise... not timing belt

I just got a call from my mechanic... I took in my rodeo to get the t-belt changed, and it turns out it is not bad. He sais something about an "oil flow back valve?" does that make sense? he said that they are plugged, and not getting enough oil in. he said i may want to try a detergent in it.... any ideas? im gonna change oil and stuff this weekend so its a good time.... I have 120k on it.

buy some Seafoam.


Dump in a half can and then take it for a 30 minute drive and then change your oil asap (while it is good and hot).

thanks! I will try that... Ive had good experience with seafoam in my old jeep.... should i pour it in the crankcase? or use through pcv?

I typically just pour it into the crankcase, but if you want to suck some through the PCV, I'm sure that will be fine too.

Lucas, if she's ticking really bad due to a collapesed lifter (they get clogged easily on the 1993-1997 3.2), I'd dump the oil, slap on a new cheap oil filter, fill it with a cheap 5w-20 (thin!) motor oil and a ton of seafoam. Run it for 1/2hr, around town, etc, until it's good and hot. Dump it, and run a good 5w-30 and a good filter. This may take a couple applications.
G/luck
Joel

I typically just pour it into the crankcase, but if you want to suck some through the PCV, I'm sure that will be fine too.

Correct me if I am wrong, but if your are sucking it up through the pcv then it is going in to the intake manifold, not the crankcase. Unless of course you are saying remove the pcv and dump it in the hole, which I don't know why you would do that, it is the same as putting it in the oil fill, just a smaller hole to try and get it into.

Correct me if I am wrong, but if your are sucking it up through the pcv then it is going in to the intake manifold, not the crankcase....

You got it. That will clean the heck out of your combusion chamber, but it wont hit the 'oil side' of the engine in any quantitiy. Really, the only way to clean the common chamber/intake on all of the 3.2/3.5's is to remove the top, or the whole thing & clean it by hand. For the oil burner 3.2/3.5's you need to load each cylinder thru the spark plug hole with seafoam & let it sit over night.
G/luck
Joel

Good News! I poured a bottle of Seafoam in the crankcase and drove it for about 30 miles, and at mile 25, the engine hesitated, and blew a puff of smoke, after that it ran like a top and ticks no more... I changed the oil afterwords and it was like molasses coming out, everything sounds great now! thanks for your help!!!

So you put the whole bottle in? Just wondering.

I did use the whole bottle.... Risky, but it worked... (thankfully)

Can Seafoam be added to old oil that's in the engine or should I change my oil, put in Seafoam, run engine and change it again afterwards?

I ran it in the old oil for about 50 miles and them emptied.... change it hot, and the syrup will come right out!

No sense in ruinning new oil, I normally put in with the old right before my scheduled oil change. Once every 12k or so.

Just curious if any one else is leary of using Sea Foam and other engine cleaners

I was always in the camp of no additives for a long time.

When my old truck started to stumble at idle, I changed out the plugs and wires, no help. With 150k on the engine I was at a loss of what to do. So I tried a couple of bottle of injector cleaner and wham, it was just like new again.

Adding stuff to the oil on an old engine (over 120K) is a bit risky. But if you have kept up with 3-4k oil changes since new, I honestly don't think adding sea foam (or the like will hurt it).

Most SUV (for sure Isuzu's), carbon up the engine very quickly. I'm surprised how fast my oil turns black on my Amigo, yet my wives 13 year old Prelude si oil is usually very clean. Also, after reading about folks dumping their engines due to lack of oil, and me personally having engine PING with one 13k I knew I needed to start doing something to keep the carbon down. That is where Sea Foam came in. Add a half can go for a 30 minute drive, drain and watch the dark black water junk flow out.

So wait... I can actually damage the engine by running Seafoam? I bought my Rodeo used, so I dont know for sure how the previous owner maintained it. I have about 110k miles now...

I bought my 95 1/2 rodeo used with 54,000 miles, and it had "the tick" when it was at all cold out. I found the advisory about using 0W30 synthetic oil, and did it. It helped, so I kept using it. Unfortunately, the thin synthetic oil seems to slip through between the pistons and walls more easily, so it burns some. On the advice of a guy I know I started adding Lucas, and changed from 0W30 to 10W30. This reduced the amount of oil burned.

I now use whatever synthetic oil is cheapest at the time (usually Castrol) and Lucas and it ticks only for a minute when starting in cold, humid weather. I change it about every 4,000 miles , and am up to 104,000 miles. I have not noticed any difference between filter brands, I use Fram because:
*I heard they're good
*the bright orange color is easy to see
*the black grippy surface they add is great

Guess no one knows about the Seafoam... ?


Herring,

What I dont get is the difference between the oils. Doesn't the first number represent the oil when cold and the second number represent the oil at operating temps? If so, then why would it be any different from 0w-30 vs 10w-30? Only thing I can see is that the 0w-30 will flow much quicker at startup. But at normal operating temps, shouldn't both the 30 weight oils be the same?

thx

I typically just pour it into the crankcase, but if you want to suck some through the PCV, I'm sure that will be fine too.


When you suck it through the PCV line, where does it go? I am about to do this as I am burning oil a lot and am willing to try anything. Does it get burned up and out the tailpipe?

Tygger,
I am not personally familiar with Seafoam, although I have heard of it. There is a another product out there that I really like. I firmly believe that not only is it the best cleaner I have ever used but also the safest. This cleaner is called Auto-Rx and was formulated by an individual called Frank Miller.

Let me tell you about the two vehicles I have tried it in. The first one is a 2001 Isuzu Trooper purchased with only about 250 miles on the odometer. The only two problems I have had were the two common problems associated with this vehicle: A bad intake gasket and Champion spark plugs.

During my search for information on how to solve the above problems, I settled on the following product lineup to get my Trooper back in shape.

1. Fuel Power by LCD
2. Dual Guard By-pass filtration by Amsoil, Inc.
3. Auto-Rx
4. Synthetic Oil--I prefer to use Amsoil Series 2000
5. Lube Control by LCD

The above products really improved how my Trooper's engine runs. Prior to using the above products the accelerator pedal would vibrate when the tachometer climbed above 2000 rpms. Now, the engine is so smooth and quiet that whenever I step on the gas pedal, I can't tell what rpm the engine is operating at. It could be at 1000, 2,500, or 4,000 rpm for all I know.

The biggest difference has to do with how many miles per gallon my Trooper obtains. Prior to using the above products the mileage ranged from 17 to 19 mpg. Today, I can consistently obtain about 22-24 mpg. One thing I should note is that the Amsoil Series 2000 was used since about 3,000 miles. Every thing else was done in the last year.

The second vehicle is a 1994 Honda Passport with about 145,000 miles on the odometer. Based on the good results I have had with my Trooper, I decided to try Auto-Rx in the Passport. I was trying to solve two problems with this cleaner: thick oil sludge and at least two collapsed lifters on the right side of the engine. Right now I am into the "rinse" phase, and it looks like the lifters are working properly again. The engine also has much more pep and is smoother than before.

If any of you are interested, go to www.bobistheoilguy.com and do a search in the fuel and oil additives section of the forums. You will find so much information about Auto-Rx, Fuel Power, and Lube Control that your head will spin.

I don't know if this information will help anybody or not. For me personally, I am very happy with how well my Trooper and my Passport are running right now.

Bobby

Guess no one knows about the Seafoam... ?






Yes, Seafoam can damage your engine, but only if you run it for too long. I cringed a bit when you said you drove for 50 miles with the Seafoam in there. I, personally, woudn't drive the car at all with Seafoam in it. I'd let it idle for maybe 20-30 minutes max then drain the oil. Seafoam breaks down the oil and sludge in the engine, making the oil useless as a lubricant. I ran Seafoam in my engine for about 20 minutes and it drained out like water.

When you suck it through the PCV line, where does it go? I am about to do this as I am burning oil a lot and am willing to try anything. Does it get burned up and out the tailpipe?


It goes through the intake manifold and into the combustion chamber to be burned then out the tailpipe. This won't help your oil burning problem. The PCV method is good for cleaning combustion chamber carbon deposits.

It goes through the intake manifold and into the combustion chamber to be burned then out the tailpipe. This won't help your oil burning problem. The PCV method is good for cleaning combustion chamber carbon deposits.

Thanks for the info. One more question. You say it cleans the combustion chamber, what does this improve or help? Gas milage?

Another question:

Is seafoam deep creep acceptable to use for cleaning the EGR and for squirting in the PCV line?

Marc

bjayjohnson, thank you for the info. I'll definately look into AutoRX.

Catfuzz, thanks for the explanation. Now I understand how seafoam works. Also, It wasn't me that ran Seafoam in my engine for 50 miles. That was lucaswhunter.

thas the same problm that i have. its sooooooo emabarassing. but i have a few ?'s.

1. what kind of sea foam is it becuase all I saw was the deep creep spray. what do i ask for at the store

2. how many applications does a severe problm normally take to quiet down. is it a one day thing of a process

also could you email me or post detailed instructions of how to do this I have a 3.2l v6 at bighops2000@aol.com thanks

what kind of sea foam is it becuase all I saw was the deep creep spray. what do i ask for at the store

It's called sea foam motor tuneup (aka seafoam motor treatment). They also have transtune (for transmissions) and deep creep.

Is seafoam deep creep acceptable to use for cleaning the EGR and for squirting in the PCV line?

Deep creep is the same as seafoam motor tuneup, but in an aerosol spray. So yes it can be used for EGR and thru the PCV, or sprayed directly into the throttle body.

You say it cleans the combustion chamber, what does this improve or help? Gas milage?

Cleaning my combustion chambers with seafoam has really smoothed out the idle and the whole engine is quieter on acceleration. It has improved my gas mileage by 1 to 2 mpg. Too early to say anything about oil usage.

With seafoam in the oil, I personally would only idle it for 5 to 10 minutes. It really thins out the oil and I can't imagine what viscosity the oil is at with seafoam in it. For the combustion cleaning, follow the directions on the can. I took it out to an empty parking lot to do it cuz it puts out a huge cloud of white smoke. Make sure to change the oil after doing the combustion chamber cleaning.

Here is Seafoam's website for more info: http://www.seafoamsales.com/motorTuneUpConsumer.htm

Im going to do the seafoam in the morning and I hope it works. is it a permanent solution or just a quick fix. also do very frequent oil changes helkp lessen the ticking? I chang my oil every 2000-2500 miles at the latest. and is there anything else i can do to make it run quieter.

Mine sounded like a diesel, and i put it in about a month ago, maybe less and it is like a new engine, no noise what-so-ever... it is the best $5.95 I have ever spent.... especially sine the mechanic told me it would be $1000 to take the heads off and clean it all out...

TERRIBLE DAY .just tried the sea foam and it wasnt much help. maybe it was my procedure....

I already had the 5.9 quarts of oil in the crankcase but i added half a bottle of sea foam and let it set idle fo about 5-10 minutes the i went on a few high power laps around the block and a few regular speed laps too. this went on for about 6 miles then when i got back it was still ticking so i poured the rest of the bottle in and reved it just waiting for it to sputter and smoke like lucashunter's..it never did so i draned all of the oil and stuff and changed the filter too and for a bref moment it was louder then it quieted down by a few notches but not much less than it was before the whole process.

then a added the deep creep spray to the throttle plate and cleaned the area in the throttle plate and when i cranked it back up (with the intake off) and reved it from under the hood a spark flew out and a LOUD POP!!!!! and a quick sputter and then it blew smoke for about 10 seconds and now its back to normal. (a tad softer than before the whole process). :(

bighops,

I would continue to use the sea foam. Do it before every oil change. You might want to change your oil again in 2k. It may take time to get it to work. It could take several oil changes to get it to make a difference.

The spark part of the story is scary. I hope that doesn't happen to me when I do it. Do you know why it happened? I wonder if you got it where it wasn't supposed to be?

then a added the deep creep spray to the throttle plate and cleaned the area in the throttle plate and when i cranked it back up (with the intake off) and reved it from under the hood a spark flew out and a LOUD POP!!!!! and a quick sputter and then it blew smoke for about 10 seconds and now its back to normal. (a tad softer than before the whole process). :(

So what's the problem? The sputter and the smoke is normal and expected. It even says so on the can of seafoam. The spark can happen when you're dealing with the gas side of things.

i had 2 different kinds of seam foam i used the spray in the throttle body. thats where the huge spark came from. i dont mind the sputter and stuff b/c that mean something is happening. i liked it but i almost soiled myself on the spark b/c i was right up under there