clicking/ knocking in engine bay

[chcknugget]

When I start my car up in the cold it knocks quite loudly (faster when accelerating) for at least 15 minutes. It has been getting a little worse over the winter. It only happens when I'm driving, when I park the car and it idles the chatter sometimes goes away.

Is this lifter clicking? I don't think it's serpentine tensioner or anything. It's not my rotor.

P.S. What is the knock that people always talk about (like when you advance your timing without premium fuel).

[carlos80]

knock that people refer to is like you said more fuel and spark related this happens when your mixture ignites before its suppose to(also known as pre-ignition)
now to your problem a knock and a clicking is different and a knock that does not go away after a few minutes of running could be a potentially serious problem a lifter problem can sometimes be fixed(temporarily) by using a thicker oil,but if that is not your problem(lifter) and its something like a rod(which is what it sounds like to me) you can cause more damage to your engine by doing this due to slower flow of oil during start up because of winter

[BlazerLT]

Originally Posted by chcknugget

When I start my car up in the cold it knocks quite loudly (faster when accelerating) for at least 15 minutes. It has been getting a little worse over the winter. It only happens when I'm driving, when I park the car and it idles the chatter sometimes goes away.

Is this lifter clicking? I don't think it's serpentine tensioner or anything. It's not my rotor.

P.S. What is the knock that people always talk about (like when you advance your timing without premium fuel).

What oil and filter are you using?

[chcknugget]

Originally Posted by BlazerLT

What oil and filter are you using?

I'm honestly not sure... The oil and filter were changed by my dealership in the beginning of January when I had the car inspected. I think the sticker they put on says Havoline...

[BlazerLT]

*sigh*

Can you be a little more specific?

[chcknugget]

Originally Posted by BlazerLT

*sigh*

Can you be a little more specific?

Sorry,
Just went down to get the tag... It doesn't say the grade, just Castrol GTX (dino oil).

Is there some way I can post a soundbite as an attachment?

[BlazerLT]

Send you a PM

[Cadillakin'98]

hey BlazerLT....you seem to have knowledge, what is your opinion on Castrol GTX (10W30)? This is what I always run, but use to use 10W40 when I drove 250 miles per day. That and I live in Texas (hotness)

[BlazerLT]

Originally Posted by Cadillakin'98

hey BlazerLT....you seem to have knowledge, what is your opinion on Castrol GTX (10W30)? This is what I always run, but use to use 10W40 when I drove 250 miles per day. That and I live in Texas (hotness)

yea, I am VERY picky about my oil. Borderline neurotic and I have logged 130 hours worth of research and calculations trying to find the best oil for me, and our 4.3L trucks.

Now I sincerely respect your choice of oil seeing I LOVE Castrol GTX. By far the best dino oil on the market and the wear results coming back from people using it is awesome. Borderline synthetic protection.

For quicker warmups and better economy, I would use Castrol GTX 5w30 so your top end get oil faster.

The faster you get oil to the top end and ciculation, the better for your engine.

80% of engine wear takes place at startup.

[Cadillakin'98]

Still think I should use 5W30 even with the summers we have? Seems like most shops, auto parts stores, etc use/stock 10W30 as the norm down here. I understand owners manual calls for 5W30, and really did start to conside it when I quit driving all those miles. But stuck with 10W30 because of our climate.

Oh by the way what do you mean by "dino oil"

[BlazerLT]

Originally Posted by Cadillakin'98

Still think I should use 5W30 even with the summers we have? Seems like most shops, auto parts stores, etc use/stock 10W30 as the norm down here. I understand owners manual calls for 5W30, and really did start to conside it when I quit driving all those miles. But stuck with 10W30 because of our climate.

Oh by the way what do you mean by "dino oil"

The first number is not the weight on startup, it is the ability of the oil to pump when cold.

Using 5w30 rather than 10w30 will have the oil being pumped to the top end faster and get protection where it is needed.

At operating temperatures, they are both a 30 weight hence the w30.

I use 0w30 all year round and we have summers where the temps get up to the 90s and 1000s for weeks at a time.

Trust me, go with 5w30, your engine will thank you.

Also, dino oil means conventional oil or fossil oil hence the "dino".

Sorry it is industry slang.

[mars-28]

I orginally took it in for a no heat/over heating problem. Problem was the intake leaking. I too was having issues with a knock after the above problem was solved. It was really noticable at start-up and as the it warmed up it was not as noticeable. My vechicle has been in ths shop every week since christmas trying to figure this out. I replaced the lifters & rockers with no change in the knocking. This week we pulled the cam and it is junk. It was determined that small abouts of coolant were leaking internally and mixing with the oil. I never saw coolant in the oil and I change my oil every 2-3000 miles. Today my new motor from Jasper is arriving and will have my Jimmy back on Tuesday.

I hope your problem will not be as bad as mine.