Oil/ lifter tick

[omaro86]

Iv always had lifter tick on my car when the motor was cold, but these past few weeks its been over 90 alot. Iv notived that the lifters are alot louder now when the motor is warm. I was told thats because I'm using to light an oil. (10w30) So i was told 2 things.
1. switch to synthetic
2. use higher weight oil

my question is should I switch to synthetic?? the car has 85k on it...and what oil would be good for right now driving in 90 degree+ heat all the time?? 10w40 or 15w50?

[2old]

Use synthetic...
The problems of switching to synthetic much gone away. Also just use 10W30. Moving to a thicker old will only agrivate the problem.
The lifter tick is because the hydraulic lash adjuster oil inlet is clogged. Changing to synthetic will help because they tend to have more detergents in them then mineral oils and I would be more agressive with oil changes (3000 miles?) until the tick goes away.

[unicyclemidget11]

could you give me some more info on the hydraulic lash adjuster oil inlet being clogged? How could i fix this?

[2old]

About 1/3rd down this page:
http://www.3sxperformance.com/engine-upper.asp
The early style lash adjustors had a small inlet that gets clogged with "oil sludge" pretty quickly. You can clean it using some of the "engine cleaners" or by frequent oil changes or you can change out the lash adjusters to the "newer style" ones.
I am too lazy to change them out, so I just use synthetic and change my oil every 3000 miles and the tick doesn't happen.

[AutostradaVR4]

Same here. Ive been using Mobil 1 10W30 and havnt had a problem yet...90kmi

[omaro86]

Originally Posted by 2old

Use synthetic...
The problems of switching to synthetic much gone away. Also just use 10W30. Moving to a thicker old will only agrivate the problem.
The lifter tick is because the hydraulic lash adjuster oil inlet is clogged. Changing to synthetic will help because they tend to have more detergents in them then mineral oils and I would be more agressive with oil changes (3000 miles?) until the tick goes away.

Alright, I'm going to do it in a few minutes. One more question though, is in really neccesarry the first oil change after switching to synthetic to change it out 1500-2000 miles instead of 3000?

[2old]

Originally Posted by omaro86

Alright, I'm going to do it in a few minutes. One more question though, is in really neccesarry the first oil change after switching to synthetic to change it out 1500-2000 miles instead of 3000?

I haven't heard of that one... I don't see why you would need to... Synthetic will mix with mineral oil perfectly well (you basically end up with a semi-synthetic blend) and if you drain the oil and change the oil filter the most residual oil you could possibly have in the engine is 1/2 liter so it wouldn't dilute the fresh 4 liters you put in by much.

Basically what you are waiting for is, after you change the oil the tick should go away... If it comes back before you reach 3000 miles change the oil then, if it doesn't come back before 3000 miles change your oil at 3000 miles.

[AutostradaVR4]

I also heard that when you switch to synthetic, all the "gunk deposits" from the natural oil are broken free by the detergents, so you should do another change shortly afterward.

[2old]

I guess it depends if you need a "hard number" to do the oil change or not... You may or may not need the oil change at 1800 miles depending on how "gunked up" your engine is... It's probably better to listen for lifter tick because it could start ticking before 1800 miles or it may not tick at all...

But I may just trust my oil filter too much.

[omaro86]

Alright, I just changed it with Quaker state Q 10w30.... I'm probably going to change it again at about 2000 miles to check, it can't hurt. I'll post up in a day or two to let you guys see if the change helped at all, if your curious.

[omaro86]

Alright, it's been 3 days and the tick didn't get ANY better after switching to sythentic.... Is it just time for 3rd gen lifters?? Or should I switch to a thicker oil? And how hard would the lifters be to install???
Thanks.

[2old]

Originally Posted by omaro86

Alright, it's been 3 days and the tick didn't get ANY better after switching to sythentic.... Is it just time for 3rd gen lifters?? Or should I switch to a thicker oil? And how hard would the lifters be to install???
Thanks.

Ugh... I guess as some point the drain is clogged enough that draino doesn't work anymore...

It sounds like the lash adjusters are too clogged to even let fresh oil pass through... You might trying a LIGHTER oil (5w30?) or lighten your current oil with a... *gasp* oil additive (I don't like it either but I am starting to run out of ideas) which would make it easier for the oil to pass through small passages, but it sounds like you might need to physically clean the oil passages (in which case you might as well change to 3rd gen lifters since you are there already).

Someone has a article on the net on changing the lash adjustors using a crow bar to lift the rockers which is easier then disassembling the valvetrain (many parts and they HAVE to be torqued to spec) but it's still tedious with 24 lash adjusters. I will try and google it and get back to you.

[2old]

Just go to the FAQ in this forum or google "stealth lifter tick" if you want information on changing the lash adjustors (http://johnmonnin.netfirms.com/) is a good place to start.

[omaro86]

Originally Posted by 2old

Just go to the FAQ in this forum or google "stealth lifter tick" if you want information on changing the lash adjustors (http://johnmonnin.netfirms.com/) is a good place to start.

Thank you!... good link, I'm pretty sure I'm going to just get 3rd gen lifters.

[exterra3000gtsl]

just wait a while...got mine with 75k on the clock.. had the same problem, put sinthethyc royal purple on it and after about 4 oil changes you the tick is very very minimal...when i got the damn thing was scaring me i thought something was loose inside... sure it still does it everynow and then but nothing that calls for attention