Engine tick

[ronhl80]

I’ve got a 95 rodeo 4x4 with the 3.2L V6. I’ve owned it for about a year now and when I bought it I noticed the engine making a slight ticking noise. A mechanic told me this is a common thing with the rodeos and not to worry about it. I kind of use it as a gauge of when to change the oil, it gets louder when the oil starts wearing out. Does anybody else know anything about this? If so is it something I should worry about? Thanks.

[Canucklehead]

According to Isuzu, the most likely cause of the noise is hydraulic valve lash adjusters that can no longer fully extend, due to varnish buildup on the plungers. The problem occurs most often on engines whose oil/filter change intervals have routinely been exceeded by the vehicle owner.

[ronhl80]

would a top engine cleaner help this problem?

[MrMGA]

Your mechanic is absolutely right. The engine tick is a very common problem with Rodeos. It is considered an annoyance more than anything else. This has been the subject of dozens of posts on this forum. I highly recommend that you use the search function on this forum to retrieve some of these. You'll find solutions, links to other info, etc. That's what I did.

[Ramblin Fever]

I would not recommend engine cleaners - won't touch them personally.

If you've got some extra cash and want to try what worked for me, go to Wal-mart and get the Rotella synthetic 5w-40, cheaper in the 1 gallon jug ($13.??) but you'll have to get 2 gallons unless they have individual quarts.

Then get yourself a good filter, i.e. Puralator Premium, Motorcraft, Napa, Wix, etc - but I don't recommend Fram (not good quality), nor do I recommend Mobil 1 or Puralator ONE (too restrictive and makes some Isuzu's really tick.)

I use to recommend the Isuzu OEM filter, but I don't think it's as good at filtering as I once thought it was.

Run the Rotella synthetic (it IS a diesel/gasoline engine oil) for roughly 2,500-3K miles TOPS, then before you change it, get your engine good and warm, dump it, and start over with more Rotella.

The 2nd round, if your ticking is sounding better, go to 3k miles, and each time lengthen it out a slight tad, as long as things are improving, but I don't recommend going over 4-5k tops at all. These engines crave for very clean oil.

The Rotella is labeled as a synthetic, but it's really just an ultra purified regular oil, and you can run this oil permanently as well as year round. This oil has a much higher detergent base, and also has more ZDDP anti-wear additives that Isuzu lifter's may like.

I want you to also be aware that not all Isuzu engines like all filters, i.e. my engine (which only ticked for 6-8k miles, left as fast as it came) ticks horribly if I put a Mobil 1 filter on, however, someone here has the same engine and his is fine with that filter - so who knows!

[Ramblin Fever]

Forgot to add, that the Rotella synthetic (blue jug) is good down to -25F if I recall correctly, so it can be used in colder winter climates as well.

I don't know anything of the Rotella 15w-40 (white jug) and personally wouldn't use a 15w-xx with my hydraulic lifters. But other's have used even up to a 20w-xx of some brands.

[ronhl80]

Thanks for your replies, I did do a forum search after I posted my original message, I gathered that this problem is more of an annoyance than anything and being as I have a tendency to be a little anal about my vehicles I find this very annoying. I didn’t think about the filter factor, the last couple of oil changes I’ve been using an ACdelco filter and while it seems to clean my oil better the tick has been a little more pronounced. Ironically before that I was using a fram filter, but my oil didn’t seem to be getting cleaned as well. I think I will try one of the filters you have listed along with the Rotella Synthetic and see if that makes a difference. Another question I have is: would it hurt to do an engine oil purge? My engine has almost 140k on it with no leaks. I’ve heard that an oil purge on high mile engines can create leaks which I guess makes sense because if there is junk in there plugging up leaks they can be removed during a purge. Does anybody have any experience with this? Thanks again for your help!

[Ramblin Fever]

Are you referring to another form of an engine flush, like a radiator type flush only on the crankcase?

I personally wouldn't do that, on mine, I see no need for it, really, even on yours. You say your ticking is slight, so I'd personally just do several real short oil/filter change-out intervals, and leave the engine flush idea alone.

For one, you don't want to much gunk loosening up all at once, if you do you can create more problems then what you have now - i.e. clogged oil pump screen, starving the engine of oil, dirt/gunk rotating threw the bearings, etc.

Don't know what else I can add here, except to say, that I wouldn't want anything to do with a harsh, immediate type cleaning, whether or not the product or procedure says it's gentle, you still have the potential of a lot of stuff loosening too soon.

The idea is to do it slowly, gradually over the course of several thousand miles, which is why I mentioned a heavier detergent oil with short OCI's.

[redbug]

I had a tick in my engine the first week I bought it March 13, 1995. Brought it back to the dealer twice within the first month of ownership, and they must have all been deaf.... Claimed they could not hear it. Lived with it for 208,000 miles.