Lifters noise and oil pressure gauge reading

[mike1tb]

I have a 2001 V6 camaro and never had a problem with it till a couple months ago. I was in traffic and noticed that my oil pressure has dropped. I thought that it was some sensor but a week later lifters started to make noise. I went to mechanic and he suggested to change oil which fixed the problem for a little while, but after maybe 1500 miles same problem comes back. Please help me with trobleshooting this problem. Thanks in advance.

[bag91]

Originally Posted by mike1tb

I have a 2001 V6 camaro and never had a problem with it till a couple months ago. I was in traffic and noticed that my oil pressure has dropped. I thought that it was some sensor but a week later lifters started to make noise. I went to mechanic and he suggested to change oil which fixed the problem for a little while, but after maybe 1500 miles same problem comes back. Please help me with trobleshooting this problem. Thanks in advance.

Its either your oil pump or one of your lifters is going bad......hopefully its the oil pump.

[malletslinger]

You said that it has lower oil pressure than it used to, and that after you changed to oil, the lifter noise went away for about 1500 miles, is that right?
Sounds like there is an obstruction that is constricting oil flow, an obstruction would explain your decreased oil pressure... the obstruction could also be contributing to thermal breakdown of the oil, which would explain why the noise came back after a while.
I suggest doing a oil system flush/clean...I doesnt take much longer than a regular oil change.
Just go to Pep-Boys and get 5 qts of oil, a new fram oil filter, and a can of GUNK oil system cleaner.
You will need to drain some(about 1qt) of the oil currently in your car out, then put the drain plug back in and check the level with the dipstick. You want to get it to the add 1 qt line on the dipstick, so you may need to add some of the old oil back, then when the dipstick reads 'add 1qt', poor in the GUNK and run your engine with it in there for 5 minutes, then kill the engine, and drain all the oil right away. You want to get all of that stuff out, so when it starts to just drip, try jacking up the front corner to help it get more of that oil out...this cleaner could break down your new oil if there is too much of the old oil left in there, so dont be afraid to let it drip for as long as it takes
Then replace the drain plug and change the oil filter.
I would recommend adding like half a bottle of LUCUS oil stablizer with your new oil because it will help counter-act the cleaner in there and help prevent thermal breakdown...You could add nearly the hole bottle of stablizer, but you really dont need it, half is plenty.
If this doesnt fix the problem, then atleast you will have fresh healthy oil
Someone might have another idea as to what is causing your problem, but I like to start with the basics...

[mike1tb]

I will try that over this weekend, also one detail that I have not mentioned is that I went from syntetic to just regular oil. Not sure does it makes a diference but it is out there. Thanks for your replies a million.

[97cavalier]

i heard you can do the same thing but with auto tranny fluid and run it till it is hot and drain it, is this true?

[malletslinger]

Originally Posted by 97cavalier

i heard you can do the same thing but with auto tranny fluid and run it till it is hot and drain it, is this true?

Yes, you can use tranny fluid, but it turns out to be cheaper, faster, and easier to just use GUNK...
The can says to run the engine with it in there for 5 munutes but I used it for 7 or 8, and it worked good Then I added LUCUS to the new oil... all kinds of crap came out of the engine, and with the help of the LUCUS oil stablizer, it runs great now... I highly recommend these two products...
You can get LUCUS oil stablizer on sale for $6 and the GUNK oil system cleaner is about $4...