5w 50 made it worse

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I have a 3.1 in a 91 GP,it has a slight tick when it is warm,I used to use 10w30 QS,I tried 5w 50 synthetic a few weeks ago and ever since that the ticking is louder.I thought that a thicker oil might reduce some of the noise but I guess not.Any suggestions,other than setting it on fire?
 
Pipe bomb? Ammonium nitrate and oil?
grin.gif


Just kidding. I'm not an eggspurt on that engine, but methinks corrective actions are better when the root cause is known.

Certain noises may be changed with a change in oil viscosity, but really most aren't. Sometimes the noise changes for the better with a thinner oil simply because the pump can supply more oil faster.

Is the tick from the upper end or lower end? Does it change as the engine warms up? What do owners of the same engine say in Pontiac chat rooms?
 
It is from the bottom half of the engine.I tried 5w30 awhile back and it seemed to make it slightly louder(tick).For the most part the sound stays the same,it's not as bad in the winter,in the hot days of summer it is louder.Its my beater car so I don't want to much money into it.
 
I can not remember if it is a main or rod knock that these engines are notorius for.I want to say that it is the one of the mains. If I could hear your's I could tell you. The 3.1 and 3.4 are notorious for this. They are also known for intake gasket leak. If it is comeing from the bottom end thicker oil will reduce this some what. GM's offical policy on this is that the knock is not a durability issue.
 
Yeah,everything works fine,but if something simple could help reduce this annoying noise then I would want to try it.Thanks
 
quote:

Originally posted by JohnBrowning:
I can not remember if it is a main or rod knock that these engines are notorius for.I want to say that it is the one of the mains. If I could hear your's I could tell you. The 3.1 and 3.4 are notorious for this. They are also known for intake gasket leak. If it is comeing from the bottom end thicker oil will reduce this some what. GM's offical policy on this is that the knock is not a durability issue.

It's not the main or the rod bearings that are a problem with these engines. It's piston slap, and excessive wristpin to piston clearance. The 3.4 in my Olds van has had both since day one and it still runs like a top with 140,000+ miles on it, so durability really doesn't seem to be an issue. With the exception of the intake gasket (replaced at 115,000), this engine has been bullet proof. It still uses no oil between changes and I get 28-30 mpg on the highway.
 
But doesn't piston slap usually occur in the first few minutes of start-up,the problem that I am having is when it is warm.
 
quote:

Originally posted by Pontiac735:
But doesn't piston slap usually occur in the first few minutes of start-up,the problem that I am having is when it is warm.

Yes, the problem you're having (as you've described it) doesn't sound like it's wristpin or piston slap. Using the right oil (in my case, any grade of Mobil 1, but best results so far with 0w40), my "tick" disappears completely once the engine is warmed up.
 
Right on...I'll try a few different viscocities to see if I can lessen the ticking noise,thanks again.
 
G-Man II, I am glad you are happy with the slap happy engine. I just can not understand why a consummer would not be hot about a slap hapy engine!!! I expect alot more then this and all of the intake manifold problems from a car or truck. 140,000 miles is nothing an engine. It should just be getting started in it's life cycle at 120,000 miles! If their one thing we can all see from GM is that they like to design engines that are slap happy and have ring issues. THe only engine they have that seems to be free from any form of piston problem is the 3.8 liter but even it has gasket problems!
 
Back in 94 I bought a new Grand Am GT, and 18 months later I got rid of it because the dealer kept telling me the piston slap was normal. I was sick of people thinking I was starting up a diesel engine whenever I left work.

I traded it for a 95 Trans Am (the first of three f-bodies) so in a way GM's shoddy workmanship was responsible for turning me onto the f-bodies. No piston slap on any of them (two LT1s and one LS1) which is actually pretty miraculous!
 
quote:

Originally posted by Pontiac735:
I have a 3.1 in a 91 GP,it has a slight tick when it is warm,I used to use 10w30 QS,I tried 5w 50 synthetic a few weeks ago and ever since that the ticking is louder.I thought that a thicker oil might reduce some of the noise but I guess not.Any suggestions,other than setting it on fire?

Some on here will disagree. Try Rislone. Yellow bottle at Wal*Mart. Worked on a car I once had that sounded very similar to yours. Most you can loose is a couple bucks.
 
POntiac735 check the VOA section and type in Risolene into search field. I doubt that you will be to impressed.
 
quote:

Originally posted by JohnBrowning:
POntiac735 check the VOA section and type in Risolene into search field. I doubt that you will be to impressed.

Yes, I read that...All it says is nothing special showed up on the VOA... Same thing with Auto RX... and lots of people claim to have success with it. I have a hard time with the argument that while Rislone and Auto RX both show nothing beneficial on a VOA, AutoRx works because it is expensive and Rislone does not work because it is inexpensive - no science there! Rislone may be snake oil (or it may not), but the evaluations on the referenced thread mean nothing.

I am not a big promoter of Rislone, but it is a fact that I did try it one time and it did silence a noise in my engine. If you have a noise, I think it is worth $2 or $3 to try Rislone.

I am skeptical of additives and treatments in general, but I am going to try AutoRx due to all the people who claim success with it.
 
Had a slight tick in my toyota cressida at 190,000. Used marvel mystery oil mixed with the oil and in the gas. Took two treatments and no ticking for the last 60,000 miles. I use 20w-50 GTX oil and have used this weight as the consumption is about 1 quart every 800 miles. Doing a auto-rx treatment soon.
 
I'll give it a try,thanks for the tips.

[ August 06, 2003, 08:47 PM: Message edited by: Pontiac735 ]
 
The 'ticking when warm' can also be caused by dirt in a hydralic lifter causing it to stick. Sometimes the dirt can be flushed out by a additive cleaner. However the chances are good you will have to replace the lifter to get it quiet again.
 
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