Allright boys, got a question for ya.....

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BlackF250

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Oct 28, 2003
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Rhode Island
I have been having a problem with lifter noise at start-up. This only happens after the oil has been in there for 2,000 miles or so. I first noticed this with penzoil 5w20 at about 1900 miles after the truck sat overnight I would get a little ticking for a second or two. I switched to schaeffers 5w30 and the ticking was gone no matter how long the truck sat. Now after 2,000 miles the ticking is back in the morning. My question is do you think the oil is thicking up causing it to flow slower in the morning, or mayby the additive package is getting depleted? I just bought some Castrol syntec blend 5w20, I will change it this weekend and see what happens. [I dont know]
 
I am going to assume you have a F250 with either the 5.4 or the V10 modular engine. Some ticking is normal, from my experience at start up. Mine does it, my neighbors and others on another forum that I visit. I think it's the nature of the engine. Also, these engines are aluminum and they will sound different than their iron block cousins. Some also confuse the ticking for fuel injectors and/or loose spark plugs which is an issue for 97-03 5.4l engines.
 
quote:
Originally posted by BlackF250: I have the 5.4 v-8. Also it is not an Aluminum Engine, it is cast iron with aluminum heads.
...and the V10 has iron heads .
 
You guys that insist on blindly following the manufacturers recommendation on thin oils will just have to be prepared to put up with piston slap when cold and lifters draining back over night. The USA seems to be the only country recommending thin oils. These reasons I think have been fairly well documented on this site.
 
I have been using the Motorcraft FL 820s Filter. However the Filter is mounted completely vertical so drainback should not be an issue.
 
quote:
Originally posted by BlackF250: I have been having a problem with lifter noise at start-up. This only happens after the oil has been in there for 2,000 miles or so.
Something must be contaminating the oil, making it get too thick or too thin. Probably you are a good candidate for a used oil analysis.
 
Well I'd agree then it's probably not drain back. The motorcraft filter has one of the best designs, and it's silicon. However, I'd still investigate. Let it sit overnight and remove the filter to see if it is full. Nosmo King, you can't blame this on "thin oil" right away. There are many possible causes for this problem. I've heard hundreds of vehicles running 5w20 startup without any unusual noises. If this oil always caused these problems, Ford and Honda would get millions of cars coming back to the dealer, something they couldn't afford to deal with. -T
 
quote:
Originally posted by T-Keith: Nosmo King, you can't blame this on "thin oil" right away. There are many possible causes for this problem. I've heard hundreds of vehicles running 5w20 startup without any unusual noises. If this oil always caused these problems, Ford and Honda would get millions of cars coming back to the dealer, something they couldn't afford to deal with. -T
Fair comment. However in my area, users are going back and complaining of clatter at startup. The men in white just say..." Its normal" Well its not normal. VW dealers are telling customers that it is normal to burn 1 litre of oil per 1000 kilometers. In my opinion this is not normal and is outright fraud. Well maybe thats not the right word. But disgraceful anyway. [ March 10, 2004, 04:11 PM: Message edited by: Nosmo King ]
 
If it were me, I would give the oil 2-3 intervals to improve things before I gave up on it. It seems to take a while for the transition from one oil's additive pack to another. This might be especially true with getting oil into the lifters. It sounds like you saw some improvement with the Schaeffer's. I would give it more of a chance.
 
Decisions, Decisions, I know have 6 quarts of Schaeffers 5w30, and 6 quarts of Castrol syn blend 5w20, what to use next?!!! If only I was not so anal, I would just run whatever oil was on sale with a Fram filter and probably get 300,000 miles without a worry. But what would be the fun in that?!!!
 
I would use a synthetic 10W30 and see if it quiets down. In the Tundra V8 with good ole "piston slap," 10W30 in the winter, and yes 10W40 in summer has cured the problem with no difference in oil pressure or mileage. From my own experieces, the CAFE mandated 5WX and 5W20 weight oil recommendations seem counterproductive in terms of noise and actual engine protection. No doubt however that lighter oils will improve mileage.
 
Nosmo King - it is not only VW dealers, I have heard this 1 Qt per 1000 is normal from many different sources. I also get it from Chrysler dealers, on a 01 PT Cruiser that has used oil from day one. It seems to have been adopted by many to excuse oil consumption.... John
 
quote:
Originally posted by Nosmo King:
quote:
Originally posted by T-Keith: Nosmo King, you can't blame this on "thin oil" right away. There are many possible causes for this problem. I've heard hundreds of vehicles running 5w20 startup without any unusual noises. If this oil always caused these problems, Ford and Honda would get millions of cars coming back to the dealer, something they couldn't afford to deal with. -T
Fair comment. However in my area, users are going back and complaining of clatter at startup. The men in white just say..." Its normal" Well its not normal. VW dealers are telling customers that it is normal to burn 1 litre of oil per 1000 kilometers. In my opinion this is not normal and is outright fraud. Well maybe thats not the right word. But disgraceful anyway.
Actually, you'd be surprised how many car owners accept the "it's normal" bull s***: - it's "normal" for a car to make that tickticktick noise - it's "normal" for a car to burn more than 1 qt every 1,000 miles As long as most people blindly accept what EPA CAFE and the dealer try to pull off, what can you do?? True, you won't have too many cars/trucks exploding just from running the xW-20 oils. But long-term does raise questions. Anyway, if the xW-20's are so good, then why doesn't Ford recommend it in Europe. Or Honda for that matter?? Their idea of a "thin" oil is a 5W-30, and the viscosity charts include 15W-40, 15W-50, and 20W-50. It can't be because of poor fuel, as the Europeans got the sulfur out a LONG time ago. You would think with fuel being 3X-4X more expensive than here, the Europeans would jump at a theoretical 0.6% "gain" in fuel economy. Unless they know something we don't. I'm old enough to remember when 5W-20 oils were used for winter. My 1984 Ford shop manaul also had the warning "Not for temperatures over +50 F or for sustained high-speed driving." I don't "bash" thin oils. Due to my severe cold winters, I run Mobil 1 0W-30. My 2000 GMC Sierra with Vortec 5.3 also burns more oil: 1 qt every 4,200 miles vs 0 qt every +7,000 miles with Mobil 1 15W-50 in summer. And that's pulling a heavy trailer +7,000 miles. Jerry
 
What year is you F-250 with the 5.4?? How many miles?? You may have the beginning of a little piston slap. I have a 97 F-150 with 112,000 miles and mine started making startup noises around 80,000 miles. Mine is caused by piston slap. At first it lasted only a few seconds now it lasts until warmed up. However my last UOA was great and I have it posted. My truck still runs great and I have been considering going from my Motorcraft 5w30 to the 5w20. Anyway if you find something that will quieten that 5.4 please post and let me know. I have just learned to live with it. I still love my truck noise or not....
 
I have a similar problem with my f150 v6, IMO its just the nature of the beast. Different oils do help though, Castrol didn't help mine, havoline synthetic helped a lot. Sounds like the shaeffers is working for you. does shaeffer have a 5w20, The thinner the better when it comes to noisy lifters. A few years back valvoline 5w30 all but fixed lifter problems with an old opel with a gm 1.9. Good luck.
 
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