Being carefull,recommending what oil to use

[beaker60]

Ok,,this sort of a poll question,but at the same time,a question based on personnal experience.

A friend of mine has a '07 Dodge 300,,with a 3.5v6.He has been using,,if I'm not mistaken,Pennzoil Platinum 5w20.He's told me on several occasions,that he has a 1st or cold start engine tick,,not quite a rattle,,and of course,as it gets warmed up..the tick diminishes.Well,,,I recommended that he put in RP 5w20 at his next oil change because ,,over the years,I have heard more than just a few people tell me,,,that by using RP,,that they got rid of a lot of their engine noises.So,,he does his oil change today and he calls me,,to inform me,,,that now,,,the noises are louder and not diminishing at all.My question is,,,has anyone had the same issue and if so,,is this something that would be considered normal,,or would it be best for him to go back to using what he had been using before.I personnaly have always had real good luck with RP and M1,,,so I'm not sure of what to tell him.As always,,,I do not consider myself to be any type of guru,,when it comes to the science of oil,,,if anything,,I am a complete dummie,,,so any input would be greatly appreciated.

 

[demarpaint]

Find out if he changed brands of oil filters before you drive yourself nuts. A different brand filter can sometimes cause noises at start up.

Also remember "No good deed goes unpunished", including giving advise to friends.

 

[chubbs1]

Yeah, I would tell your buddy to try a different filter. What is he using? I would first start there as demarpaint said.

 

[pavelow]

Sounds like he has something going bad in the valvetrain. Hopefully this engine is still under warranty.

 

[5sfe91]

Could just be the filter causing the noise. What kind of filter is he using?

 

[jorton]

Originally Posted By: beaker60
,,and of course,as it gets warmed up..the tick diminishes.


As it gets warmed up the oil thins. Already running 5w-20 so he can't go thinner. Look and see if RP 5w-20 is much thicker than PP.

Has your friend always used the same brand filter? If so the others filter comments to change the of is a good idea.

 

[Hermann]

Is 5w-20 the recommended grade for that engine?

 

[ottotheclown]

As I have said before, swithced from

Pennzoil Platinum to Edge and found a start problem on a 09 Civic. Switched back and problem was gone. Spent about a total of 3 hours dealing with this problem. If it worked before ....get what I mean??

Originally Posted By: beaker60
Ok,,this sort of a poll question,but at the same time,a question based on personnal experience.

A friend of mine has a '07 Dodge 300,,with a 3.5v6.He has been using,,if I'm not mistaken,Pennzoil Platinum 5w20.He's told me on several occasions,that he has a 1st or cold start engine tick,,not quite a rattle,,and of course,as it gets warmed up..the tick diminishes.Well,,,I recommended that he put in RP 5w20 at his next oil change because ,,over the years,I have heard more than just a few people tell me,,,that by using RP,,that they got rid of a lot of their engine noises.So,,he does his oil change today and he calls me,,to inform me,,,that now,,,the noises are louder and not diminishing at all.My question is,,,has anyone had the same issue and if so,,is this something that would be considered normal,,or would it be best for him to go back to using what he had been using before.I personnaly have always had real good luck with RP and M1,,,so I'm not sure of what to tell him.As always,,,I do not consider myself to be any type of guru,,when it comes to the science of oil,,,if anything,,I am a complete dummie,,,so any input would be greatly appreciated.

 

[tig1]

You are dealing with an engine problem, not an oil problem.

 

[caravanmike]

10w-30 is the recommended grade in the 3.5L

 

[LargeCarManX2]

Excellent question....

Will it come to a point where folks will be sued for what they advise?

Look at some of the advise, as well as mine. Using a 0w20 when the engine manufacture calls for a 50w!

Will BITOG need all of it's members to sign a release waiver?

I personally have run 20w50 in a 5w30 OEM rec Or 15W40....If you look at some of the OEM charts of old, oil was reccomended by ambient temp> I now run 0w30 and depending on sales 0w20's in most of my engines except the large V/8's.

 

[beaker60]

Ok guys,,,I think before I give anymore advice to anyone,,I'm going to have to do my OWN investigation as to what should be and shouldn't,,,be used.The owner of the vehicle called me early this morning to inform me,that he WAS mistaken,,,as too the oil he had been using.CaravanMike,,,you win the big prize,,,the owner told me that 10w30 was the correct wieght oil.Now,,,here's where it gets really good,,,he is a level 4 Chrysler tech at a 5 star dealership.I don't how I'm supposed to feel about this issue.First off,,I was asked to reccommend what oil he should be using in his own vehicle,,and he's a Dodge technician and he doesn't know what he's been using in the past,and my reccomendation,,makes me sound like a bigger dummie than I already am,,,just to find out that he made the mistake,,,I'm at a loss with this one.Like I said in the beginning,,,be carefull of what you tell someone,,,especially if they don't even know themselves.I think from now on,,,I'm going to take my own advice and keep my mouth shut.Thanks again guys for all of your input,,,there for a minute,,,I thought I was getting ready to buy someone an engine.

 

[Errtt]

Did he drain, refill, and get a bunch ticking on a dry start and focus his attention to it and right away called?

I most times recommend them to check online and see if there is a running forum on their vehicle. See what others are saying for the same vehicle & engine, but also don't believe everything you read. But you may get a good idea what a majority like using or avoid. Then work from there.
I might say what oils I have used but that's not a recommendation, just my experience.

 

[uart]

Well it's one thing to recommend a quality good oil or a good oil at a good price to someone, but a specific recommendation for a little "rattle at start up" is a tough call really. Because it could be caused by several different things and the recommendation could go either way. It could be the oil slow to circulate in which case a thinner oil might help. Or it could just be the lager clearances in a cold engine in which case a thicker oil might actually help.

So yeah that's a tough one to call if you don't really know the underlying cause.