Cold Start Problems with GC?

[crashz]

I have about 500 miles on my first run of GC. Since I have put it in, I've been getting a loud ticking noise at cold start for an extended amount of time (say 5 minutes). M1 used to do this only when really cold and only for 5 to 10 seconds. I just did an ARX treatment and for the rinse I used Penz 5w-30. The dino had absolutely no start up noise at all. The weather has reamined around 30 degrees on average, both with the dino and GC.

Could anyone help me figure this out? Should I change out the GC? I'm worried that its doing some real damage in there. My only thought is that since GC has a lot of esters that "seep", maybe its getting past the anti-drain back valve?

BTW - the vehicle is a 2001 F150 with 4.2L V6 and the filter is the stock size Motorcraft. The motorcraft has a silicone anti drainback valve.

 

[Dr. T]

Stuck valve lifters? Is the auto-rx tmt finished? Maybe you need a second tmt. Or something else...LC? How many mi. on what engine? I think it's a little early to be judgemental...let some more cleaning take place....it will clean more than any dino...unless the lifters are shot.

 

[vvk]

Shouldn't you be using 5W-20 in there? GC is way too thick for this car. It is geared towards cars that require high HTHS oils.

 

[doyall]

If you haven't already found the Ford Truck Enthusiasts web site ( http://www.ford-trucks.com ), they have a good forum that has sections devoted to any aspect of Ford trucks you can imagine. May not be a bad idea to sift through some topics there to see if there are any such peculiar issues with the 4.2L's. If what you describe isn't a common thing, I'd dump the GC altogether and see what happens even though I can't imagine why it may cause what you are experiencing. Could there really be that much difference between a 0w and a 5w?

 

[quadrun1]

Piston slap sounds like a diesel engine at idle; it's distinctly different from lifter noise.

FWIW, my friend's Explorer V6 (not sure if that engine is related to yours) was always noisy after a cold start until he switched it to Mobil 1 5W-30, which his dealer recommended.

 

[TR3-2001SE]

My guess would be the filter or the fact that GC is so thin it drains out of the filter ie any filter overnight. Heck around here they can't even keep the stuff in the plastic container it comes in.

 

[Quick_lude]

I must add to this that I also seem to be getting a little more valvtrain noise at startup and after driving away.. but so far I just attributed it to the colder weather..

 

[biscuitboy]

I am 1500 miles into my first run of GC after a standard Auto RX cleaning and rinse with Pennzoil. Vehicle is a 93 Accord with 115K. I also have noticed more valvetrain noise at startup, and it is worse with colder weather. Not really concerned about it, as it goes away after the oil gets hot, but it is quite noticeable. Filter is a K&N.

 

[dickwells]

I am over 5Kmiles on my first run of GC and the startup is quiter than M1 5W30 if anything. The first analysis will be interesting.

 

[BIGJ552000]

quote:

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Originally posted by dickwells:
I am over 5Kmiles on my first run of GC and the startup is quiter than M1 5W30 if anything. The first analysis will be interesting.

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What kind of car/truck is this in?

 

[dickwells]

Sorry, 2002 Chev Silverado 1/2 ton two wheel drive, std cab, 4.3 6cyl auto. M1 since about 7500 miles changed by light (6-7Kmiles) All the changes but my last one are in the uoa forum. total miles now 46K.

 

[Quick_lude]

quote:

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Originally posted by biscuitboy:
I am 1500 miles into my first run of GC after a standard Auto RX cleaning and rinse with Pennzoil. Vehicle is a 93 Accord with 115K. I also have noticed more valvetrain noise at startup, and it is worse with colder weather. Not really concerned about it, as it goes away after the oil gets hot, but it is quite noticeable. Filter is a K&N.

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Same here I guess.. today it was much warmer than in the past two weeks, about +5 Deg C. A lot less noise than at -5 temps although I don't have a direct comparison to Mobil1 which I used before, unless I'd switch again after this interval.

 

[crashz]

The AutoRX treatment is complete. The Penz that was in the truck was the rinse cycle. The truck has 75K miles on it, the majoity of them with synthetics and 4000 mile changes. So I don't think there was much cleaning to be done even prior to the AutoRX.

As far as using a 5w-20, well when I bought the truck the manufactures hadn't caught up to the 20 weight recommendations yet, so I started using 5w-30 weight oils with the blessing from my dealers's service department. And GC being a 0w oil, I thought I was gonna get better performance than any 5w.

I think I'll change my filter to test my ADBV theory first.

Could this be piston slap? This is the thinnest cold weight oil that I've ever used, so maybe that could be it. What does piston slap sound like? Like a loud lifter?

 

[biscuitboy]

Very warm (60 deg.F) today and as much valvetrain noise as ever at startup. I am becoming concerned the problem is not the GC but the K&N oil filter. I've seen similar complaints about the K&N's elsewhere on this site. What to do...?

 

[Patman]

quote:

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Originally posted by biscuitboy:
Very warm (60 deg.F) today and as much valvetrain noise as ever at startup. I am becoming concerned the problem is not the GC but the K&N oil filter. I've seen similar complaints about the K&N's elsewhere on this site. What to do...?

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I've been using the K&N oil filter in my wife's Honda for a couple of years now, and in my Firebird for the last few intervals, and haven't come across any problems with valvetrain noise on startup. But every maker probably has a few bad apples where the ADBV doesn't work properly, so it might be worthwhile for you to change just the oil filter to see if you notice an improvement.

 

[quadrun1]

Yeah, maybe a bad filter, I doubt it's the GC. It flows great! At cold starts, the oil pressure light on my car extinguishes even before I release the ignition key from "start"!

In the owner's manuals I've seen, Ford seems to stress the importance of using Motorcraft filters to avoid startup valve noise... Try one of those and see if it eliminates the noise.