Emergency-oil choice!

[G_lo]

Hey guys I just bought a 2000 Mitubishi Eclipse GS with the 2.4l engine and 95k miles on it this week. Well it has a small tapping noise coming from deep inside the engine. It is louder when you start it cold and then gets faint when the engine is at operating temp. A mechanic said that it could be the lifters being drained overnight or that it could eventually turn out to be something deep inside the engine and more serious. Other than that noise though the car runs smooth, strong, and doesn't overheat. So, I changed the oil 3 days ago and it was filthy, black and smelled burnt. I put Maxlife (5w30 per owners manual recommendations) in it. I figured Maxlife would quiet that persistent, faint tapping/knocking sound but it actually got louder now. Well, now another guy told me that I should drain it and consider it a flush and now put something really thick in there which will help quiet it and extend the life of the engine. I only bought the car cause it was dirt cheap and the body/interior are near perfect and figured I could get a used Japanese JDM engine installed for about $1200 total when this one finally dies. Now, I'm thinking why not listen to this guy and use thicker oil so I don't have to shell out more bucks so soon. Ok, ok so the question is... How thick is safe? 10w40, 20w50 etc...? Highmileage? Let me know what you think guys. Thanks

ps. I got it at an auction but the old pink slip had the original owners name on it which happened to be a lady and she traded it in to a honda dealer who sent it to the auction where i got it.

 

[G_lo]

Hey guys, I also changed the spark plugs and PCV valve the day I changed the motor oil. I also wanted to add that I live in California and it doesnt get much colder than 32F in the winter. Maybe a week or two in the Winter drop a few degrees below freezing. Hope this follow up helps in your calculations/formulations. Thanks to all.

 

[Dr_No]

Why not go for MaxLife syn

 

[G_lo]

What weight, please?

 

[Merkava_4]

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A mechanic said that it could be the lifters being drained overnight or that it could eventually turn out to be something deep inside the engine and more serious.

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I'm thinking it doesn't have hydraulic lifters since it's probably SOHC or DOHC. The valve lash should've been adjusted at 50K which it probably wasn't since the owner never bothered to change the oil.

You could easily run 10W-40 in there, but the oil's not going to adjust your lash for you.

 

[Dr_No]

whatever oil the manufacturer recommends

 

[Chris142]

Quote:

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I'm thinking it doesn't have hydraulic lifters since it's probably SOHC or DOHC. The valve lash should've been adjusted at 50K which it probably wasn't since the owner never bothered to change the oil.

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My 1986 Mits pickup had hydralic lifters. I'd be very suprized if this car didn't.

 

[Merkava_4]

Quote:

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Quote:

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I'm thinking it doesn't have hydraulic lifters since it's probably SOHC or DOHC. The valve lash should've been adjusted at 50K which it probably wasn't since the owner never bothered to change the oil.

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My 1986 Mits pickup had hydralic lifters. I'd be very suprized if this car didn't.

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Alright, but this is an overhead cam engine though right?

 

[glenncof]

Well, sure sounds like; a) it has hydralic lifter or b) it does not have hydralic lifters.

Step 1: determine lifter style; Case a) Clean engine; I use short OCI's, if you like AuotRX go for it, Case b) adjust valves then do short OCI or AutoRX.

Step 2; once engine is cleaned/adjusted determine maintenance strategy; what oil, what OCI, what filter.

Not rocket science...

 

[Camu Mahubah]

Since you rarely get temps below 32F, why don't you give Maxlife 10w40 or Valvoline Premium 10w40 a try? I say Valvoline Conventional because it us usually cheaper than Maxlife...but you could try whatever 10w40 Name Brand stuff is on sell or even HDEO 15w40. I wouldn't go heavier than 15w40 though...

 

[flatlandtacoma]

I'm pretty sure it does have hydraulic lifters. I agree with glencof, try auto-rx first. If no joy, replace the lifters.

No need for heavier oil, that's like turning up the stereo so you won't hear the noise.

 

[Merkava_4]

I've heard of something called a hydraulic lash adjuster; maybe that's what Chris is referring too.

On Toyotas, I know you have to change something called a "bucket" to adjust the lash, while Hondas just require turning a screw on the rocker arm. I think if I had to adjust valve lash, I'd rather have the Honda set-up.

 

[flatlandtacoma]

Here is a post on another forum, sounds like a common problem with that engine:

http://mitsubishi-forums.com/t21717-could-24-engine-suffer-from-lifter-tick.htm

 

[G_lo]

Ok guys, Im trying to determine if it has hydraulic lifters or not but I cant find the info online. I know the engine code is 4G64 and it is SOHC. Does anyone know of a web site that would have the answer? So I can choose a plan of attack for this issue.

Thanks for all your input! So far, it's really opened my eyes.

 

[flatlandtacoma]

We posted at the same time, you could ask for sure on that mitsubishi-forums.com . Unless they all don't know what they are talking about, it sounds like many of them have hydraulic lifter tick in their 4G64 engines.

 

[Merkava_4]

Okay Chris142 is right, they do have lifters, but they're called hydraulic lash adjusters. I'd be interested in finding out how they are assembled to the engine.

 

[flatlandtacoma]

http://www.fast-4ward.com/3GsvcManual/11B.pdf

(Page 27). They go between the rocker arms and the valves. The cam acts directly on the rockers.

 

[Merkava_4]

Apparently from what I've found out on Google, some aftermarket companies make an adjustable solid lifter for the Mitsubishi 4G63 engine, but I haven't found one for the 4G64 engine yet. An adjustable solid lifter would certainly do the trick and you might not have to replace the camshafts that way.

 

[flatlandtacoma]

It's a SOHC so there is only one, and why the heck would he have to replace the cam?

 

[Merkava_4]

Okay from what I've found out, your lifters may just be full of dirty oil which could prevent them from expanding. If several oil changes don't clean them out, you may have to actually remove them from the engine and submerge them in diesel fuel while forcing the plunger in and out with a stiff (.020 inch wire). That would definitely purge the lifter of any contaminants.

Camshaft lobes can get damaged from collapsed lifters if the engine is ran for extended periods of time with excessive valve lash. Check the camshaft lobes for flat spots.

That's another thing people don't realise by not changing the oil regularly and that's the damage dirty oil can cause to hydraulic lifters.