- Joined
- Jan 12, 2025
- Messages
- 8
TLDR Version: ‘04 Jeep 4.0L w/ 133k. Lifter tick on cold (10°F-20°F) starts. PUP 5W30 or another 0W30!? What about Summer?
Hello,
This is my first post, and so I hope I’m not making a bunch of mistakes. I know if I search long enough, the knowledge is here to never need to actually post anything, and I’ve read a fair bit, but I’m not yet confident which way to move forward.
I just picked up a 2004 Jeep Grand Cherokee 4.0L with 133,000 miles from a nice old man my Dad’s age. I only include that part because it was a bit disarming in my purchase decision. I live in the Northern Nevada high desert, and temps range from low single digits to 40°F in the Winter, and 40’s to 100°F in the Summer. I drive about 5-6,000 miles per year.
When I arrived to get this Jeep, the exhaust manifold was cold to the touch, but the valve cover was still perceptibly warm (red flag #1). The oil was black, but the PO said it had been changed a few months prior, despite the maintenance minder showing 5,999 miles to service on a 6,000 mile set interval (red flag #2). They stated that they “barely drive it” (red flag #3). The Jeep fired up and ran and drove smoothly, with just a hint of lifter “clatter”, which I understand is a common Jeep 4.0L thing.
After getting home I found an oil change record which indicated the oil had nearly 10,000 miles on it. And on the first cold-start at ~20°F, I had ONE lifter ticking quite loudly until the Jeep reached nearly full operating temp, and then it went away.
Forgive me for not remembering the exact number from my owners manual, but Jeep recommends 10W30 Dino all the way down the 0°F (or close to 0°F anyway), and there were enough posts on the Jeep forum where people are adamant that you don’t need anything else. So, I drove down to O’Reilly and changed the oil with Castrol GTX 10w30 and a new Mopar filter, and the overall noise was a bit quieter, but the cold start tick was still there.
I drove it this way for a week; every morning that ONE lifter sounds like a gremlin with a ballpeen hammer under the valve cover, but when it’s warm it’s nearly perfect.
We took a trip over to California to see my folks, and the low was just above freezing, and the cold start in the morning made no noticeable noise at all. But I just know that when I go out and start it this morning at 20°F it’s gonna make a racket.
I’ve only had the Castrol in for ~500 miles, but I want to change it out for a lower Winter number oil. After the research I have done, I’m pretty set on trying Pennzoil Ultra Platinum, because of the extra detergents and ZDDP in the ad pack, but they don’t make a 0W30 that I can find in that product line. Is PUP 5W30 going to be thin enough at 10°F and below to make a difference, or should I look at another oil? I normally use Mobil 1 in my other car, and I know a lot of people will recommend that here, but I’ve read a few posts on BITOG about Mobil 1 producing high Iron across multiple 4.0L UOA’s, so I’m going to avoid that oil in this application.
Two other points for consideration. I only drive a maximum of about 6k miles per year, so, either I keep the Dino oil 3k mile OCI interval, or I run this lower Winter number during the Summer months, too. Is that going to be an issue? Does that perhaps make the PUP 5W30 a more well-rounded choice for my ticking lifter situation?
Also, should I consider a flush before I dump this 500 mile Castro GTX?
And, if I DON’T do a flush, should I even bother changing my 500 mile Mopar oil filter? It is a sideways mount, and so it’s got a half quart of Dino oil in it that won’t drain if I leave it.
Thank you for the advice. It’s good to be here.
Casey
Hello,
This is my first post, and so I hope I’m not making a bunch of mistakes. I know if I search long enough, the knowledge is here to never need to actually post anything, and I’ve read a fair bit, but I’m not yet confident which way to move forward.
I just picked up a 2004 Jeep Grand Cherokee 4.0L with 133,000 miles from a nice old man my Dad’s age. I only include that part because it was a bit disarming in my purchase decision. I live in the Northern Nevada high desert, and temps range from low single digits to 40°F in the Winter, and 40’s to 100°F in the Summer. I drive about 5-6,000 miles per year.
When I arrived to get this Jeep, the exhaust manifold was cold to the touch, but the valve cover was still perceptibly warm (red flag #1). The oil was black, but the PO said it had been changed a few months prior, despite the maintenance minder showing 5,999 miles to service on a 6,000 mile set interval (red flag #2). They stated that they “barely drive it” (red flag #3). The Jeep fired up and ran and drove smoothly, with just a hint of lifter “clatter”, which I understand is a common Jeep 4.0L thing.
After getting home I found an oil change record which indicated the oil had nearly 10,000 miles on it. And on the first cold-start at ~20°F, I had ONE lifter ticking quite loudly until the Jeep reached nearly full operating temp, and then it went away.
Forgive me for not remembering the exact number from my owners manual, but Jeep recommends 10W30 Dino all the way down the 0°F (or close to 0°F anyway), and there were enough posts on the Jeep forum where people are adamant that you don’t need anything else. So, I drove down to O’Reilly and changed the oil with Castrol GTX 10w30 and a new Mopar filter, and the overall noise was a bit quieter, but the cold start tick was still there.
I drove it this way for a week; every morning that ONE lifter sounds like a gremlin with a ballpeen hammer under the valve cover, but when it’s warm it’s nearly perfect.
We took a trip over to California to see my folks, and the low was just above freezing, and the cold start in the morning made no noticeable noise at all. But I just know that when I go out and start it this morning at 20°F it’s gonna make a racket.
I’ve only had the Castrol in for ~500 miles, but I want to change it out for a lower Winter number oil. After the research I have done, I’m pretty set on trying Pennzoil Ultra Platinum, because of the extra detergents and ZDDP in the ad pack, but they don’t make a 0W30 that I can find in that product line. Is PUP 5W30 going to be thin enough at 10°F and below to make a difference, or should I look at another oil? I normally use Mobil 1 in my other car, and I know a lot of people will recommend that here, but I’ve read a few posts on BITOG about Mobil 1 producing high Iron across multiple 4.0L UOA’s, so I’m going to avoid that oil in this application.
Two other points for consideration. I only drive a maximum of about 6k miles per year, so, either I keep the Dino oil 3k mile OCI interval, or I run this lower Winter number during the Summer months, too. Is that going to be an issue? Does that perhaps make the PUP 5W30 a more well-rounded choice for my ticking lifter situation?
Also, should I consider a flush before I dump this 500 mile Castro GTX?
And, if I DON’T do a flush, should I even bother changing my 500 mile Mopar oil filter? It is a sideways mount, and so it’s got a half quart of Dino oil in it that won’t drain if I leave it.
Thank you for the advice. It’s good to be here.
Casey