New to Real Winters; One Badly Ticking Lifter on Jeep 4.0L Startup/Don’t Drive Enough For 2x/Year OCI

Its simple enough to pull the valve cover, see which valve is ticking? Or if anything is out of adjustment? It does sound like a cracked manifold.

I wouldn't change out perfectly good oil. If you did, I'd try 5w-30 Maxlife.

I agree about the valve cover being relatively easy to pull, but I’m working two jobs right now, NEED this Jeep for both, and just don’t have time for much more than an oil change. I’ve also never seen an exhaust leak or mis-adjusted rocker that quit making noise for multiple days at a time, and looking through the oil cap, this thing is dirty inside.

As a side note, I’m wondering how many of the people who keep suggesting Mobil 1 oils read the part of my early post about my concerns over high iron in the UOA’s which have come up multiple times on THIS site? I typically use Mobil 1 oils in everything (I maintain my vehicles quite well), but I’m not going to run them in this one.

Look:

As dirty as the ~10k mile used oil was when I poured the Castrol GTX in, I don’t feel the least bit bad about an extremely short OCI. I haven’t checked, but I guarantee this oil is already pretty dark.

I’ve got some Valvoline R&P 5w-30, a Fram Ultra filter, and a bottle of Rislone Engine Treatment on the way from Walmart.

A few of you suggested that there would be no harm in a flush. And the Rislone is the flush of choice on this site, correct?

Unless somebody wants to convince me that this would somehow be detrimental, I plan to pour it in. BUT, How long should I leave it? Can I go just until things quiet down, or should I go a certain mileage at minimum?

I’ve actually never used a motor flush type of product before, in 30 years of vehicle ownership. I’ve seen everything from 15 minutes to 500 miles suggested. I don’t like the idea of leaving it any longer than necessary.

Thanks for all of the advice. I apologize that I cannot take everybody’s advice; it’s conflicting. And I’m too new to know who to give more credence to. I’m just going with what echos what I’ve already read here.

PS- This morning’s cold-start was quiet again. Of course it was only 21°. I only say that to illustrate that this thing definitely benefitted from just having it’s oil changed, and I really do believe the issues it does have are simply from a lack of proper maintenance…
 
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Products like HPL's EC30/EC40 and Rislone's Engine Treatment are not flushes, they are engine cleaners.

A flush is a harsh solvent that dissolves gunk/sludge/carbon/whatever as quickly as possible. They typically do not provide lubricity and tend to be nasty volatile chemicals which is why the directions usually say not to drive around with them in the engine. You usually idle for some amount of time and then immediately drain the oil and gunk it cleaned out. Solvent flushes can be risky because a large chuck of something can break off and clog up an oil passage somewhere.

For HPL's EC30/EC40 and Rislone's Engine Treatment....they are full of Esters and other "cleaning" additive packs and seal conditioners. These products don't clean quick, more like a methodical low and slow approach. Esters are usually one of the main ingredients in boutique oil like HPL, Amsoil, Redline, etc. That is one of the reasons those boutique oils clean so well.

You leave products like HPL's EC30/EC40 and Rislone's Engine Treatment in for the length of an oil change to let them do their magic. It is recommended to change your oil filter at shorter intervals in the event it is getting full of junk. Perhaps at 1,000 miles if you are curious and you can cut it open to check inside?

Rislone actually says to use two bottles if your engine is really dirty, but to change the oil after 100 miles. Many on here believe that even with two bottles that 100 miles is too quick for the Esters/additives to do their thing and the 100 miles is just for liability purposes so they don't end up getting sued by people with severely neglected engines.

A number of people here use two bottles of Rislone and whatever oil for every oil change and for the entire interval.

That said, I'd go with the Rislone and Valvoline R&P for 2,000 miles for the first change and change the filter at 1,000. If everything goes well use the same oil and Rislone and increase the next interval to 3,000 miles and change the filter at 1,500. Then repeat. It will take a handful of OCI's to clean up your engine this way.
 
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Products like HPL's EC30/EC40 and Rislone's Engine Treatment are not flushes, they are engine cleaners.

A flush is a harsh solvent that dissolves gunk/sludge/carbon/whatever as quickly as possible. They typically do not provide lubricity and tend to be nasty volatile chemicals which is why the directions usually say not to drive around with them in the engine. You usually idle for some amount of time and then immediately drain the oil and gunk it cleaned out. Solvent flushes can be risky because a large chuck of something can break off and clog up an oil passage somewhere.

For HPL's EC30/EC40 and Rislone's Engine Treatment....they are full of Esters and other "cleaning" additive packs and seal conditioners. These products don't clean quick, more like a methodical low and slow approach. Esters are usually one of the main ingredients in boutique oil like HPL, Amsoil, Redline, etc. That is one of the reasons those boutique oils clean so well.

You leave products like HPL's EC30/EC40 and Rislone's Engine Treatment in for the length of an oil change to let them do their magic. It is recommended to change your oil filter at shorter intervals in the event it is getting full of junk. Perhaps at 1,000 miles if you are curious and you can cut it open to check inside?

Rislone actually says to use two bottles if your engine is really dirty, but to change the oil after 100 miles. Many on here believe that even with two bottles that 100 miles is too quick for the Esters/additives to do their thing and the 100 miles is just for liability purposes so they don't end up getting sued by people with severely neglected engines.

A number of people here use two bottles of Rislone and whatever oil for every oil change and for the entire interval.

That said, I'd go with the Rislone and Valvoline R&P for 2,000 miles for the first change and change the filter at 1,000. If everything goes well use the same oil and Rislone and increase the next interval to 3,000 miles and change the filter at 1,500. Then repeat. It will take a handful of OCI's to clean up your engine this way.

Ok, I see. So there’s nothing in Rislone that will damage anything if left in longer, it’s just the nature of breaking up deposits and clogging filters (or worse) that brings in some amount of risk when using the product. I do really appreciate the advice. Short of religiously using Prolong in my very first car (1965 Mustang) back in the mid-90’s, I’ve just never been an oil additive guy. Though I do love staring at that aisle in the parts store. :LOL:

Being somewhat cheap these days. I think I’ll add the bottle of Rislone I already purchased to my 500 mile GTX fill and monitor the color of the oil over the next 500 miles or so, and decide how to proceed from there. Probably something like you suggested, but perhaps if things stay quiet, I’ll just do some short OCI’s with the R&P by itself.

I’ve got a lot of other neglected maintenance to remedy on this thing, and on a teacher’s salary, so I can’t go crazy…
 
I had an engine which developed a scary loud lifter tick. It was pretty bad and I felt like driving the truck was damaging the engine. I poured in a Bottle of Rislone and after about 400 miles the problem was solved. Nice and quiet. I would try that and never an engine flush.
 
Ok, I see. So there’s nothing in Rislone that will damage anything if left in longer, it’s just the nature of breaking up deposits and clogging filters (or worse) that brings in some amount of risk when using the product. I do really appreciate the advice. Short of religiously using Prolong in my very first car (1965 Mustang) back in the mid-90’s, I’ve just never been an oil additive guy. Though I do love staring at that aisle in the parts store. :LOL:

Being somewhat cheap these days. I think I’ll add the bottle of Rislone I already purchased to my 500 mile GTX fill and monitor the color of the oil over the next 500 miles or so, and decide how to proceed from there. Probably something like you suggested, but perhaps if things stay quiet, I’ll just do some short OCI’s with the R&P by itself.

I’ve got a lot of other neglected maintenance to remedy on this thing, and on a teacher’s salary, so I can’t go crazy…
Run the Rislone with the oil atleast 3K miles. Anytime I purchase a used vehicle -- also going the cheaper rout. I will use the Rislone product for acouple OCIs to clean up and condition what it claims to do. It will make your oil darker which I believe it is cleaning --- hopefully.
 
Does it do it every time? Sometimes the rockers will slap together and make a bunch of racket. Turning it off and restarting it usually makes that stop .also feel the opda to make sure that it's not worn out and making the tick.
 
Does it do it every time? Sometimes the rockers will slap together and make a bunch of racket. Turning it off and restarting it usually makes that stop .also feel the opda to make sure that it's not worn out and making the tick.

OPDA?

I don’t know if you saw my updates, but three of the last four mornings, it has NOT made the tick on cold start, and it never makes the tick on restarts throughout the day (even after several hours of sitting at temps not much above freezing). It only does it (and only occasionally now) during the very first cold start of the day at temps below freezing. And FWIW, it is a very pronounced once per revolution tick.
 
Put a bottle of Rislone in it or 6oz of Gumout Multisystem Tune Up in it, you can run both for the whole oci. I used to run it in my Element for stuck piston rings. Either should help if it can be helped. Then at your next oci go with the 5w30 Valvoline Restore and Protect.
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
 
Oil Pump Drive Assembly. It's just in front of the oil filter and has the cam sensor on top. I chased a sound that I swore was a lifter for a year, tried all kinds of additives but it was that thing.

When it's clicking put your fingers on it. If it's worn out you will feel it with every click. I have put 3 in my 02 in 200k.

 
Oil Pump Drive Assembly. It's just in front of the oil filter and has the cam sensor on top. I chased a sound that I swore was a lifter for a year, tried all kinds of additives but it was that thing.

When it's clicking put your fingers on it. If it's worn out you will feel it with every click. I have put 3 in my 02 in 200k.


Interesting…I will definitely check.
 
for a additive, try to find some Marvel Mystery oil, the synthetic stuff, this may help. Auto zone,,,$12.99 has it,,,good product. Only one I would use.
 
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