Piston slap?

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"For some reason beyond me, dino oils seem to quiet cold start piston slap noticeably better than synthetics. Give Chevron/Havoline dino oil a try."

I concur with that recommendation; and switch to 10W-30.
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I have a 1999 3.1 "knocker" and I found thicker oil helps greatly. I am using a 15w50/10/30 blend now and will be going to 10w40 next change. The thicker oil seems to cushion the pistons better. Cut my slap almost in half compaired to using 5w30 as recommended.
 
But while helping the piston slap, what other problems are you creating from using a overly thick oil in a colder climate.

Piston slap is temporary. Changing grades for a couple minutes of piston slap on a cold morning is not a good thing to do in my mind.

What else will you be staving longer for oil flow by doing that?
 
I wouldn't say 10w40 is overly thick. Plus its full synthetic so it flows easier than a conventional 10w40 would. Car has had no problems, only improvements with the thicker oil. I would never go 20w50 or strait 15w50. I think the 10w40 should be safe in my case.

Also It would be my opinion that the extra cushion would decrease wear on the cylinder walls associated with the slap due to the pistons not being able to slap as hard against the walls.
 
HACOFFICER,

Don't get me wrong, your thought process is going in the right direction, but remember, even a 30weight at cold temperatures is thick enough to cushion any piston slap occuring.
 
One my Silverado the problem is two fold. 1) The piston is wiggling around in the cylinder until it slightly expands from the heat. This is also complicated by a shorter piston skirt. 2) Carbon deposits forming between the top edge of the piston and the cylinder head. This morning the noise was absolutely ridiculous, the weather is calling for warm weather on Thursday. We'll probably unload the vehicle at the Ford dealer and pick up a F150.

~Sail
 
And heavy oil will increse piston slap when cold because it dosen't get thrown up on the cylinder walls.
 
I'm experiencing the same problem with my 2002 GM 3.4L V-6. It only last for a minute in the morning but it sure is annoying. I am currently using Mobil 1 5w30. I'm considering switching to another synthetic in 10w30 (maybe Redline) or going back to dino in 5w30 (maybe Havoline). Although given that were in early March, maybe I should just go with 10w30 either way as I'm not so worried about any more deep freezes.

Am I on the right track or should I set the car on fire, collect the insurance money, and go purchase a Nissan Altima 3.5L SE? Hypothetically, of course!
 
I would stick to what you are using, all engines in the cold will not be silent.

One minute is nothing.
 
My 99 GMC Sierra developed piston slap at 58000. GM was no help. Sold it last month.. Now have a new Tundra. Incredibly quiet. Nevada Smith
 
"My 99 GMC Sierra developed piston slap at 58000. GM was no help. Sold it last month.. Now have a new Tundra. Incredibly quiet. Nevada Smith"

Yea, give it time. My neighbors tundra sounds like a powerstroke. I give him Cr@p about it all the time. He took it to the dealer and he was told it was normal.
 
I had a F150 with the 4.2L V6. Sounded like someone was hitting it with a hammer on cold mornings. Started somewhere around 20K miles. When I traded it in on my GMC it had 130K miles and still running strong.

On both trucks and on a 98 Beetle, I've found that a maintenance dose of AutoRX helps quiet the slap down to barely noticable. However if a dose is skipped, the noise slowy returns.

My thoughs on this are that pistons slap is aggravated by the shallow pistons on modern engines, but primarily caused by carbon build up in the ring packs. I've read similar theories here, and from my experiences believe it to be true, but haven't done research to support it.

Could be why Redline has helped in some cases.
 
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