I have a 1998 Chev. Malibu ls 3.1L V6.It has 50,000 miles.When I first start it in the morning after about 1min. It starts to make a noise I think is piston slap.It makes this noise until it gets to operating temp.Is there any thing I could do to reduce this noise.I have tried lucas,STP,GM oil treatment.I'am runnig it on Valveoline sync blend 5w30.Thank you.
Piston slap
- Thread starter mayo
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Well Mayo...my '98 454 had done it since new...I just changed to Penz LL 15-40 with a Baldwin filter...so far it's working...don't hear the noise anymore....it took @ 500 miles to stop..I wasen't going to say anything till after the second oil change with this stuff just in case the slap came back...oh yea ..I have 120k on the clock...I'll keep ya posted
I'm still working on the winter thing...I think I could add a couple qts. of some synthetic to the mix...just hope I won't get the knock back if it doesen't come back before than....will keep posting after a couple of changes
I've had that on my '90 3.3l Olds almost since new. Not really much you can do to change that or make it go away. I'm using Penz. 5W-30 and no real difference between that and the 10W-30's. Also using Purolators. This is one of those deals that you have to just live with. I've done UOA's on it and they all pretty much came back great. Car now has about 184K on it.
Mayo, to minimize the noise, try an oil with a lot of moly. I noticed how much quieter engines were when switching from Mobil 1 (Tri-Synthetic) to Red Line and/or the original formulation of Valvoline Max-Life ... both loaded with molybdenum. A night-and-day difference!
MaxLife no longer has moly so you might try Pennzoil Long Life 10W30 (see a distributor who will order it for you), Schaeffer Supreme 10W30 or Red Line Oil.
If you search this site using the words "piston slap" you will find a handful of other threads on the subject.
--- Bror Jace
MaxLife no longer has moly so you might try Pennzoil Long Life 10W30 (see a distributor who will order it for you), Schaeffer Supreme 10W30 or Red Line Oil.
If you search this site using the words "piston slap" you will find a handful of other threads on the subject.
--- Bror Jace
I have had 4 cars with 3.1 engines and currently have one. It does make a little noise when cold and that is very common. Its has 62,400 miles and has never used a drop of oil in its lifetime (11 yrs). Always used 5W-30 oil.
Many times the noise is just from normal wear and tear on the engine. The parts wear a little and the tolerances increase. As the engine warms up, the metal expands and the noise is gone. It would not worry about it. Noise by itself it not a bad thing.
My neighbor Toyota SUV is new and it makes a similar noise when cold.
Many times the noise is just from normal wear and tear on the engine. The parts wear a little and the tolerances increase. As the engine warms up, the metal expands and the noise is gone. It would not worry about it. Noise by itself it not a bad thing.
My neighbor Toyota SUV is new and it makes a similar noise when cold.
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