Potential Fram X2 Extended Guard Problem
- Thread starter BlazerLT
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Sorry, my bad about mis-interpreting the noise description as startup and idle noises both, at least now you know I have a lifter tick!
Our 95 Blazer has another noise that I checked with the dealer about years ago...the balance shaft was making a slight knock sound at idle when oil was hot...could only hear it every now and then. The reman'ed engine has the same sound, but only every now and then.
I could only hear the sound inside the cab, I could not hear it when listening under the hood.
You use the pf-52 filter right? there is no bypass in that filter..the champ ecore has that combo-valve, but the others don't have a bypass.
Our 95 Blazer has another noise that I checked with the dealer about years ago...the balance shaft was making a slight knock sound at idle when oil was hot...could only hear it every now and then. The reman'ed engine has the same sound, but only every now and then.
I could only hear the sound inside the cab, I could not hear it when listening under the hood.
You use the pf-52 filter right? there is no bypass in that filter..the champ ecore has that combo-valve, but the others don't have a bypass.
How you figure that? It has a adbv, but no bypass..the bypass is in the remote filter mount where the filter screws on.
Then what about the 2wd blazers that use the same filter but screw directly into the block?quote:
Originally posted by ZR2RANDO:
How you figure that? It has a adbv, but no bypass..the bypass is in the remote filter mount where the filter screws on.
The bypass is built-in to either mount. Same thing either way. I've been cutting these up for a while, they don't have a bypass in those filters..
you serious?
Chevy Blazer/S10 pickup 4x4
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What Fram PN are you using?
3980=> eq to pf52
What remote filter kit are you using?
factory remote
How long are the hoses?
Never measured them..
Oil weight and brand?
I mix weights 10w30 and 20w50 usually, normally Havoline/Chevron Supreme oil
honestly, there is no bypass built-in to filters intended for use in this vehicle.(except the ecore).the bypass is built-in to the filter mount ...
Chevy Blazer/S10 pickup 4x4
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
What Fram PN are you using?
3980=> eq to pf52
What remote filter kit are you using?
factory remote
How long are the hoses?
Never measured them..
Oil weight and brand?
I mix weights 10w30 and 20w50 usually, normally Havoline/Chevron Supreme oil
honestly, there is no bypass built-in to filters intended for use in this vehicle.(except the ecore).the bypass is built-in to the filter mount ...
I believe this was targeted towards me:
Fram X2 3980
Remote filter assembly is stock on 4x4's from the factory.
Hoses going to and from the remote oil filter mount are about 3 1/2 feet long each not including the hoses that go to and from the oil cooler in the rad which will add another 3 feet to the overall length PLUS the length of the oil cooler in the rad.
Oil being used: Esso XD3 PAO Synthetic 0w30 w/ AutoRx Cleaning cycle.
[ April 09, 2005, 08:46 PM: Message edited by: BlazerLT ]
Good, you got better answers than I do
huh?
Ok, pretty significant update here.
I did some really extensive online research AND I might have found the potential problem with the valvetrain noise.
To start you guys off, I want you to look at this picture.
What do you see here that is bad?
The sharp eye will see that my crankcase is overfilled with oil.
This is because I just added a full bottle of auto-RX to a crankcase that was just BARELY above the top of the cross hatched area and full.
Now my crankcase is overfilled with oil which through my research means that indeed my oil pressure should be higher because of this (which it is) and the crank slapping the high oil level will cause foaming which in turn will cause the oil to become saturated with air bubbles which will cause the valve train and hydraulic lifter to not get the proper oil pressure seeing that air bubbles will compress in the oil path.
Just as an appendix, I have recently noticed that my oil pressure gauge would flick quite rapidly and I thought that I had a bad oil pressure sender which it might still need.
I am now thinking that it is air in the oil stream that is causing the oil pressure gauge to flick.
This is all in theory right now, but I think I might be one to something and draining some oil out of the crankcase will be in order tomorrow to see if this could solve the problem.
Won't cost me anything to check.
Wish me luck, I hope it is just this simple.
I did some really extensive online research AND I might have found the potential problem with the valvetrain noise.
To start you guys off, I want you to look at this picture.
What do you see here that is bad?
The sharp eye will see that my crankcase is overfilled with oil.
This is because I just added a full bottle of auto-RX to a crankcase that was just BARELY above the top of the cross hatched area and full.
Now my crankcase is overfilled with oil which through my research means that indeed my oil pressure should be higher because of this (which it is) and the crank slapping the high oil level will cause foaming which in turn will cause the oil to become saturated with air bubbles which will cause the valve train and hydraulic lifter to not get the proper oil pressure seeing that air bubbles will compress in the oil path.
Just as an appendix, I have recently noticed that my oil pressure gauge would flick quite rapidly and I thought that I had a bad oil pressure sender which it might still need.
I am now thinking that it is air in the oil stream that is causing the oil pressure gauge to flick.
This is all in theory right now, but I think I might be one to something and draining some oil out of the crankcase will be in order tomorrow to see if this could solve the problem.
Won't cost me anything to check.
Wish me luck, I hope it is just this simple.
T-Keith, I'm with you on the marginal quality of Fram adbv valves (they used to be dry when I removed them years ago). The engine/valve train noises I heard years ago would continue until the engine temp was near normal operating temps. Only stopped when I quit using Frams (X2 was not out then). The lifter tick is independant of that though, The sporadic lifter tick on our Blazer is just a sporadic thing, doesn't always do it and never does it for more than about a half second. When I change oil on my 3 vehicles though, even with a dry filter, I never hear a thing. If the lifter(s) drained out because the adbv was draining I would hear ALL the lifters, whenever I do hear it these days I can tell it is only one.. (single/obstinate little s.o.b.!)
Even after the oil change I see full oil pressure within 2 seconds, and never hear anything (and I let the oil drain till it quits dripping out the pan too).
Good Saturday to you!
Even after the oil change I see full oil pressure within 2 seconds, and never hear anything (and I let the oil drain till it quits dripping out the pan too).
Good Saturday to you!
Good Morning BlazerLT,
You can check the dipstick just after you idle the truck for a minute to verify the condition of the oil. If it was actually overfull enough to have contact with the crankshaft you would see the bubbles on the dipstick. The book for our 95 Blazer says oil capacity is 4.5 qts, our 99 S10 truck book says 5 qts. I always put 5 qts in the 99 truck and it always shows overfull like your dipstick shows in the picture, but no bubbles and no flickering oil pressure gauge.
The gauge on our 95 Blazer however DOES flicker every now and then but only during the summer, when it is pretty hot and the Blazer is idling (in gear, not in park)...it only flickers when the oil pressure is down around 20...it acts like the pressure is barely activating, or "tickling" the gauge. When I put it in park, the idle comes up a little, the pressure comes up a little, and the gauge smooths out. I have checked the dipstick after watching this behavior and never saw any bubbles.
I think we both have a similar symptom with our Blazers, some kind of low voltage(?) fluctuation in pressure indication. If you figure it out, let us know.
You can check the dipstick just after you idle the truck for a minute to verify the condition of the oil. If it was actually overfull enough to have contact with the crankshaft you would see the bubbles on the dipstick. The book for our 95 Blazer says oil capacity is 4.5 qts, our 99 S10 truck book says 5 qts. I always put 5 qts in the 99 truck and it always shows overfull like your dipstick shows in the picture, but no bubbles and no flickering oil pressure gauge.
The gauge on our 95 Blazer however DOES flicker every now and then but only during the summer, when it is pretty hot and the Blazer is idling (in gear, not in park)...it only flickers when the oil pressure is down around 20...it acts like the pressure is barely activating, or "tickling" the gauge. When I put it in park, the idle comes up a little, the pressure comes up a little, and the gauge smooths out. I have checked the dipstick after watching this behavior and never saw any bubbles.
I think we both have a similar symptom with our Blazers, some kind of low voltage(?) fluctuation in pressure indication. If you figure it out, let us know.
Go by the dipstick, not the manual. And also check the oil when it has been sitting overnight instead of warming it up and taking a reading which will be flawed and lower reading than it really is.
You have to allow the oil to drain into the crankcase to get a good reading and the proper level.
Well, I drained out 0.65 quarts out of a cold engine and now the oil level just a 1/4 of and inch below the full mark and guess what, there is a noticable change.
Oil pressure is down a bit and all the engine has a little more pep to it.
Before it was kinda doggy and lazy and now the throttle response and acceleration are a little snappier than it was yesterday.
Valvetrain noise has also decreased quite a bit but the noise is not completely gone but that could be because of a restrictive oil filter that is partially plugged with sludge from the AutoRX cleaning treatment.
The loud tapping is pretty much gone, but the light valve train noise is still there.
I will keep you posted.
You have to allow the oil to drain into the crankcase to get a good reading and the proper level.
Well, I drained out 0.65 quarts out of a cold engine and now the oil level just a 1/4 of and inch below the full mark and guess what, there is a noticable change.
Oil pressure is down a bit and all the engine has a little more pep to it.
Before it was kinda doggy and lazy and now the throttle response and acceleration are a little snappier than it was yesterday.
Valvetrain noise has also decreased quite a bit but the noise is not completely gone but that could be because of a restrictive oil filter that is partially plugged with sludge from the AutoRX cleaning treatment.
The loud tapping is pretty much gone, but the light valve train noise is still there.
I will keep you posted.
Interesting, looking forward to hearing more.
My wife drives our Blazer. She has known for quite a while that I am always asking her about any interesting changes in the gauges or any new sounds...she is actually a very good driver and has done well about telling me of any changes (I'm very proud of her to be honest!)
When I check the oil, it is always before the first crank of the day, and I ask her about any new noises or behavior..and I drive it myself once per week just to check (we do have a reman'ed motor so I am a little leary of it, but so far so good)
As far as I can tell I have seen no difference in oil pressure or engine behavior at the beginning or end of a normal 3k mile OCI. That motor is burning maybe 1/3 qt in that 3k interval. Our Blazer seems to be pretty ambivalent to a slightly low/full oil level it seems.
Let me know if you find any more details of your "suspicious sounds"
Hope you had a good weekend!
Rando
My wife drives our Blazer. She has known for quite a while that I am always asking her about any interesting changes in the gauges or any new sounds...she is actually a very good driver and has done well about telling me of any changes (I'm very proud of her to be honest!)
When I check the oil, it is always before the first crank of the day, and I ask her about any new noises or behavior..and I drive it myself once per week just to check (we do have a reman'ed motor so I am a little leary of it, but so far so good)
As far as I can tell I have seen no difference in oil pressure or engine behavior at the beginning or end of a normal 3k mile OCI. That motor is burning maybe 1/3 qt in that 3k interval. Our Blazer seems to be pretty ambivalent to a slightly low/full oil level it seems.
Let me know if you find any more details of your "suspicious sounds"
Hope you had a good weekend!
Rando
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