Timing Chain Noise at cold start after GC fill

[Nederlander75]

Mornings since the fill have been between 5f and 25f and the first couple of minutes of warmup idle the chain is much more noisy than before. This is the first run of GC from my supply that Im burning off before commiting to a niche oil, but given is reputation this comes as a surprise.

Any thoughts are welcome,
Thank you

 

[hominid7]

Seems i remember reading that some engines need a great deal of oil pressure at startup to keep the timing chain/belt tensioners quiet at startup.

What oil were you using prior with quiet starts? Dino i assume?

 

[uconn1150]

What kind of car and mileage?

 

[Nederlander75]

Originally Posted By: hominid7
Seems i remember reading that some engines need a great deal of oil pressure at startup to keep the timing chain/belt tensioners quiet at startup.

What oil were you using prior with quiet starts? Dino i assume?


The car has used a good bit of M1, 2 runs of RP, and one of Ams ASM. All of these had much less noise and were operated in a a bit colder weather.

 

[Nederlander75]

Originally Posted By: uconn1150
What kind of car and mileage?


2006 Nissan Altima 3.5L V6 with 31,000 miles on it.

 

[uconn1150]

Originally Posted By: Nederlander75
Originally Posted By: hominid7
Seems i remember reading that some engines need a great deal of oil pressure at startup to keep the timing chain/belt tensioners quiet at startup.

What oil were you using prior with quiet starts? Dino i assume?


The car has used a good bit of M1, 2 runs of RP, and one of Ams ASM. All of these had much less noise and were operated in a a bit colder weather.


Which weights did you use of the above?

 

[Nederlander75]

Originally Posted By: uconn1150
Originally Posted By: Nederlander75
Originally Posted By: hominid7
Seems i remember reading that some engines need a great deal of oil pressure at startup to keep the timing chain/belt tensioners quiet at startup.

What oil were you using prior with quiet starts? Dino i assume?


The car has used a good bit of M1, 2 runs of RP, and one of Ams ASM. All of these had much less noise and were operated in a a bit colder weather.


Which weights did you use of the above?


10w30 Ams and the rest 5w30. All run 5K miles.

 

[uconn1150]

There is a chance that at those temps, the other oils are thinner than the GC. I don't think viscosity is super linear as it drops down to the measured temp for certification purposes.

 

[tom slick]

have you changed oil filter brands lately?

 

[Nederlander75]

Originally Posted By: tom slick
have you changed oil filter brands lately?


Yeah, put on an Ams EAO. Been running K&N and a M1 one time.

Typically this oil does well in the Nissan VQ so Im not expecting that its hurting anything, but would like to understand why the chain is noisier when really cold started. The sound does go away once warm.

 

[Geoff]

Change your oil filter. The flow rates or anti drain back valves vary.

 

[ekpolk]

Originally Posted By: Nederlander75
Originally Posted By: uconn1150
What kind of car and mileage?


2006 Nissan Altima 3.5L V6 with 31,000 miles on it.


I knew even before I got to this post that this would be about a Nissan/Infiniti VQ35. This engine has had some issues with timing chain rattle. There's even a TSB that addresses TCR for certain subsets of VQ35 installations (I traded by G35 more than 18 months ago, so I haven't been following the problem). I used GC in my VQ35, and did not have a problem. If it disturbs you, I'd try several different oils and see if it makes a difference.

 

[ekpolk]

Oh yeah, go back to the K&N filter and see if that makes a difference. As I recall, I had minimal issues when using a K&N.

 

[Nederlander75]

Thanks for all the feedback. I will try another filter and see how that goes, probably K&N.

Thanks again