Vastly decreased tappet noise

[msjanket]

I've been running Super Tech 10W-30 oil in my '99 Tacoma for about a year. It ran good, I guess, but I was getting a fair amount of tappet noise over the last 6 months or so. After reading some blurbs on this website, I changed over to 5W-30 Havoline, and voila!, no noise. None. What happened? Why did the engine get very noticeably quieter? I have 180k on the engine, it still runs great.

Mike

 

[Drew99GT]

Because Havoline will put your engine in a state of zen

You'd think it'd be the moly. Or maybe not. I recently installed Trop Srtic syn blend 10w-30 in my 94 Corolla, and it made it noticably quieter and it eliminated the cold start piston slap, even at 10 below

And it has just 30 ppm moly compared to Havolines 300 + ppm. Havoline 5w-30 made my Dad's truck smooth out to the point he mentioned it to me.

 

[Triple_Se7en]

Havoline is a better oil than Super Tech.

 

[BigAl]

Supertech 5W-30 runs on the lower end of the viscosity range for its weight. You are hearing the result of a slightly thicker oil with Havoline.

 

[toocrazy2yoo]

BigAl..

Thicker, but not necessarily "better"?

 

[BigAl]

Thicker isn't always better. Thicker can reduce fuel economy and run hotter. Thicker can be slower to flow. But, if an engine quiets down with a slightly thicker oil, it probably means that there is enough clearance in the engine to warrant using it.

My old 4 cylinder Mopars all had the trademark wrist pin noise. Running oil a little thicker than recommended would quiet them somewhat. I don't know that it helped the engines last any longer. It might have even hurt them, but it was less offensive to my ears that way. And even with the "kanuckering" sound at idle, the engines always outlasted the chassis anyway.

The spec's on SuperTech oil look pretty good, and folks here have had good results with it. If your engine runs fine with this slightly thinner oil, why not save the money by using it, both on oil and fuel?

 

[Blue99]

SuperTech 10W-30 certainly provides acceptable performance with short OCI's and is a good dollar value.

But in this case, with the 99 Tacoma, it's probably a case of comparing the performance of a 5W-30 premium oil and a full additive package vs. the minimal additive levels of the 10W-30 SuperTech.

On colder days, the 5W will generate less valve train noise at start-up.

Also, the higher levels of moly in Havoline and in many of the premium brands, may help with some cases of engine noise.

As the engine reaches full operating temperature, the moly tends to work with the ZDDP and form the heat activated skin/film that provides additional anti-wear capabilities.

Finally, it may have been a case of sludge particles accumulating in the valvetrain passages and the fresh detergents/dispersants & higher TBN of the Havoline helped with moving these particles back down to the crankcase & filter.

 

[msjanket]

I, too, ask the question if quieter is better. However, I'd be surprised if quieter isn't better. And, I sorta feel that when I put the new Havoline into my engine that the viscosity was certainly "heavier" than the ST synthetic which I believe is a PAO formula despite the fact the ST was 10W-30 and the Havoline was a 5W-30. Is this my imagination or do the viscosity indices prove this out? At any rate, at the psycholological level not hearing the clatter emanating from the valve train is certainly nice. I've put Havoline in my other car and it's comforting to know that I've got some of the best dino from ***'s Earth in my vehicles, or so it would seem. I'm rushing to Wally World and getting a cart full of the stuff for future use. It's nice not having tappets sound like tap dancers.

Mike

 

[msjanket]

Sorry I used the three letter word which was correctly starred out in my message. I must have been thinking of Kwanzaa when I wrote the note.

Mike

 

[eljefino]

Wait, the ST you were using was their full synthetic?

Most of the comparos in this thread were assuming you were on the cheap dino.

I think a more fair comparo would have been between ST dino 5w30 and havoline of the same grade. Of course you're not in the comparo business you want a good oil for your truck which you found.

5w30s are "more high-techer" than 10w30 to cover their wider viscosity spread.

 

[msjanket]

No, my pickup is in a state of Kozmic Karma emanating from the knowledge it has reached that state of Harmonious Lubricity that is often sought but only delivered when an individual finally reaches a state of oneness with BobIsTheOilGuru. I suggest that tuning in this website should be accompanied by sitar music.

Mike

 

[Blue99]

SuperTech syn is a Grp III, not PAO - you can drag up the MSDS from the Walmart data base to verify.

If this valve train noise is apparent from cold start thru warm-up to full operating temperature, it's not viscosity related. The oil is going from several hundred centistokes to 10 cSt, so it sees from thick to thin & everything in between!

Traditional Grp III syn formulations have lower levels of additives. It's quite possible that the higher levels of additives or even the VI improver is helping out with the valve train noise.

 

[Curious Kid]

Yes, as with any viscosity of oil that is used, they all start out thick and reach their running temp viscosity. I'm curious if the viscosity through warm-up might better match with part fitment/clearences as they expand through the warm-up phase?

How might different shear stability of the VII play interms of sound effects - cushioning and limitting contact? That also brings to mind pressure induced thicking characteristics of base oils.

Yes there are other add pack differences which aside from wear, could result in passage cleaning as others have mentioned.

And it also has been pondered if an oil could also serve as a sound dampener/carrier for frequencies that could always be present in the running engine.

Interesting.

 

[hominid7]

I would guess the size of the oil jets, number and type of valves, chain vs belt driven, bore/stroke of pistons and a few other factors all come into play when choosing the right oil.

Valvoline AC 20w50, while not the choice of BITOG'ers, seemed to work best for me in my old VW Jetta 8 valve 4 banger. I used it year-round with never any problems, even when starting on cold winter mornings.

My new car would likely choke to death on 20w50 in the winter, but it seems to be loving the havoline 5w30 its got in it now.

 

[JohnBrowning]

It is doubtful that the noise is from the valvetrain dirrectly. It is more then likely from a weak/bad tensioner for the timeing chain. If it is the 2.7 I4 I would almost bet money on it!

 

[sky jumper]

interesting - 5W30 Havoline made my '99 Maxima noiser than ST full syn 10W30. Now I've got GC in there and it seems a bit quieter, but the fuel economy sucks.