Rotella Synth 5W40 noisy lifter success

[Nik]

I posted here several times regarding my battle with noisy lifters on my 1.8T engine. Several OCIs, various things tried, and finally (knock-knock) looks like I will get rid of it.

History:
1. Bought the car a year ago, changed oil - Castrol Syntec 5W40, 3000 kms - lifters were ticking cold or hot engine

2. Lubro-Moly engine Flush (added to the old oil, under 1.) then
Lubro-Moly 5W40 Synthoil Premium, 4k kms - ticking was there when cold, subsiding only after longer runs, but always there

3. GC 0W30, for 6.5k kms, with 15% MMO added somwhere around last 3k on this oil - lifters still noisy when cold, much quieter after longer runs, sometimes I couldn't hear them after spirited drive. 1k before next (4th OCI) added 5 oz of Lubro-Moly's Moly additive.

4. Last weekend did another oil change, this time RTS 5W40, and Bosch filter as usual, with 10% MMO right away, then 150 miles trip from Vancouver to Whistler, kept rpms above 3k (Italian tune-up). Back home, and short, 10 miles trip next day - lifters are quiet. Sometimes, still, I hear click-click once in a minute, but I guess in a 1-2k, everything should be nice.

Took a syringe and extracted a little bit of oil to see if there was any change - the oil was already brownish. What's interesting was that, when I did my valve cover gasket back between step 2 and 3, it was only varnish in there, maybe few black patches, but they were hardened, not like sludge.

Is it Rotella, is it "Italian tuneup", is it GC/MMO for one OCI or combination of all of the above, but I think it is Rotella HDEO.

After this, I will do this Lubro-Moly flush like JonnySaab did
Lubro-Moly Engine Flush, Redline 5W40 in, and it should be as clean as a whistle. Will keep you guys posted.

 

[Familyguy]

Perhaps none of the above. It's likely the cam chain tensioner and the fact that the noise is gone (for now) is a coincidence. I've replaced it a couple of times and the "clackety clack" valvetrain noises were the symptom each time.

Good choice of oil though. Good luck.

 

[Nik]

Ouch. How expensive is it to replace?

 

[Familyguy]

You can pick up the part itself for under $100 on fleabay. You can also check the usual suspects: germanautoparts.com, ecstuning.com, etc.

It's not a difficult repair if you're comfortable wrenching, but it's not an "in and out in an hour" job either.

Here's what you'd be getting into.

http://www.passatworld.com/forums/showthread.php?t=215732

Someone who knew what they were doing could have it done in 90 minutes or so. Apply your area's labor rate plus the cost of the parts and season to taste. I will say that's 90+% likely the cause of what sounds like "diesel" valve clatter noises on this particular engine.

Best,

 

[Robenstein]

Well a good HDEO and MMO flush helped a lot with our noisy 3100. Then a HDEO and Rislone treatment over 5k miles did the rest. It is dead quiet when warm now.

 

[Hokiefyd]

Timing belt proponents complain that timing chains get noisy and have tensioners to fail. Timing chain proponents say that timing belts need periodic replacement and that chains don't.

That 1.8L is the worst of both worlds: you've got a timing belt to replace AND a cam chain tensioner to potentially fail and make noise. You'd think that VW might have been able to get away with using a scissors gear to drive that second camshaft.

 

[wolfc70]

Originally Posted By: Familyguy
You can pick up the part itself for under $100 on fleabay. You can also check the usual suspects: germanautoparts.com, ecstuning.com, etc.

It's not a difficult repair if you're comfortable wrenching, but it's not an "in and out in an hour" job either.

Here's what you'd be getting into.

http://www.passatworld.com/forums/showthread.php?t=215732

Someone who knew what they were doing could have it done in 90 minutes or so. Apply your area's labor rate plus the cost of the parts and season to taste. I will say that's 90+% likely the cause of what sounds like "diesel" valve clatter noises on this particular engine.

Best,


The $100 tensioner is for the older AEB AUG 1.8t motors. If the OP has the AWM engine code, it is actually a Cam Chain Adjuster, as the AWM can vary intake cam timing by 40 degrees or so. The AWM part is $540 at the dealer, IIRC. The above mentioned web sites may also carry it, along with BlauParts. It is not too bad of a job, just be careful with the "half moon" seal, it can be easy to not seat it correctly. It will leak immediately if it not seated, then you have the fun of taking everything back apart again to reinstall the seal. On my friends 2001.5 Passat it took us three hours, and we really took our time.

 

[njohnson]

I can believe the Rotella is helping. Our family owns a 1994 Honda Passport, with the 3.2L engine, which developed the bad lifter tapping they became famous for. Over the last few years, I tried different oils and additives to see if I could get it to stop tapping. We used Amsoil, Mobil 1, Castrol Syntec along with Rislone, CD2 Engine treatment, Amsoil Engine Flush. Using the Amsoil flush actually worked right after the flush, I believe it was because there was a little flush left in the engine, thinning it out. It would stop ticking and tapping until I had to add some top-off oil, due to some burnoff, then it would come back with a vengence. Finally, in desperation, I was searching the internet, and someone suggested trying Rotella T for the detergents. I thought, well, nothing else has really helped, so I gave it a try. It was getting to the point where I thought we would have to take the engine apart. Imagine my surprise and delight, when I changed out the oil and installed Rotella T, and after a few miles of driving, the lifters were quiet. Now, it still has tapping after being shut off, but, once the oil is flowing through the engine, the lifters quiet back down. I left it idling, popped open the hood, and stuck my head in the engine bay. The valvetrain hasn't been this quiet for a long time, so, I'm a believer in Rotella.

 

[mechtech2]

It seems the Lubro Molly helped.

 

[Nik]

Originally Posted By: mechtech2
It seems the Lubro Molly helped.


You mean the MoS2? I had in the previous fill (with GC) and it didn't help ticking until I put Rotella in.

Day 3, no ticking even after only 10 mile trip

 

[Familyguy]

Originally Posted By: wolfc70
Originally Posted By: Familyguy
You can pick up the part itself for under $100 on fleabay. You can also check the usual suspects: germanautoparts.com, ecstuning.com, etc.

It's not a difficult repair if you're comfortable wrenching, but it's not an "in and out in an hour" job either.

Here's what you'd be getting into.

http://www.passatworld.com/forums/showthread.php?t=215732

Someone who knew what they were doing could have it done in 90 minutes or so. Apply your area's labor rate plus the cost of the parts and season to taste. I will say that's 90+% likely the cause of what sounds like "diesel" valve clatter noises on this particular engine.

Best,


The $100 tensioner is for the older AEB AUG 1.8t motors. If the OP has the AWM engine code, it is actually a Cam Chain Adjuster, as the AWM can vary intake cam timing by 40 degrees or so. The AWM part is $540 at the dealer, IIRC. The above mentioned web sites may also carry it, along with BlauParts. It is not too bad of a job, just be careful with the "half moon" seal, it can be easy to not seat it correctly. It will leak immediately if it not seated, then you have the fun of taking everything back apart again to reinstall the seal. On my friends 2001.5 Passat it took us three hours, and we really took our time.


No, the AWM uses the tensioner as I described. As a matter of fact, the car in the website that I cited is indeed running an AWM 1.8T.

Best,