What oil to help quiet aan engine noise

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2005 3.8 V/6 Doge mini van. 156,000 miles. We just got it for free because of the engine noise.

We had the oil pan off to change the very loose timing chain. It did not help the noise. About an inch of sludge in the pan but the rest of the engine looked amazingly clean,like new.

My theroy is that the block leaked coolant/water into the engine and created the sludge. I put stopleak in the coolant and it stopped the leak.

Not worth doing much else to the engine. We have driven it about 1,200 miles and it has got not gotten worse. Have Napa Gold filter and high milage Mobil 5-30 semi synthetic in it now.

Thnking of trying 10-40 synthetic or 20-50 dyno to quiet help quit it down.

Any thoughts? Thanks!
 
Can you offer any description of the noise? When it occurs? At idle, when driving, only at startup? Was the oil milky/off color when you changed it?
The sludge in the pan will be from not changing the oil/regular maintenance and guaranteed it's elsewhere in the engine.
If it's had a coolant leak combined with no oil changes, then you could be dealing with bearing damage and that's a possible source of noise.
Unless you have to have this car;
Do the next person a favor who might get it for free and donate it to a scrapyard.
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Keep doing what you are doing. You got the thing for free so you have to expect something wrong with it. No oil will stop the noise, don't go too thick because that can cause unnecessary drag on the engine especially in the cold months. You can try 10w40 but I dont think it will give you the results you are looking for. Just drive that thing into the ground.
 
Just run it til it dies. I probably wouldn't trust it for any long haul stuff where a tow would be costly.
 
Is that noise a metallic rattling sound that occurs a few minutes after startup,when the oil starts thinning?
 
IF coolant got in the oil on that iron block engine, it was probably through a head gasket. Worth fixing, if the bottom end hasn't actually been trashed- what's the actual noise, I didn't see any description of what it sounded like? Early (as in pre-95) 3.8 engines had a problem with cracking the rocker shaft saddles in the heads and it would create a very loud top-end "ticking" sound. That wasn't a common problem later on, but if a saddle is cracked it could explain both the coolant in the oil and the noise... maybe.
 
just throw some 15w40 in it.. maybe get a uoa after 1000miles to see if there is coolant. otherwise just drive it till she blows.
 
Liqui-moly makes a product called mos2. A member here used some form of sound metering device on his engines before using mos2 and after and he noted a decrease in noise output with the addition of mos2.
Its cheap and in my experience lessens fuel consumption. Its a friction modifier. They also make a product called motor oil saver. It may help too. It's an ester fortified with boron so it re-condition gaskets helping eliminate leaks.
 
Thanks, Guys. I forgot to say that we changed out the rod bearing when we had the pan off. A couple of them were almost not there anymore.All had some damage.

It has a loud ticking sound on start up that quiets down quickly and then you don't hear much driving till about 2,500 rpm and then you can hear it again.
 
Originally Posted By: callbay
Thanks, Guys. I forgot to say that we changed out the rod bearing when we had the pan off. A couple of them were almost not there anymore.All had some damage.

It has a loud ticking sound on start up that quiets down quickly and then you don't hear much driving till about 2,500 rpm and then you can hear it again.


If the rod bearings were that bad it no doubt has bad main bearings as well and probably a damaged crankshaft... No oil will fix those issues...
 
IMO, sounds like there is an oil blockage somewhere. Keep using a good cleaning oil on short intervals and cross your fingers.

At the worst you will get the van for the cost of a new engine.
 
Wow you got it free? lucky thats a good van & motor normally good for 225,000 plus.

I have heard of a few guys with a jeep chyrsler ticking & royal purple quieted there engine I do not recall the weight or sereies they tried, but calling RP customer servie & they would be able to help you. I chuckle at those engine rebuilds in a can so don't know what oil will really help, but you can even dump in a couple quarts?
 
If it were me, I'd throw some HDEO (Delo, Delvac, Rotella) in her for a few short OCI's, then see if you've made any progress. If not, then you're looking at either fixing the cause of the problem, or just run it til' it quits. Just up to you whether its worth the time/effort/money at that point.

All IMHO of course...
 
The tick at 2500rpm might be fixed with a PCV valve change. My 2007 seems to run quieter on QS Defy 5w-30. I wouldn't go thicker or spend the extra bucks for full syn.
 
The engine has been abused. If the rod bearings were showing lots of copper, chances are the mains are trashed, possibly the cam bearings too. Anti freeze will mess up bearings if there is enough of it in the sump. I would test the oil pressure with a mechanical .gauge. If the engine doesnt miss, than it cant be a very bad headgasket. What does the oil on the dipstick look like? I've had a few engines that would rap until the oil pressure came up. It was a bad thrust main in both cases. By no means an immediate death noise. Same with a bad hydraulic lifter or a wrist pin.
 
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