Left my oil change too late

[MyVPIsFasterThanYourVP]

I bought my VP from a car yard about 2 months ago, and just changed the oil. The old oil I dropped out was black and the viscosity was like water. I changed the filter, filled it up, and now when I start the car for the first 2 seconds there is a sound like valve train rattle that I have never noticed before. How can I isolate what this noise is, and is this the warning of major rebuild expense in the near future? The oil I am used is Valvoline SG Multi 20W/50.

[Tree cutter]

It is probably only noisy lifters. Nothing to worry about and you can get an oil additive that should stop the noise. If you search around on this forum you should be able to find a thread on this with the different additives people have used and if they are any good or not.

[MyVPIsFasterThanYourVP]

thank you tree cutter, yes I did see the thread you mention. I like to expect the worst, and hope for the best, so just looking for a reasonable 'worst case' scenario I guess!

[PaRaDoX]

lol noisy lifters.. i dont understand how lifters can be noisy... i mean they're jammed in pretty hard between the cam lobes and the rockers soo if anything it'd be in the valve springs/rockers or maybe u got a bent pushrod

id rip the rocker covers off and just inspect the pushrods to make sure they're not bent and make sure the rockers are bolted in properly (happened to me once)

i can tell you first hand its not that expensive to replace the entire valvetrain...

something else that springs to mind is your valve stem seals.. when were they replaced??? (on the spare heads i have some are burst right open and loose inside the valve spring that could explain the noise)

[MyVPIsFasterThanYourVP]

something else that springs to mind

LMAO pun intended?

[pandaman]

lol noisy lifters.. i dont understand how lifters can be noisy... i mean they're jammed in pretty hard between the cam lobes and the rockers soo if anything it'd be in the valve springs/rockers or maybe u got a bent pushrod

id rip the rocker covers off and just inspect the pushrods to make sure they're not bent and make sure the rockers are bolted in properly (happened to me once)

i can tell you first hand its not that expensive to replace the entire valvetrain...

something else that springs to mind is your valve stem seals.. when were they replaced??? (on the spare heads i have some are burst right open and loose inside the valve spring that could explain the noise)

Dude, you've noticed how your lifters are filled with oil? The pushrod seat is on a plunger that get's moved slightly by the rod and the oil and spring acts as a damper or cushion for the valvetrain. Imagine the effect on the valvetrain if they were either
a)frozen solid from crap and gunk.
b) not holding oil so well.

This is how you can have noisy lifters. Sounds like your valvetrain had been in the wars and while it is easy to check, I wouldn't put money on loose rockers/bent rods being the problem here, especially seeing as the noise goes away after a few seconds, which is indicative of worn lifters taking a while to get up and running.

[88GreenVN]

Engine flush to clean all the gunge out then new oil. Worked a treat for my VN.

[Dan355]

Heavier weight oil for cold start

[pandaman]

Heavier weight oil for cold start

Yeah true, but given that he's only got a few seconds of rattle I wouldn't worry too much about running a heavier oil.

[MyVPIsFasterThanYourVP]

I wouldn't put money on loose rockers/bent rods being the problem here, especially seeing as the noise goes away after a few seconds, which is indicative of worn lifters taking a while to get up and running.

Can I change lifters with the head on the car?

Engine flush to clean all the gunge out then new oil. Worked a treat for my VN.

This may be my one last hope at a simple cheap fix!

[88GreenVN]

This may be my one last hope at a simple cheap fix!

Saved me $1,600 for a crank regrind and other stuff. The problem was as you discribed. Changed oil and the thing started clacking on startup. I felt sick. Wynnes engine flush and problem was fixed. I gave the bloke who sugested it a carton of beer.

[MyVPIsFasterThanYourVP]

Well if it works, and your travelling thru Brisbane, that sounds like a fair deal to me!

[88GreenVN]

Well if it works, and your travelling thru Brisbane, that sounds like a fair deal to me!

Hope it works too.
By the way I dont drink beer and not after any but just passing on info in this very good forum.

[pandaman]

Can I change lifters with the head on the car?

Yep you can change lifters with the heads still on, you have to remove inlet manifold, rockers and pushrods to get to them. Personally I wouldn't be too worried, a friend of mine did something similar to an XH ute and it ran with slightly noisy lifters on startup no problems for another year before he sold it. Try the engine flush and a heavier weight oil first if you're really worried though, chances are it's not a big problem. If neither of those help, might as well pull the rocker covers just in case paradox is right and your valvetrain is a little bit unhappy.

If neither of those help and you're still worried then lifters aren't too hard to change. Although I've been advised not to run new lifters on an old cam and am currently in the process of buying a new cam for exactly that reason. Plus the little bit of extra grunt will be nice. :-)

[88GreenVN]

Heavier weight oil for cold start

The heavier oil (eg 20-70) will not help if its gunge type blocked lifter.

Only good for worn engine bearings to help with oil pressure.

[MyVPIsFasterThanYourVP]

Damn! the noise just gets quiet, I have realised when I hold the throttle at about 2 grand, I can hear the rattle. It sounds like the back of top of the motor. I can just hear it with the bonnet open, but its there. Any ideas of how this changes things? I was going to try the wynns oil treatment next pay, but maybe should just swap the motor for my spare. (gotta do the mounts and the diff too)

[bradcad]

lifters man dont worry

[goose2]

Engine flush to clean all the gunge out then new oil. Worked a treat for my VN.

Be carful though if your engine has done high ks enging flush can do more harm than good :< better doing very regular oil and filter changes{ every 5000Ks} i do it with diesel oil cos ive got 362000Ks on mine the diesel oil cleans out the sludge that builds up, enging flush is very harsh on high k engins and have seen it compleatly fk up some engins but great for lower k engines but how many vn - vr engines are low k?

[88GreenVN]

Be carful though if your engine has done high ks enging flush can do more harm than good :< better doing very regular oil and filter changes{ every 5000Ks} i do it with diesel oil cos ive got 362000Ks on mine the diesel oil cleans out the sludge that builds up, enging flush is very harsh on high k engins and have seen it compleatly fk up some engins but great for lower k engines but how many vn - vr engines are low k?

BUT if you have a blocked lifter or clater on startup. How do you unblock it??

Yes regular oil n filters is the way to go but as the heading says 'left too late'

Also the timing chain can make a racket with the change of throttle position.

[MyVPIsFasterThanYourVP]

Also the timing chain can make a racket with the change of throttle position.

I'm hoping timing chain would be more apparent from the front of the engine, not the top rear where I hear it and the noise is there with a constant throttle.
I guess I'll post after a flush with the good or bad news!

[pandaman]

Seeing as you've got a spare motor, why not just keep using the original till it carks it and in the mean time, work the bejeezus outta the spare!

[nathans1987]

if there is oil in the car it isnt gonna hurt it maybe bad oil will wear more but other than that no harm. probably just noisy tappits or something. does it go away after a few seconds of running?

[bradcad]

...goose is actually quite right...just use a decent detergent oil and change regularly. A flush might well do a bit more damage than what its worth