Hey everybody. I have a 2013 Elantra with just under 55k miles on it now. Since day one the car has seen nothing but Pennzoil Platinum 5w30 I change the oil around every 2k miles, and before anybody says anything yes I know that this is grossly premature for this oil. However, I am a bit of a neat freak as these things go, and am rather OCD about keeping engines completely varnish and deposit free as possible. I use the used oil in either friends beaters, my lawn equipment, or it gets recycled. I recently had my local Hyundai dealer, at which I know the service manger do a tear down on the top end, and bottom end to inspect the cams, cam caps and bearings, timing chain, as well as
all of the main bearings on the bottom end, as I have been experiencing a little noise with the engine. These 1.8 NU engines are notorious for being horribly "agricultural sounding" and incredibly noisy at times on cold starts. You start them, and everything sounds fine. Then about 30 seconds or so later they start a rhythmic "clack clack clack clack" which subsides in a minute or so. Within the last year or so, my car developed a very noticeable and annoying "knock" for lack of a better word, when fully hot and idling. It would go away immediately after giving it any amount of revs. The weird thing is it was intermittent. It would come and go as it pleased. I had the dealer do a tear down on the main components and I just thought I would share my experience with you all after using Pennzoil Platinum. Long story short, the service manager told me that he has never seen an engine with 55k miles on it that was this pristine inside. Not just on a cleanliness level, but the fact that it looks as if its not even broken in yet. Now i'm fully aware that at my OCI's, pretty much any oil would do a great job. But my post has two main reasons. One to introduce myself to the many knowledgeable members of this site, and two, to let you know that this platinum really does seem to be an outstanding oil. I have a 2015 Acura MDX as well, that has seen 0w20 Platinum after I dumped the factory fill at around 3k miles.Had a 2006 Acura MDX before the RDX that lived a happy life on Platinum, and had about 150k miles on it when I sold it. I drive my cars hard, and none of them are exactly strangers to redline, and frequent spirited driving, as i tend to believe that giving the engine a good workout is far more beneficial to it then "babying" them, and never letting them stretch their legs. Now. My other question, is does anybody have any insight as to what the intermittent noise on my Elantra could be? It does not do it all the time. Sometimes its pretty quiet. Other times is sounds like a 1950's diesel tractor with no oil in it. My question is basically, is the engine is quite literally pristine internally, clearly this noise isn't hurting anything right? I will try to get a video of it making the noise if I can. The car burns zero oil, and runs perfectly. I'm not talking about the injector ticking noise. Its a distinct rhythmic "tack tack tack" that comes and goes as it pleases. The noise does seem to get louder when your underneath the car, which lead me to believe something was on its way out in the bottom end. But, with everything checking out good inside, and minimal deposits on the magnetic drain plug, what in [censored] sake could this noise be? any ideas anybody? Like I said, she runs like a top, and scoots out of its own way with no issues. It's not a fast car by any means, but it is fairly quick for what it is, and doesn't complain when you push it. I'm thinking it's possible that it might be a pinhole exhaust leak. The exhaust has been completely redone from the manifold back. Cat deleted, and all stainless steel straight piped back to a hollowed out muffler. SO is it possible that as the exhaust heats up, a weld is expanding, and causing a pinhole the become larger? I know sometimes exhaust leaks can certainly sound like internal noise. I guess my question really is, at this point, with nothing inside showing any signs of wear, should I just shut up about it and deal with it? Hahah. Here are a few pics of the car. Take care everybody.
all of the main bearings on the bottom end, as I have been experiencing a little noise with the engine. These 1.8 NU engines are notorious for being horribly "agricultural sounding" and incredibly noisy at times on cold starts. You start them, and everything sounds fine. Then about 30 seconds or so later they start a rhythmic "clack clack clack clack" which subsides in a minute or so. Within the last year or so, my car developed a very noticeable and annoying "knock" for lack of a better word, when fully hot and idling. It would go away immediately after giving it any amount of revs. The weird thing is it was intermittent. It would come and go as it pleased. I had the dealer do a tear down on the main components and I just thought I would share my experience with you all after using Pennzoil Platinum. Long story short, the service manager told me that he has never seen an engine with 55k miles on it that was this pristine inside. Not just on a cleanliness level, but the fact that it looks as if its not even broken in yet. Now i'm fully aware that at my OCI's, pretty much any oil would do a great job. But my post has two main reasons. One to introduce myself to the many knowledgeable members of this site, and two, to let you know that this platinum really does seem to be an outstanding oil. I have a 2015 Acura MDX as well, that has seen 0w20 Platinum after I dumped the factory fill at around 3k miles.Had a 2006 Acura MDX before the RDX that lived a happy life on Platinum, and had about 150k miles on it when I sold it. I drive my cars hard, and none of them are exactly strangers to redline, and frequent spirited driving, as i tend to believe that giving the engine a good workout is far more beneficial to it then "babying" them, and never letting them stretch their legs. Now. My other question, is does anybody have any insight as to what the intermittent noise on my Elantra could be? It does not do it all the time. Sometimes its pretty quiet. Other times is sounds like a 1950's diesel tractor with no oil in it. My question is basically, is the engine is quite literally pristine internally, clearly this noise isn't hurting anything right? I will try to get a video of it making the noise if I can. The car burns zero oil, and runs perfectly. I'm not talking about the injector ticking noise. Its a distinct rhythmic "tack tack tack" that comes and goes as it pleases. The noise does seem to get louder when your underneath the car, which lead me to believe something was on its way out in the bottom end. But, with everything checking out good inside, and minimal deposits on the magnetic drain plug, what in [censored] sake could this noise be? any ideas anybody? Like I said, she runs like a top, and scoots out of its own way with no issues. It's not a fast car by any means, but it is fairly quick for what it is, and doesn't complain when you push it. I'm thinking it's possible that it might be a pinhole exhaust leak. The exhaust has been completely redone from the manifold back. Cat deleted, and all stainless steel straight piped back to a hollowed out muffler. SO is it possible that as the exhaust heats up, a weld is expanding, and causing a pinhole the become larger? I know sometimes exhaust leaks can certainly sound like internal noise. I guess my question really is, at this point, with nothing inside showing any signs of wear, should I just shut up about it and deal with it? Hahah. Here are a few pics of the car. Take care everybody.
