ARX made my lifters noisy?

[kilou]

Hi,

I'm about 1900 miles in the ARX cleaning phase and my lifters started making a very loud noise when cold. The noise does really comes from the hydraulic lifters and occurs at every cold start now, but the noise dissappears in about 1-2min after startup.

Now I'm a bit surprised because I've read testimonials that ARX actually did quiet down noisy lifters. In my case it sounds like the opposite... The only thing I changed is ARX. I use the same oil as before the cleaning (Mobil Super S 10w40). Last winter the car sat outside at temp around -5°C with that oil. It did slightly make noise when cold but clearly not as much as now with ARX (and now the outside temp is about +15°C). I will move anyway to a 5w40 for the rinse phase and after but I'm just a bit worried about this loud tappet noise when cold. To me it would mean that actually ARX did thicken the oil up.....or that it removed sludge around the valve seals that was keeping some of the oil flowing down to the sump after a drive (probably not likely but). Is it safe to go one with the clean phase or should I drain and start the rinse phase now to stop this tappet noise?

What else may explain ARX makes my lifters so noisy now?

Thanks

 

[INDYMAC]

Change your oil filter. It is full.

 

[ZZman]

Cleaning phase is breaking things loose. Not uncommon from what I have read to have noises at first. These should go away in rinse phase.

 

[sprintman]

Filter my man, filter. Mine started getting noisy this week and in an 89 Mazda 626 with the FE 2.2 engine and a healthy dose of RX in the sump that's a sure sign the filter is clogged. This will be the second filter change on this RX cleaning phase, my first with a double dose and extended mileage (5,000 miles).

 

[kilou]

Thanks. So should I just change the filter and go on for another 1000miles of cleaning of actually start the rinse phase with the new filter?

Also can anyone explain why a supposedly clogged oil filter would cause lifter noise when cold? I don't get it: there is a bypass in the oil filter (mine have it, it's an OEM Volvo filter)? A clogged filter, if producing noise in the valvetrain, should do it when warm too, no?

 

[Gary Allan]

Not an uncommon occurrence. Some passages clean out faster than others. Lifters may clean faster than their supply.

It may get worse at the onset of the rinse sump. They all should retreat to quiet.

 

[kilou]

OK thanks. Then should I continue the cleaning and just change the filter now or should I start rinse phase immediately?

 

[Gary Allan]

Just change the filter and continue forward.

 

[jmb106]

I second that!

 

[kilou]

Thanks, will do that.

 

[rshaw125]

Be sure to cut the filter open and post pics. Then we'll know for sure if it is clogged.

 

[sprintman]

And add a touch of RX to make up that removed in the filer.

 

[kilou]

OK, I renewed the oil filter today...and the old one was perfectly clean...

I definitely don't think the noisy lifters occurred due to a clogged oil filter so I guess the oil became too thick to properly lubricate on cold start. Therefore I renew the oil as well and started the rinse phase a bit earlier (clean phase was 3200km=2000miles) because I didn't feel confident with that very loud lifter noise when cold.

Anyway I believe my engine was clean prior to ARX so the cleaning didn't have much to remove. Now my concern is that I don't understand how that noise could have appeared with a perfectly clean oil filter unless ARX did actually thicken up my oil....

 

[c3po]

The only thing I can say is to report back during the Rinse Phase and see if the noise goes away, if that's the case then maybe your observation is right.

How cold was it outside when you 1st started your car up and you heard these noises.

It will be interesting too see if you hear any noises after the Rinse Phase is over, please keep us posted.

 

[asiancivicmaniac]

How much of your driving during the clean phase was for long continuous distances? And how dirty is your engine?

 

[kilou]

A few answers:

- outside temp varies between 10-20°C and I have had loud lifter noises at all these temps recently.

- I've had many trips with highway driving at 120-140km/h and only a few short distance trips. However the length was probably never over 200-250 km each time.

- area under the oil cap appeared very clean prior to ARX...and looking at the filter does confirm this: no sludge at all.

- I've never had lifter noises that bad prior to ARX. In winter when outside temp is -5°C I can get some faint lifter noises when using a 10w40 grade but that's it. Now it happens at every cold start and with outside temp even close to 20°C....definitely something has changed in the oil due to ARX.

 

[ADFD1]

Why not try a pint of MMO for the last 1000 miles of the rinse phase? Could be some little bit of something is now in a lifter and needs get worked out. Or stay the course and see what happens.

 

[kilou]

If something was stuck in a lifter, it would cause the noise to appear when warm too. The noise is only present on cold start, for about 1-2 minutes and then fades away. I can't get MMO in Europe and wouldn't have it shipped here as it's to expensive. I think I'll just stay with plain engine oil now and forget about additives in the engine. I do use one in the gearbox but will forget additives in the engine.

 

[Nik]

I had the same issue with Rislone in Syntec 5W40 - it became unbearable, the noise. After 500 miles, I switched to GC oW30 and the things are getting better every day. It's still noisy on start-up and when cold, but when it gets hot - I can only hear the lifers if I open the hood.

 

[ADFD1]

Originally Posted By: kilou
If something was stuck in a lifter, it would cause the noise to appear when warm too. The noise is only present on cold start, for about 1-2 minutes and then fades away. I can't get MMO in Europe and wouldn't have it shipped here as it's to expensive. I think I'll just stay with plain engine oil now and forget about additives in the engine. I do use one in the gearbox but will forget additives in the engine.


Oil is thickest when cold, once warm it is flowing well, and things might quiet down somewhat. Depends on what is stuck in it, the size, etc, or it could be a lifter that is going bad. Very hard to diagnose anything based on written discription of a problem. Didn't realize you couldn't get MMO. Maybe if you had a buddy in the USA it could be shipped the same way you got A-Rx?