Oil for quieting GM 3.1L

[FL-400S]

My malibu has had a mild tick when idling for some time now. I recently changed the oil to Castrol Syntec 5w30 and it quieted down immensely. Unfortunately I think I will have to drain the syntec a bit sooner than expected since I did the coolant and wonder if I displaced any water into the oil. Anywho, what oils seem to quiet the 3.1L besides syntec? I think I will be replacing it with Proline 5w30 for a short run then back to something quieter.

Ive tried different filters and with this most recent change put a supertech PF52 equivalent which was the same as what I took off. none seem to quiet the ticking.

 

[lexus114]

If the castrol Syntec worked for you,why change?

 

[FL-400S]

Something cheaper maybe? 5w30 motorcraft?

 

[Scienceman]

Motorcraft is a good oil.....

 

[BigCahuna]

I have seen a guy quiet down a noisey lifter with a qt of mmo. it was a 4 cyl chevy motor in a boat. I watched him pour it in , let it run for a half hour and the tick stopped.He said he would put some in at every change to make sure it didn't come back. worked for him.,,

 

[Kruse]

Originally Posted By: FL-400S
My malibu has had a mild tick when idling for some time now.


I've got a 3.1 in my work car that sits outside and in weather that's been down to -15 this winter. It ticks kind of hard for the first 10 seconds, but goes away afterwards. This is a car that I drained out about 8 quarts of chocolate froth before I changed the intake manifold gasket. I'm currently running PP 5W-20. Even though I think it's a good product (if used sparingly and not continuously, IMO) I'll probably keep MMO out of the engine and just live with it.

 

[ThirdeYe]

My mom has a 3.1 Malibu and NOTHING I've tried has helped with the piston slap that it's had since it was new. Is yours ticking even when it's warmed up? In hers, it goes away when it's warmed up and it's pretty quiet at idle. FWIW we've had great UOA results with Castrol GTX and it's my preferred oil for her vehicle. Right now I'm using Q Horsepower 5w30 and the noise is exactly the same. Interesting that you noticed less noise with Syntec, I might have to try that sometime.

 

[FL-400S]

Originally Posted By: Kruse
Originally Posted By: FL-400S
My malibu has had a mild tick when idling for some time now.


This is a car that I drained out about 8 quarts of chocolate froth before I changed the intake manifold gasket.


I drained my car this past weekend and I got out orange tang but had a lot of chunky poopy grease in the reservoir. I was going to replace it but figured id wait till after I get the gasket done, if I end up needing to.

 

[Stockman]

valvoline maxlife is what quieted down my 3.8 2002 grand prix. made a HUGE difference...

 

[bullittwrench]

I have a 3.1 in a Skylark with 99,500 miles. Switched to Pennzoil 5w30HM and the ticking noise while idling is gone.

 

[skibender]

Originally Posted By: bullittwrench
I have a 3.1 in a Skylark with 99,500 miles. Switched to Pennzoil 5w30HM and the ticking noise while idling is gone.

I just did this same exact thing 3 weeks ago but mine didn't quiet down. Mine is just a little noisey at startup. I was thinking about running some MMO.

 

[hominid7]

Originally Posted By: FL-400S
My malibu has had a mild tick when idling for some time now. I recently changed the oil to Castrol Syntec 5w30 and it quieted down immensely. Unfortunately I think I will have to drain the syntec a bit sooner than expected since I did the coolant and wonder if I displaced any water into the oil. Anywho, what oils seem to quiet the 3.1L besides syntec? I think I will be replacing it with Proline 5w30 for a short run then back to something quieter.

Ive tried different filters and with this most recent change put a supertech PF52 equivalent which was the same as what I took off. none seem to quiet the ticking.


This is interesting. While many posters solved their ticking with thicker oils, you seem to have cured yours with thinner oil. I would be interested to see what happens with the proline dino oil. It also is a rather thin 5w30.

If your engine allowed for it, i wonder what something like Motorcraft 5w20 would do?

 

[Nick R]

The valvetrain tick in my cavalier was solved by using some engine restore stuff. Then after switching to PP 5w30 it's almost completely gone, barely audible when cold, completely gone when warm. Previously it ticked like crazy on 10W-40

 

[Robenstein]

If its lifter tick and not piston slap, MMO and a high detergency motor oil might clean it out. I would run something like max life and the last 500 miles put 16oz of MMO in.