Originally Posted By: Drew1977
I have a 2006 Hyundai Accent with 147,000mi on it. Has always had a bit of lifter noise on cold start-up. When the car was newer I tried Pennzoil platinum but switched back to PYB as the lifter noise was considerable louder for the first minute or so. Recently, I decided to try Pennzoil's synthetic blend and once again....really loud lifter noise on start-up. Anyone else have a similar experience with synthetic or blend oils and if so, why such a noticeable increase in noise?
Is this simply an annoyance or is there damage being done?
No damage being done and its a common occurrence. These oils have greater cleaning abilities and they do remove the varnish over time that causes the noise.
When the hydraulic lifters/lash adjusters begin to work properly again they can get louder.
You have to give it time and a few OC, i had one take about a year to clear up but when it quieted down it was dead silent. It had been making noise for years and i wasn't going to fix it.
I read all the stories about engines being quieter on this that and the other, they switch back and forth between oils faster than a fiddlers elbow looking to find "the quiet" one.
IMHO its mostly psychological in a clean good running engine that is generally quiet. In 40 years doing this professionally i never experienced it in anything that lasted permanently.
All my engines are clean and i guarantee you they will sound the same no matter what oil you put in them as long as its the same and correct viscosity.
