Hi all,
This is my first post and I want to thank you all for your experience that I have enjoyed reading for three years since I bought my Jeep and started doing my own maintenance again.
Like many, I have battled the cold start lifter rattle with my JK 3.8 for the last three winters at 39000 miles. I've spent hours reading all the posts about oil weight, filter ADBVs, using a block heater etc, here, BITGOG and other places. I have tried 5w-20 PYB dino, 5-30 Petro-Canada syn, 5w-20 & 5w30 Pennzoil Platinum with various filters including Mopar, Napa/Wix Gold, Napa/WIx Platinum, Fram Ultra Synthetic, and now Motorcraft FL400s. I have upgraded my wires and plugs, cleaned the throttle body, and seafoamed the CC every 2nd oil change.
At this point, I am getting my best results with Pennzoil 5w30 Platinum and Motorcraft FL400s. Admittedly, in "northern" Canada, my filter choices are limited... my stores almost always have FRAM only. I tried the FRAM Ultra due to its favorable reviews here and its abundance. It was second best for quieting the rattling. The Motorcraft/PZ 5w30 combo nets me a mostly quiet cold start, the quietest operating valve train and smooth idling. I monitor oil pressure and temp with Autometer gauges, independently monitoring from a Mishimoto sandwich plate adapter with a braided line offset for more accurate pressure. Pressures and temps, measured with my Autometer gauges, fall within good ranges for both cold and warm at idle and under load: (warm 17-psi - 60psi). My temp warms to 190F-140F depending on load conditions as expected.
In mornings below 40F, I plug my block heater in. This eliminates any cold start noise. But when at work and the JK is sitting all day, I still get some rattle as the temp dips.
I think that this is the best that I can do with an otherwise well-running 3.8. But my experiments gave some curious results that I hope someone can help me with.
On some filters, with temps between 0F-40F or lower, there was a 1-5 minute lag before pressure moved from zero as measured from the sandwich plate. The stock sensor does not flash any warnings so there is some pressure that is not measurable from the sandwich plate, but is from the stock location. (plus, the motor doesn't seize up!)
I know that the gauge is operating because on the Motorcraft, with the same oil and weight, I get pressure readings immediately at cold start ups. I can only think that some filters perform differently in the cold... perhaps the bypass settings are involved or the bypass location? The Fram Ultra XG3614 gave me the delayed readings when cold, while the FL-400s reads at startup.
Any ideas?
39000 miles
2011 2dr Wrangler
5w30 Pennzoil Platinum
Motorcraft FL-400s
This is my first post and I want to thank you all for your experience that I have enjoyed reading for three years since I bought my Jeep and started doing my own maintenance again.
Like many, I have battled the cold start lifter rattle with my JK 3.8 for the last three winters at 39000 miles. I've spent hours reading all the posts about oil weight, filter ADBVs, using a block heater etc, here, BITGOG and other places. I have tried 5w-20 PYB dino, 5-30 Petro-Canada syn, 5w-20 & 5w30 Pennzoil Platinum with various filters including Mopar, Napa/Wix Gold, Napa/WIx Platinum, Fram Ultra Synthetic, and now Motorcraft FL400s. I have upgraded my wires and plugs, cleaned the throttle body, and seafoamed the CC every 2nd oil change.
At this point, I am getting my best results with Pennzoil 5w30 Platinum and Motorcraft FL400s. Admittedly, in "northern" Canada, my filter choices are limited... my stores almost always have FRAM only. I tried the FRAM Ultra due to its favorable reviews here and its abundance. It was second best for quieting the rattling. The Motorcraft/PZ 5w30 combo nets me a mostly quiet cold start, the quietest operating valve train and smooth idling. I monitor oil pressure and temp with Autometer gauges, independently monitoring from a Mishimoto sandwich plate adapter with a braided line offset for more accurate pressure. Pressures and temps, measured with my Autometer gauges, fall within good ranges for both cold and warm at idle and under load: (warm 17-psi - 60psi). My temp warms to 190F-140F depending on load conditions as expected.
In mornings below 40F, I plug my block heater in. This eliminates any cold start noise. But when at work and the JK is sitting all day, I still get some rattle as the temp dips.
I think that this is the best that I can do with an otherwise well-running 3.8. But my experiments gave some curious results that I hope someone can help me with.
On some filters, with temps between 0F-40F or lower, there was a 1-5 minute lag before pressure moved from zero as measured from the sandwich plate. The stock sensor does not flash any warnings so there is some pressure that is not measurable from the sandwich plate, but is from the stock location. (plus, the motor doesn't seize up!)
I know that the gauge is operating because on the Motorcraft, with the same oil and weight, I get pressure readings immediately at cold start ups. I can only think that some filters perform differently in the cold... perhaps the bypass settings are involved or the bypass location? The Fram Ultra XG3614 gave me the delayed readings when cold, while the FL-400s reads at startup.
Any ideas?
39000 miles
2011 2dr Wrangler
5w30 Pennzoil Platinum
Motorcraft FL-400s
