GM 3.8 Issue

[meyer4589]

Was recently gifted a 2004 Pontiac Grand Prix. I don't know much of the previous history other than it was elderly driven and stored indoors. The 3.8 series lll has 186k on it. I have driven the car back and forth from work, 50 miles round trip for about a week. The other day I changed the oil since I didn't know how old the oil from the previous owner was. I changed it with a wix filter and valvoline conventional high mileage 5w-30. Today I started the car up and noticed a slight tick. Not sure if it is a lifter or what? Don't really want to dump the fresh oil to try a different brand/type. Any suggestions ?

 

[churchmouse]

Did the tic go away when it warmed up.
Did it continue to tic when you drove it.
My GMC truck will occasionally have some slight valve train noise when I 1st start it up but goes away pretty quick.
185 K is not serious mileage if it has been cared for.

Find out what kind of oil it has been ran with prior to you getting it.

 

[Bennettjh]

I hate to start this but I'm not a big Valvoline fan but to each his own. Does it go away after it warms up?

 

[halfmileharry]

I hate to start this but I'm not a big Valvoline fan but to each his own. Does it go away after it warms up?

I'm with you. Valvoline and I have no use for each other.

 

[halfmileharry]

SLIGHT...
Some of those you can hear the fuel injectors. I've got the 3100 in my old Century and the injectors are audible. BUT so are a couple of lifters or rockers with Valvoline oil in it. You can hear the difference just as soon as the oil is changed.
IF you're not going to run a good synthetic then run a good paraffin base. I run Kendall or Pennzoil. My motors always outlive the rest of the car. Family/daily drivers. YMMV.

 

[d.kaufman]

If tick goes away right after initial start up its probably the cheap oil filter. Its draining back to the pan causing a slight loss of prime. I would be real surprised if its the oil. Ive used nothing but Valvoline in all my vehicles for the past 25 years and never had an issue, but all i drive are Fords.

 

[jgressley2003]

I thought 3.8 required 10w30? What's so bad about Valvoline? I've used it for years without issues.

 

[wtburnette]

I thought 3.8 required 10w30? What's so bad about Valvoline? I've used it for years without issues.

Nope. I have the same car with the same engine and it uses 5w30. I've used Castrol or Penzoil exclusively with this car when it's been in my control (no idea on some of the oil changes). I have almost the same amount of mileage on mine and it has had a bit of a tic for the last 10 years. Car still runs great, though it's old enough I've had a few issues in the last year. Couple of wheel bearings, the AC system and starter have all been replaced recently. Still a darn nice car though.

 

[SMiller]

If tick goes away right after initial start up its probably the cheap oil filter. Its draining back to the pan causing a slight loss of prime. I would be real surprised if its the oil. Ive used nothing but Valvoline in all my vehicles for the past 25 years and never had an issue, but all i drive are Fords.

He said he installed a Wix filter, that is the best filter money can buy.

 

[thunderchicken]

He said he installed a Wix filter, that is the best filter money can buy.

Yep, never ever had an issue from a WIX filter. I would think it's possible that whoever maintained it previously may have used the wrong oil (heavier) to hide the ticking.

 

[churchmouse]

I bought my daughter a used Lincoln Navigator some time back. My bad and it will never happen again.
It had the big engine with 120K on it. The engine would tick a lot on start up about 1K into an oil change cycle.
A bottle of Lucas stopped this. It would come back about the time the oil cycle was up.
I have always used Penzoil in my cars/trucks unless they were hotrods and those got Mobil 1.

 

[SMiller]

I bought my daughter a used Lincoln Navigator some time back. My bad and it will never happen again.
It had the big engine with 120K on it. The engine would tick a lot on start up about 1K into an oil change cycle.
A bottle of Lucas stopped this. It would come back about the time the oil cycle was up.
I have always used Penzoil in my cars/trucks unless they were hotrods and those got Mobil 1.

Welcome to the world of over head valve Ford engines...

 

[thunderchicken]

On a similar topic I have been seeing some v6 Dodge chargers that have been burning oil. Long story short Dodge claims that it's normal to burn 1 qt of oil for every thousand miles. So a 6qt system that goes unchecked can be 3qts low when it's time to change it. That's bad enough but worse for those who stretch it out to 5-6000 mile intervals.

 

[thunderchicken]

Welcome to the world of over head valve Ford engines...

Depends on which engine we're talking about. I have seen several with 200k+ on the odometer and never made noise.

 

[churchmouse]

Depends on which engine we're talking about. I have seen several with 200k+ on the odometer and never made noise.

I am pretty sure mine is still running. Ingo member BradMedic bought it.
The air ride went south soon after he got it.

 

[t-squared]

Are you sure you didn't put heavier air in it to cover up the problem...???

 

[halfmileharry]

Are you sure you didn't put heavier air in it to cover up the problem...???

AutoZone or O'Reillys?

 

[ghuns]

My family used to have a fleet of Bonnevilles with 3.8s. Several over 300K. Always used NAPA Gold filters and Valvoline 5W-30.

Other than the crappy, plastic, factory intake manifolds, they were damn near indestructible.

A tick like you describe could a lifter that's gummed up. Do the old screwdriver test. Get a long screwdriver, touch it to various points around your engine with the handle against your ear. This will give you a better idea of exactly where the noise is coming from.

The only 3.8 I ever saw that almost died early was one that a buddy had. He was meticulous when it came to his vehicles. When I told him about the many failures I had seen with the factory intakes, he immediately scheduled and appointment with his mechanic to have his changed. Dorman makes a replacement that has the flaws in GM manifold corrected, so he had them install it. Within days, it developed a "tick". It drove him nuts, but he thought it was just a lifter or something. A couple days later, that "tick", was a slight knock. Present at idle, but would got away with the slightest throttle, and reappear as soon as you let off. I told him, dude, that's a rod knocking. I suspect that when they changed the intake, some debris got somewhere it didn't belong and starved a rod bearing of oil.

I ended up buying the car from him and put a screwdriver against the oil pan. It was clear exactly which rod it was. I pulled the pan and bearing cap, found a spun bearing. The crank was barely scuffed so I polished it with 400 grit sandpaper and installed a new bearing. Car ran great after that. I gave it to my 16 year old niece who totaled it 6 months later.

If you can verify the location of the ticking, and are pretty sure it's just a lifter, I would be temped to swap out the oil for some Rotella T6. Yeah, it's a 5W-40, not 30. Yeah, it's primarily an oil for diesel and/or turbo engines. But it is awesome at de-gunking an engine. I have put it in high mileage motors that had tons of caked on crud and varnish. Within a couple oil changes, they are clean as can be.

 

[thunderchicken]

Are you sure you didn't put heavier air in it to cover up the problem...???

Ha that's kinda funny. But I refrenced the heavier weight oil as possibly having been preventing the tick. It foes work unless the problem is too far gone. Been there done that. Had an old 79 Fairmont inline 6 rattled so baf you woulda thought it was a studebaker. Put a mixture of 20w50 and 75w140 gear oil in it and it purred like a kitten. Drove it that way 2yrs until the head gasket let loose.

 

[churchmouse]

OK....while we are on the subject of oil and change out frequency what do you guys think of Mobile 1's new 1 year oil. Leave it in for a year.