Replaced oil with 5W-30 now noisy

MatBat · Post by **MatBat** » Thu Jun 07, 2007 6:30 pm

I've just put some Castrol Edge 5W-30 fully synth in my mx5 and it made lifter noise from startup, it continues to do it at idle however if I go for a sprited drive and then return to idle it's quiet and will remain quiet for about 1min then the noise comes back. I should add that the engine was very quiet before the oil change. Do I need a different grade of oil?

Bazza · Post by **Bazza** » Thu Jun 07, 2007 8:08 pm

What sort of mileage have you got on the "clock.?"

If your motor is getting on a bit that's a pretty thin oil. If you had no lifter problem prior to this oil change I think you already know the answer....The fact that it drops back into a clatter after a minute or so of idling would worry me....good luck mate.

MatBat · Post by **MatBat** » Thu Jun 07, 2007 8:20 pm

The car has 140,000k's on the clock but the engine has done less than that (has been rebuit and tuned) so it's not a very high mileage engine.
I'm thinking I might change back to a thicker oil (maybe semi synthetic) and see if that returns it to normal.

GerryAttrick · Post by **GerryAttrick** » Fri Jun 08, 2007 7:22 am

According to Norman Garrett(Godfather of MX5) in his book he
says " The lifter...has been the one weak point of the Miata
Engine. If you don't choose your oil correctly they will not pump up at start
and make a loud ticking noise. Thinner oils such as 5W-20 weights appear to
solve the problem for most owners. Synthetics work well to but...can cause
leaks on engines not run on synthetic since new"

Sounds to me like they are not pumping up but, as you have the thinner oil
they may be blocked.

One suggestion is to do a fill with good quality oil specified for diesel
engines. They are high in detergents and will remove a whole heap of Cr&P.
I'd run it for at least 500kms - it won't damage your engine as diesel
engines are really hard working and need a top quality high detergent oil.

I ran this in an Explorer with noisey lifters and timing chain tensioner and
the clatter(there since I bought the thing) went away completely.

For the cost of a fill of oil it may be a cheap option to try.

As always the decision is up to you so don't hunt me down if it goes awry

Oh...and if it works don't forget to say so.

Cheers

GerryAttrick

MatBat · Post by **MatBat** » Sat Jun 09, 2007 4:37 pm

Well, after bit of hard driving, the lifter noise has all but cleared up, a slight tick at startup then it goes away. Most mysterious.

Post by **jif** » Sat Jun 09, 2007 7:06 pm

+1 for the italian tuneup

MatBat · Post by **MatBat** » Sun Jun 10, 2007 12:51 am

Nope, seems I spoke too soon,

When I can afford to I'm going to put thicker oil in, thinking a 15W-40,

Ian · Post by **Ian** » Sun Jun 10, 2007 8:35 pm

Hi Mat...

I changed my oil on Friday in prep for Ruapuna today. (I had been rather lax and run it to 8000k since the last change.) I am normally pretty religious about changing every 5000k. My motor always gets a bit 'ticky' at start up, as I approach the 5000k interval, and at 8000k this was even more noticeable. I run Magnatech 10-40 and the car is always quieter after an oilchange.
Jeremy Lush's MX5 Lexus V8 turbo cooked its clutch....surprise surprise!
The supercharged MR2 is still 4 secs a lap quicker than me, but a 1.49 sec lap means we are heading in the right direction. Pothole corner in the damp in 4th is exciting to say the least!!!!

Ian

MatBat · Post by **MatBat** » Sun Jun 10, 2007 10:02 pm

I'll do an oil change this week and hopefully that will help. It does seem to be better now though than it was a few days ago. Good luck on the laptime, I'll get hopefully get out to the track one of these days.