Outer Limits 4x4 Board

I read recently that someone recomended using a high detergent oil or even a transmision oil in there engine to "clean" it out,

it was sugested that this method was used after draining the dirty oil from the engine then running the detergent oil for about 2 or 3 hundred k's then replace it with the recomended oil and filter...

It is supposed to realy clean the innards of your motor in order to free up noisy lifters etc.

Anyone have any thoughts on this ?

does it work or does it destroy the engine?

Has anyone had any head work done on a 3.2 V6 because of noisy lifters/rockers?

Or any sugestions on how to shut the tap tap tapping up?????

Lost,
next time you do an oil and filter change, Buy your preferred brand of oil and also 6 litres of the cheapest engine oil they have available.
Purchase 1 bottle of wynns oil flush.
Purchase 1 oil filter.
Warm up engine shut down and drop the old oil, leave the filter in at this time.
Refill with the cheap oil and the bottle of wynns oil flush, let it idle as per the instructions on the oil flush bottle ie 20mins.
Drop this oil and then change the filter.
Notice the colour of the 20min old oil, compare it to the 5 to 10 thou Km oil you dropped first, impressive eh.
Refill with the good new oil of choice.
With any luck this may free up your lifters.
Have a look here http://forum.australia4wd.com/index.php?act=home
a fair few jack owners post here and generally give helpful advice,unlike some on this board......

Be warned though, all the crap you wash out of your galleries ends up in the sump, where it can block the oil pickup, and cause otehr issues.

Layto....

OK

Thank you so much for your reply to my question, (and for not insulting me too....)

I will certainly try that exersize with the flushing and the changing of the oil.

I realy dont want to have to get new heads, my got ...how much would that cost.......?

Thank you also for the alternate forum tip, I will check that out asap.

If your engine is tapping non stop chances are that your rocker shafts may be worn and your lifters are a bit tired. I have replaced rocker shafts on these engines for this problem and it is quite a mission to do(and expensive).

I agree with the post about buy cheap oil and flush, and then new filter and some good quality 20w-50 oil, do not use and thinner oil as the worn lifters will simply not pump up. If you live in a hot climate and your vehicle is 150000km old or more you could even try a slightly thicker oil. but be wary of using excesively thick oil in cold climates or in new engines. In older high km engines no prob.

Wear on the rocker shafts and stuffed lifters is usually always related to previous owners not servicing vehicles correctly. Most oil filters are running on bypass (not filtering) after about 3000 - 5000km on older engines. If you change your oil every 5000km spend an extra $20 and do the filter to.

Hope this helps.

Thank you for your reply.

The tapping seems only to last till the engine warms up and after that it doesn't rattle / tap at all till next morning after its cooled down.

You say you have replaced rocker shafts on these cars and its expensive...do you remember HOW expensive? (roughly).

When you say "a slightly thicker oil" how thick do you mean? I am using valvoline XLD 20/50 at the moment.

Thank you

From memory I think it was somewhere between $2000 and $3000 for new lifters and rockers shafts, gaskets, labor ect. There was no aftermarket lifters avail when I did the jobs back in the late 90's but there might be now. I think the lifters were the most expensive part of the repair.

As for oil you could try a 25w/60, usually labeled as "for older engines". This might help stop the lifters bleeding down overnight, thus the tapping noise in the morning. But I would only use it if your engine has high km on it.

If your engine is only making a noise when its cold then I would suspect that only the lifters are bleeding down and that the rocker shafts will be ok. But its always hard to tell with out pulling something apart. And if the tpping just sometimes comes and goes at idle when hot, Lifters also.

Good luck with it all.

Would worn bucket shims cause rough idle and "hunting" at idle?

Hopefully you are talking about the engine in your rodeo. If so I have never seen a worn bucket shim before. People have a misconception that if you can't hear your tappets rattling they don't need adjusting.

This is wrong in most cases for engines fitted with bucket shims like yours. With this design they usually tighten as the valve and seat wear and do not rattle. This happens very slowly of course thus the reason they only get adjusted at 100000km.Expensive to maintain as more time required to do the lash adj and usually a box full of shims and a special tool.

For your engine surge and hunting i would be looking at your engine management system or a vacuum leak. V6 rodeo's have a vacuum line around the black cover on the side of the engine intake manifold which use to come off all the time and needs to be secured on (tie strap ect). It sends the engine management system crazy when it comes of as there is unmetered air entering the engine that the ECU doesn't know about.

Could be a number if things but check the basics first, might save yourself some money.

Good luck.

Yep its the 3.2 in my Rodeo.

No errors showed when I had it checked on the Tech 2.

I think you are right, its probably a vacuum leak but would that cause it to misfire at idle?
I can hear it at the exhaust and the engine.
I know the little vacuum hose you referred to at the rear of the engine. That had come off a few times and I've put a little hose clamp on it.

What about a faulty PCV valve? Would that cause hunting and missing at idle and loss of power?

I took it off while it was running and it was making a loud whistle and it was sucking very well but when I put my thumb on it to block it the revs didnt drop like it supposed to.

Vacuum leak? I'm hoping its not burnt valves or valve seats.

Whats the best way to check everything for vacuum leaks? I only have a compression tester.

Cheers, Sudso