'94 century 3100 v6 ticking

[John B.]

Ever since I got this car 2 years ago (93,000 miles) the engine has made a ticking/tapping sound when first started. My mechanic says the pushrods and rocker arms are wearing out. The car now has 117,000 miles and to me it has sounded about the same the whole time, but yesterday I got the oil changed and my mechanic said it's getting worse. When I picked it up after the oil change, it did sound worse! Is this anything serious? By that I mean, will it leave me totally stranded somewhere? This car is not in the best shape and I'd rather not spend money that isn't absolutely necessary. The noise did seem to go away when the engine was warmed up. Thanks!

[turbokinetic]

The 3100 has a history of this problem and it will not cause the engine to fail. Just keep the oil changed and drive it easy until it warms up and quiets down. :)

David

[Duke George V]

Yeah, the 60 degree engines are notoriously noisy. Everything from my MFI engine to a brand new 3400 in an Equinox makes the same ticking noise on startup. Absolutely nothing to worry about. If you do want to worry though, you can probably use a heavier oil to quiet it down. Downside to that is harder starting in cold weather and slightly lower fuel economy.

[Prospeeder]

Heavier oil does more than just make it harder to turn over, how bout wear the fuck out of the engine with heavy oil. Its the piston skirts. They make the piston slap from being too short, its a design flaw that makes them noisier. no problem

[turbokinetic]

True about the piston slap, it is a clearance issue and it goes away as the pistons expand as the engine warms. Truely harmless.

I run a Shell Rotella 15W40 in all my engines and it is great for our southern climate. Did not help the piston slap on my 2.8, however it did help the engine to not blow-up with 15 PSI turbo boost. :)

David

[Duke George V]

Heavier oil does more than just make it harder to turn over, how bout wear the fuck out of the engine with heavy oil.
Whoa, calm down. I really doubt it's going to appreciably reduce the life of an engine that already has 117k on it.

[John B.]

I have 2 Oldsmobiles with the same engine and same mileage and they don't make this noise, that's why I was wondering. My dad used to have a '76 Chrysler that made this same sound when it was first started and he used to say it was a "noisy lifter". :)

[Prospeeder]

has it ever had the lower intake gaskets go out? They dump coolant in the oil and will cause all sorts of new (somtimes permenant) noises and piss the lifters off. 117k is high miles to you? Wow i run 5w30 in my 235k car and 337k car with fairly quiet leakless results. These arnt 1960's and 70's hunks that need 50 wieght oil and rebuilds every 80k. I put that rotella 15w40 in this 200k 98 mazda deleivery truck at work and it was a tiny bit noisy with 5w30 i usually ran,but we had a 5 quart leaker, so i used it, it was instantly horribly noiser, and the instant the temps started getitng lower than 60 degrees it was like hard knocking, I changed it the other day and boy thr 5w30 made is super quiet in comparision, that noise=wear. Sorry but my high mileage engine has enough wear, it doesnt need aid from trying to push thick oil around and increasing cold start wear.

[Century7667]

has it ever had the lower intake gaskets go out? They dump coolant in the oil and will cause all sorts of new (somtimes permenant) noises and piss the lifters off. 117k is high miles to you? Wow i run 5w30 in my 235k car and 337k car with fairly quiet leakless results. These arnt 1960's and 70's hunks that need 50 wieght oil and rebuilds every 80k. I put that rotella 15w40 in this 200k 98 mazda deleivery truck at work and it was a tiny bit noisy with 5w30 i usually ran,but we had a 5 quart leaker, so i used it, it was instantly horribly noiser, and the instant the temps started getitng lower than 60 degrees it was like hard knocking, I changed it the other day and boy thr 5w30 made is super quiet in comparision, that noise=wear. Sorry but my high mileage engine has enough wear, it doesnt need aid from trying to push thick oil around and increasing cold start wear.

I have to agree. I understand that the shift away from 10W-40 to the lighter oils was motivated from more than just fuel economy, it had to do with the smaller parts found in the newer engines, in particular the roller lifter and roller rockers. My father's 3800 (series I) calls for 10W-30, but my 3100, same year calls for 5W-30, so I think the engine design has something to do with it.

I get the piston slap on my 3100 too. In about a minute, it goes away. My '96 did it from the showroom floor.

Ken T.

[Pontiac6ksteawd]

all my cars do it too. Its very normal, and there are some TSB's out about it too.