ENGINE NOISE AFTER OIL CHANGE

[BarryBecker]

Hi all....I have done 100's of oil changes over my 35 years of driving but never had an engine noise after a change. I changed the oil on my 1999 explorer (base V6 engine) and when I ran it it was fine then a quiet kind of sounds like marbles were in the engine. It did not seem to get worse or accelerate when I reved it. Its almost gone now 3 days later but still there. The car had 116,000 mi when I bought it and this was my first change at 120,000. I was wondering if they had an additive in it that kept it quiet till I drained it though a mech. friend said he doubted that. Could some sludge dislodge and is banging around in there? It makes me want to change the oil again. Any clues my friends? The sound may go away by itself and performance is no different so I may ignore it unless someone sends me a red flag. Thanks

Barry

 

[Lemondrop]

Been lots of complaints about the sound your hearing from a SOHC engine . Id say toss in some STP and see if that quiets it . It may have had a thicker oil than you changed to which would muffle noises a little .

 

[FORDisKING]

The old "20W50 syndrome"! I agree with the last post, give it a go and take it from there.

Jason

 

[EasyRhino]

Is anyone else thinking cam tensioner? Could be a coincidence on teh oil change timing.

Or I could be an idiot

 

[BarryBecker]

Hey ..no ones an idiot here.....I can't even spell cam tensioner....I will ask my mechanic friend about the cam tensioner....I will think about the thick stp but what does that say about my engine to have to resort to that?

B

 

[Robert]

Did they put the SOHC in the XL in '99? I thought the only engine offered on the XL was the 4.0L OHV. If by chance BarryBecker has a SOHC, then that is the first thing I would check on.

 

[addkev]

I have tried and experimented with different things. The only way I can get my engine to not make ticking sounds, (almost like lifters) is using synthetic 5W30 and motorcraft filters. I had always been a Fram customer, now I can only use Motorcraft...


But they are cheaper anyways.

 

[kEVINS]

Fram filters have a poor check valve. Stick with a higher doller filter and you will be happy. I personally use Castrol Syntec 5w50 and LOVE it!! I also go 10k per change.

 

[hitman]

You know, after I bought my 2001 XLT with 5.0 V8 I did an oil change. The owner's manual said to use 5W-20 so that's what I put in. Now, I too experience similar noises.

I've got a 1993 Mustang GT with 5.0 V8 that I have used 10W-30 in for years with never a problem. I wonder if that's all it is - too light of an oil weight. My next oil change I'm going to go with my GT's juice (Mobil 1 - 10W30 synthetic).

 

[BarryBecker]

On my type of engine..I Guess I have the OHV engine..if that the base engine then I have it...the less preferred engine mind you...I just noted that I indicate I have the Xl when I really have the base model...I don't know that they even give it a letter designation...anyway.....I may try one of the synthetics as a start. By the way I used a Bosch filter which i heard were good. Thanks

 

[TPLYNCH]

Barry, that noise is common with the '99 OHV engine. It is caused by redesigned wrist pins (done to reduce emissions). Rattles, like marbles in a tin canl or dieseling. Ford says it will not cause any trouble. Mine has done it since I bought it. I have 63K. Glad to see another has made it 100+K seemingly w/o trouble. Go to any Ranger board and you'll find hundreds of posts on this noise, or even search here for Marbles. On the SOHC engine, it's the tensioners. On the OHV, it's the wrist pins.

 

[BarryBecker]

Thanks TPLYNCH....the best news is it does no harm....by the way....are those michelins quiet? I have these STAMPEDES that came with the car when I bought it. VERY LOUD!!

Barry

 

[TPLYNCH]

Yes, my Michelins are very quiet. Can listen to the radio on smooth highway pavement on the first bar. 2 bars for concrete road (which is notoriously noisy in NY). Much quieter than the original Crapstones. Great traction too....

 

[Lemondrop]

Id say it isnt wrist pins , more like piston skirts . If a wrist pin had enough slop to cause a knock it will pound it's way free of the piston skirt sooner or later and then cut your engine block in half

Skirts slap when cold on almost every engine , they are built to do that because the piston expands rapidly (because it's aluminum) and if it was dead-tight to the cylinder wall it would seize when it came up to temperature . All engines do it , just most you can't hear . Thicker oils will help quiet slap as it makes a bigger cushion for the pistons to ride on . If ford is saying there is no problem it's cause they dont want to remove the engines and rebuild them with non-sucky pistons to remove a knock that really won't hurt anything . Id imagine they are either slightly out of round pistons or machined to a too small size . They might even have had to machine them smaller because they used some exotic alloys for the pistons and they expand in a funky way .
I work for a major manufacturer and I can tell you they make up stories to prevent major repairs over nothing . The complaints just seem to evaporate as the new engines come out , kinda like they fixed a problem but didnt tell anybody .

 

[KEbert]

I say timing chain and tensioner. When you change the oil there is absolutley no oil pressure. Since the tensioner is sprug with oil pressure, it doesn't have a chance to tighten up until a few seconds after the engine has been running. Mine does the same thing. I dont know what to tell you. I do run 20 50 in mine to keep the oil pressure up in the mornings when I start it, but I don't know how to prevent the noise. Except for a pre-lube system which I should have on by this summer.

 

[BarryBecker]

I drove the truck through the mountains this weekend and the noise is till there though faint. I am going to try another oil soon just as a start. I am clueless to all these additional thoughts on the sound. I will report if anything changes after the oil fix. Thanks for everyones input!

Barry

 

[FORDisKING]

I usually put in 10w-30 in all of my engines. I had a Ranger with the 3.0L and the manual called for 5w-30, I always put 10W-30 in it. Never had a problem.

Jay