Clackety valves

Noise, vibration, and harshness is difficult to diagnose without experiencing them first hand. It is possible that the sound you are describing is not a valve sound, or the sound may have been there before and you just noticed it now.

I told you several times NOT to put additives in the engine. If the sounds are actually coming from the valve train now and were not present before you put the additives in the engine, then it doesn't take an automotive genius to figure out that the additives are causing the noise. The oil additives could cause the noise because the stuff is so thick that it the oil doesn't circulate properly at startup, causing rapid wear, or the stuff affected the seals so that the moving parts don't move freely or the seals are no longer sealing, or it could have flushed deposits and clogged something so that it takes longer for oil pressure to build.

It is possible that the incorrect grade or viscosity of oil was used in the engine when the oil was changed. Hopefully, you learned your lesson and specified the correct grade and viscosity oil. In case you have not learned your lesson, the correct grade and viscosity oil for your engine is what Toyota says to use, not what you think is best.

It is possible the noise is not valve train noise and is unrelated to the additives.

It is possible that you are hearing rod knock or piston slap.

It is possible that the valves are out of adjustment due to premature wear from lack of proper maintenance. From a warranty point of view, "lack of proper maintenance" includes adding stuff to the vehicle that the manufacturer says you should not add.

I don't know why you even bother to post questions if you ignore my advice, the advice of the people who designed and built your car, and the advice of everyone in this ng and then wonder why your car is messed up and you wasted the cost of an oil change.

By the way, in case you have not figured it out yet, do not put additives anywhere in the car, including the engine, battery, coolant, AC, transmission, differential, tire, or fuel if you want your car to last.

I suspect that your engine was in poor or marginal condition when you acquired the car, and if the noise you are hearing is engine noise that appeared after you added the additives, then the engine is now in even poorer condition than before. Budget $300 to $500 to properly and professionally diagnose the condition. A proper diagnosis is most likely beyond the capabilities of most oil change chains, tire shop, muffler shops, battery shops, auto parts stores, department stores, or any shops that sell automotive additives.

Why would you blend synthetic and dino oils? I suppose if you were travelli8ng someplace and found you were a quart or two low, then you could put in whatever it took to bring the level up and end up with a blend, but why would you even consider blending the oil in the comfort of your own driveway?

Gosh, Ray, you didn't even touch on mixing synthetics and dino oil ...

What type oil filter did they use? Maybe the anti drain valve is no good.. Are you using the specified oil weight for that engine? The noise could be from a lack of oil pressure after cold start, or it could be from the likely thinner fresh oil not filling in gaps in worn parts as well as the thick stuff you had before. It could also have been the stop leak further clogging already semi clogged oil passages, and you are having trouble getting oil to the valve train after cold starts when the oil is it's thickest.. No one can really tell for sure what the problem is on the internet. At this point, I would just keep driving it and let the clean oil do some engine cleaning for a while.

I imagine she is talking about using one of the blended oils such as syntec, GTX blend, etc.. Not actually mixing the two types in the driveway.. Or I would hope anyway.. :/

I imagine she is talking about using one of the blended oils such as syntec, GTX blend, etc.. Not actually mixing the two types in the driveway.. Or I would hope anyway.. :/

I hope you're right. I forgot about the blends.

She could be using something like Castrol Syntec blend, which would be OK if she uses the correct viscosity and the grade meets what is specified in her owner's manual.

Yeah, that was pointed out already. I forgot about that product.

Having said that, mixing your own "syntec" is a very bad idea.

No argument from me on that one!

I changed the Lucas additive oil out after only 90 miles though.

I wouldnt, the mechanic said that he could put in a blend and it would reduce wear.

LOL, no way. I'd have no idea what to blend anyway.

The damage was done much sooner than 90 miles.

The bottom line is, you have an engine with a history that you do not know, and it could be worn out by now. You don't know way too many variables that would help us to help you, as much as we might want to try.

Basically, it is what it is, for better or worse.

If you were the original owner and knew that nobody else ever threw it into Low at speeds sending the tach to the upper registers, then we would be able to say that your oil consumption is from A or from B, but since you don't know how the car has been driven before you bought it, then the consupmtion could be from A, B, C, D, or E, some of them can be masked with an additive and some cannot.

A sticky lifter will make a tapping noise upon startup, and go away in a matter of a few seconds. This can sometimes be cleaned with a detergent based additive that will attack the tarnish that makes the lifter stick, but for the record a sticky lifter that makes valve noise is more of an annoyance than a problem. As an engineering matter, a little bit of extra valve lash (the gap that causes the tapping noise) is actually a good thing because you can be sure the valve is fully closing instead of remaining partly open -- a condition that causes the valves to burn. Yes, if the valve makes noise because the lifter is clacking then it isn't opening fully, but with a 1.8L Corolla, you wouldn't notice the performance anyway. A downside of detergent based additives is that they clean the tarnish from everything, and occasionally the tarnish is helping to seal something, and the additive can actually cause a leak. Of course, the detergent can also attack the rubber seal itself and cause a leak.

My advise is that since you have a high mileage motor and do not know the history, change the oil often and put in High Mileage Blend oil. After you clock several oil changes on a short interval, say about 3,000 miles each, you can then extend the future changes to 5,000 mile intervals. I _think_ that car has a change interval of 7,500 miles listed in the book. The constant supply of fresh oil from a half-dozen or so short change intervals and you can move to the medium change interval and be good. By the time you can get to the longer intervals, the car will have so many miles that the long interval is probably not a good idea.

But all of this only addresses sticky lifters. There are a dozen other things that can make noise, and some of them can cause oil consumption problems too.

If I thought that it would be OK to leave the additives in the engine for 90 miles, I would have said go ahead and put the stuff in and change the oil after 90 miles, but that is not what I said. I said NOT to put additives in the engine. I did not specify that you should not put stuff in the engine even for a short time because I had assumed that someone with so little knowledge of engines would be smart enough to listen to the advice of automotive professionals.

90 miles is an hour and a half of engine operation at 60 MPH or 3 hours at 30 MPH, plus time that the stuff sat in the crankcase while the vehicle was parked. That is more than enough time for the engine oil and additives to warm up and circulate through the engine and cause the condition you're experiencing. I am assuming that you did not have the engine completely disassembled, cleaned, oil galleries flushed, and then re-assembled so some of the additive is still circulating in your engine. If you did not change the oil filter when you had the oil changed, then 20 to 25% of the oil with the additives are still in the engine.

I said previously that you should just send me the money you waste on all those additives and your engine would be running fine and I would put the money to good use. If you had followed my advice, we would both be happy and you would not have a new problem with your car.

In the future, do not add any additives anywhere in the vehicle, including the fuel tank, fuel system, evap system, coolant, refrigerant, HVAC system, transmission, differential, engine, oil, tires, power steering, brakes, air induction system, or anything anywhere on or in the vehicle, even for a short time or short mileage unless your owner's manual specifically recommends the additive, or unless you want to cause further problems. By the way, I recommend that you read your owner's manual.

Jane, if your Corolla is a 2002 model year, you do not have hydraulic lifters.

You need a new mechanic... The one you have seems to be fairly brain dead.. The difference in reducing wear between all the various oils is so small as to be almost a non issue. I use a synth blend oil, but it's not to reduce wear. It's to have a better resistance to thermal breakdown and gelling. Isn't he the one that suggested the Lucas stop leak? :( I forgot who's idea that was, but seems like it was his without going back through old posts.. I'm serious.. I would not go back to that guy..

I store gas in cans for a generator and mower. I add Stabil to this gas. I want to put fresh gas in a 5 gallon container. Would it be OK to put the gas that's in there now in my car (to empty the container) where it contains the Stabil? The car is a 2006 Hyundai Elantra.

---MIKE---

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---MIKE---