Addicted2bass Posted July 13, 2006 Report Share Posted July 13, 2006 In the last week ive noticed a ticking noise coming from the upper engine when I start the car. It goes away after the engine warms up i think tby tehn the oil has worked its way up to the uppe rengine. It also only seems to happen when the car is at idle. Everyone that hears it tells me it is the start of a piston knock. The car is a 96 GP 3100 with 114k on it. I just bought the car about 2 months ago and it seems to have been well maintained. I work at a auto parts store and ive talked to a few garages and the two guys ive worked with. They all say to drain the oil (which i changed last week) and put in 10w30 instead of 5w30 and a quart of lucas treatment. Any advice would be greatly appreciated! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chadz34 Posted July 13, 2006 Report Share Posted July 13, 2006 No, as far as I know they all do that. It's normal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CSI_MuNkY Posted July 13, 2006 Report Share Posted July 13, 2006 It sounds like its probably just valve ticking. Not really a big deal, infact I've yet to hear a 3.4L DOHC that doesn't do it (NOT saying that ALL do it, I'm sure somones been able to get rid of it), and the van I used to drive did it for the last 5 years I drove it. Although I have very little experience with the 3100, I'd say if it goes away after a few minutes your probably fine. Just check your oil levels...I think low oil can cause valve tick, I knwo in my van I had hydraulic lifters and they would colapse if the engine sat for a while and the tick would be worse than usual. Not sure what type of lifters you would have... The lucas oil treatment should be used as a last resort, I was going to put some in my engine for my ticking and I was told to avoid it at all costs, my brother swares by the stuff though. Are you using a conventional oil or synthetic? If your using conventional maybe try switching to a synthetic like Royal Purple (specifically says on the bottle NOT to add oil treatments) Jamie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SigEpCutlass Posted July 13, 2006 Report Share Posted July 13, 2006 Lifter ticking is a problem with the L82 (3100) engine when it is cold. In a TSB, GM has said there's no harm in it doing this, and there is a fix to change the pins in the lifters to prevent the ticking. However, it's not worth shelling out the money for it IIRC. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Psych0matt Posted July 13, 2006 Report Share Posted July 13, 2006 My old one would only tick if low on oil, and just recently my current engine started ticking (i think I'm a bit low, about time for an oil change anyways) I usuaully run a can of restore with each oil change, and I've had minimum ticking, but yeah, it is a fairly normal occurrance as far as I've known with these and other 60* engines Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1990lumina Posted July 13, 2006 Report Share Posted July 13, 2006 the 3.1mpfi in my lumina sounds like a diesel engnine when you start it in winter...summer it's a little quieter...been driving it like this for 2 years hard and no adverse effects as of yet... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
19Cutlass94 Posted July 13, 2006 Report Share Posted July 13, 2006 Theres actually a TSB that says its the transaxle making this noise, not the lifters. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nebojsa_o Posted July 13, 2006 Report Share Posted July 13, 2006 I have a '96 3100 also, and it sounds like a damn diesel when I start it in the mornings. Takes a few minutes for it to warm up, and then it's fine. I wouldn't worry about it too much... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Addicted2bass Posted July 14, 2006 Author Report Share Posted July 14, 2006 Well that makes me feel a little better! I just changed the oil I used 10W40 and a quart of lucas. The lucas wont screw anything up will it? What sort of adverse effect would it have? Alot of mechanics I know swear by it. it seemed to help the noise a little. A couple people have told me its probably a bad lifter. One reason im concerned is that my old 86 Z24 with the 2.8 made a simliar noise and soon after a piston started knocking like crazy (granted that car was a complete shit pile!). My friends dad has a 96 lumina with the 3.1 and his has been making that noise for about 30k, so possible im just flippin out over nothing. And no im not using synthetic, would it be worth it to maybe switch over? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nebojsa_o Posted July 14, 2006 Report Share Posted July 14, 2006 Well, mine has been doing that since I got it, so just over a year now, and I've put 23,5xx kms on it, and it's still exactly the same. Didn't get any better by itself, but it didn't get any worse either... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
supreme_style21 Posted July 14, 2006 Report Share Posted July 14, 2006 I have a '96 3100 also, and it sounds like a damn diesel when I start it in the mornings. Takes a few minutes for it to warm up, and then it's fine. I wouldn't worry about it too much... I think its goddamn embarassing. My 95 GP doesn't clack EVER, but my 97 Cutlass sounds like damn diesel ford truck and its really embarassing. It has to run for like 5 minutes before it goes away. I leave work and it sounds like its ready to throw a damn rod right through the hood. Everyone looks at me and feels sorry cause they think I own such a junkass car. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Turbo231 Posted July 14, 2006 Report Share Posted July 14, 2006 There is a TSB on a knock on some 3.1 where the wrist pin tolerance and the hole for the wrist pin in the piston are with tolerance but on each side (one is under, one is over) that causes quite a bit of cold knock on the engine. GM does suggest replacing said parts, but of course that now would be expensive and excessive, and GM states this is only for reduction of sound, not to the benefit of the motor. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
94CutlassXtreme Posted July 14, 2006 Report Share Posted July 14, 2006 Do not use Lucas or any other stabilizer especially during the winter time, it sits like molasses in the bottom of the pan and makes the engine run a quart low until it warms up. Any with 113k, dont use 5w30 anymore. I'd do 10w30 in the winter and 10w40 in the summer. It'll quiet down the knock a little bit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EviLette Posted July 14, 2006 Report Share Posted July 14, 2006 Mine ticks. It's almost always ticks... and it rattles real bad above 4000 RP on the tach.... yeah... I put some lucas in with my last oil change (castrol GTX 5w30) and it substantially quieted the ticking sound.... I have heard good things about STP, though never used it myself... and yeah, only use it in the summer when it doesn't go sludgey... The ticking went away for a while... as the lucas burnt off, though, it returned. My mechanic (sometimes I think he's a dumbass) said I could run almost straight Lucas, but umm... yeah I'm not willing to try that shit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Turbo231 Posted July 14, 2006 Report Share Posted July 14, 2006 Be warned running thick oils, especially STP. The problem isn't the oil itself, but it is so thick it will open the bypass on your oil filter...and you'll start pumping unfiltered oil which helps nothing. If you're looking for THE test, the thing that will define if you're engine is dead or not, run some transmission oil in your engine for 10 to 20 minutes. This will clear out all the little holes, like in the lifters, get the crap and coke out, probably make seals leak that have been coated with grime. Then change your oil, put in real stuff with a new filter, and you'll have your answer. If your engine is beyond repair, it will probably die there...which is better in your driveway then on the road somewhere. (It's dead already, adding thicker oil is only delaying the inevitable.) However, it may do some good and clean some orifices out and give an older motor a little more life. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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