I just replied to a thread in regards to an owner experiencing an engine knock. My assumption is that when the vehicle is cold, the engine noise is lifters not getting supplied with sufficient oil due to engine viscocity and brand choice of oil.
Now, I am hoping someone can back me up on this. I have tried many of engine oil brands and experienced that with some brands, under normal operating temperature, there would be no engine knock, but as soon as the vehicle sits for a long period of time and you start it up, there is the beautiful sound of your engine talking to you, and not in a good way. I have this problem right now with switching over to CASTROL.
I am curious as to what brands the 3.0 and 3.3 caravan owners out there choose for these types of engines and what experiences have you had with certain brands. I know it sounds stupid that by choosing a certain brand can cause a knock in the engine, but with my experience, I can honestly say that brands do make a difference as well as the viscocity you choose for your motor.
My prefference is Valvoline 10w30 or FORMULA 1 5w30. I have even tried the higher milage stuff with good experiences but my motor hates CASTROL and i can say it does make sense now that i have tried multiple brands with different results.
mrbizness1
03-04-2007, 11:21 PM
I have always used mobil 5w30 in all my cars. I usually get it at Walmart but they have been running out of it so last time I got Exxon 5w30, its the same company. I always look for the API certification star on the package. Some of the most popular brands don't have the API star depending on the oils viscosity. Castrol may be good oil but I think it is overpriced.
I just put Castrol Synthetic in my van today.
I don't know if I will like it or not.
I normally prefer regular Amsoil, but they don't make normal Amsoil in 5W-20 and I am not running the XL 7500 stuff or the 0W-20 regular stuff in it.
I haven't found my normal alternate which is Valvoline Synthetic in 5W-20 yet.
My van has free oil changes every 3750 mi, so I will provide the oil as I want Synthetic in it (they provide dino oil) if I am going to run such thin oil in it.
I changed it today at 1220 mi. I wanted the initial fill out of it before 3750 mi.
o2man98
03-05-2007, 08:39 PM
I just put Castrol Synthetic in my van today.
I don't know if I will like it or not.
I normally prefer regular Amsoil, but they don't make normal Amsoil in 5W-20 and I am not running the XL 7500 stuff or the 0W-20 regular stuff in it.
I haven't found my normal alternate which is Valvoline Synthetic in 5W-20 yet.
My van has free oil changes every 3750 mi, so I will provide the oil as I want Synthetic in it (they provide dino oil) if I am going to run such thin oil in it.
I changed it today at 1220 mi. I wanted the initial fill out of it before 3750 mi.
The new AMSOIL 0w-20 is going to be a top performing Xw-20. Do not be afraid of it because it says 0w. This oil is a very viscous 20wt. This 0w-20 is thicker than many 5w-20 oils including Valvoline 5w-20.
http://www.modernoils.com/asm_0w20.html
This will be a good one in hard works like Hemi's pulling and hauling major loads.
RickMN
03-05-2007, 08:55 PM
Cold engine knock can also be a piston slap issue. Pistons are designed to be slightly oval when cold. As they heat up and expand, they become more circular. Some makes and models have had problems with engine noise when cold and have isolated it to piston slap.
As for lifter noise: I assume your point was that you suspect Castrol takes longer to build pressure and thus you're getting lifter noise. But lifters usually make noise when cold if they're excessively leaking down after engine shutdown (they all leak down a bit). If you're having trouble with Castrol, it might be because it's a bit thinner when cold and is leaking down more than other oils.
gsmagnum
03-05-2007, 10:12 PM
The new AMSOIL 0w-20 is going to be a top performing Xw-20. Do not be afraid of it because it says 0w. This oil is a very viscous 20wt. This 0w-20 is thicker than many 5w-20 oils including Valvoline 5w-20.
http://www.modernoils.com/asm_0w20.html
This will be a good one in hard works like Hemi's pulling and hauling major loads.
I don't have any doubts that the 0W-20 is good oil.
If I was doing all my own oil changes, I might eventually consider it, but in my case the dealer is doing it and I really don't want to fight with them whether it is 5W or 0W.
If Amsoil does a normal Amsoil 5W-20, I will buy a case or two. Until they do, I will stick with other brands.
I used Amsoil exclusively the entire time I had my last van and the majority of the changes on the van before that. I trust thier products.
I am running Castrol as a trial which is what I have done with Mobil 1 (crappy oil IMHO), various types of Valvoline, and Amsoil.
I fully recommend Amsoil's non-XL 5W-30 if that is what the book calls for.
kickinkz
03-22-2007, 09:03 AM
5W-30 Valvoline Max life. I used havoline in the past, but the lifters/tappets were making noise and I went to the max life and after a few oil changes with the Valvoline it has pretty much cleared up....the dealer said it was probably due to sludge buildup...
Later
Phil
fishcarr2001
03-30-2007, 09:41 PM
I just switched from castrol syntech to amsoil xl 5w-20. I did notice a small drop in the operating temp. The van has just over 6,000 miles on it.06 GC SXT,3.8 Ltr What puzzels me is why dodge says they don't consider a motor using a quart every 1,000 miles as excessive oil consumption.
62savoywagon
03-30-2007, 09:51 PM
I have always used castrol 10w30 since 1990. I was told to used the same brand of oil. Switching brands of oil are not good for the engine! I have always changed it at 3000 miles
gsmagnum
03-31-2007, 02:05 AM
I have about 1500 mi on mine since it's oil change and it hasn't used a drop.
I bought the Valvoline Synthetic for it when it gets the oil changed in another 1000 or so mi.
webbee
03-31-2007, 11:06 PM
You might put Penzoil Platinum Synthetic onto your try out list. It's testing with good numbers on the UOA's over at Bob Is The Oil Guy. (http://theoildrop.server101.com/forums/ubbthreads.php) A group 3 synthetic, it doesn't seem to be setting off the piston slap/noisy valves sensitive engines like some of the synthetic oils do. You can sometimes catch a sale with rebate from the auto box stores to sweeten the deal.
mfahey
04-01-2007, 09:38 AM
We have well over 200,000 miles on our beater 1988 Caravan 3.0L and all it has ever seen is either Pennzoil or Quaker State. Even after pumping virtually every last drop of oil out of it due to a cheesy Fram filter, it still doesn't burn any oil between changes.
