Lifter tick/ oil additive question

[Caspuh]

When I bought my car, the guy said he spent a few grand fixing the famous "lifter tick" that I guess is caused by oil starvation. This is the same tick that you get at the track, but more permanent. I have read that it can be caused by blockages in the small oil passages to the lifters.

Now the tick is back, and I was wondering if there was any oil additive that I can put in to maybe clear out the blocked passage, if that is inded the problem. Any advice?

[badmonkey]

Originally posted by Caspuh
When I bought my car, the guy said he spent a few grand fixing the famous "lifter tick" that I guess is caused by oil starvation. This is the same tick that you get at the track, but more permanent. I have read that it can be caused by blockages in the small oil passages to the lifters.

Now the tick is back, and I was wondering if there was any oil additive that I can put in to maybe clear out the blocked passage, if that is inded the problem. Any advice?

An old school trick was too add a little power steering fluid right before an oil change. Not saying I'd do this to my M3 motor, but it worked on my Ford 460 in the pickup.

///badmonkey

[BJO]

go with a thicker oil. i switched to castrol 5w-50 and i don't get ticking until i do several hard auto-x runs.

[Caspuh]

Originally posted by BJO
go with a thicker oil. i switched to castrol 5w-50 and i don't get ticking until i do several hard auto-x runs.

I tried that... I'm running 15/50 now and I still hear the sound. If I overfill it by 1 qt. I still hear the sound, although it is quieter.

[lagvoid]

Are there any adverse effects of running a thicker vicousity?

[Kos-motate139]

Hehehe -- I went from 15-50 M1 to 5-30 M1 and get less tick.

Long and short of it is that each M3 engine is a little different. Some experimentation might be necessary. I figure pretty much whatever the manual recommends is going to work. Plenty of info in the archives about oil info, brands, people's prefs, etc.

[ASCH MAN]

I always thought that overfilling oil is bad on an engine and can blow some seals. Any validity behind this?

[Bobby ///M3]

I use Castrol SynTec 5w50 and add 8 qts at every oil change and I've never had any lifter tick after autocrossing or track event even at 110degs.

If you're depending on a certain oil to stop the lifter tick, you'll have to run it for a while, not just one oil change.

Audioman - Usually, overfilling is bad for an engine if the oil reaches the gears, causing foaming in the oil. The M3 engines (s50 and s52) can safely run with a bit under 9 qts.

-Bobby