uh, we recommend Rotella and hate on Fram all the time.
sorry we didn't clue you in faster.
Had the same issue with my 364. After realizing that fram filters really restrict oil flow and researching engine oils this is what I found. WIX pn 51049 flows way more oil and Rotella 15-40 has more zinc which protect the metal better. Put them both in/on the engine, no more lifter noise. I am going to get some critics about running rotella, but I don't care. Do some research!!
uh, we recommend Rotella and hate on Fram all the time.
sorry we didn't clue you in faster.
The way to crush the bourgeoisie is to grind them between the millstones of taxation and inflation.
Vladimir Lenin
Government schooling is about "the perfect organization of the hive."
H.H. Goddard, Human Efficiency (1920)
I got the new lifters in yesterday, 1/30/2015. The engine sounds great in the garage. it has been raining here for 2 days. (I live in the desert, hmmm) We ran engine more than 25 minutes. {reference 1964 , 425 nail head}
So the car has not been test driven yet.
I want to know the idle speed(s) for the engine : At cold engine start (rpm): ? and at hot engine rpm: ?
Mechanic and I are not confident of the reading I am seeing on the inexpensive oil pressure gauge
so the test drives later this weekend will help tell us a better story.
At a very slow idle with a warm engine in the garage (no road driving) the oil pressure is 5 to 6 psi.
and
at very fast idle (carb screws turn for fast idle) with same temperature of warm engine (no road driving) the oil pressure is 30 psi.
I don't know the respective rpm's of the engine during this pressures but I plan to put my test light on engine this weekend and adjust the idle speed to OEM specifications. that is why I want to know the idles speeds, please.
Thanks a lot,
Ryan Pope
1964 Buick Riviera owner
The talk of NOT using synthetic Rotella scares me! I've used it for years in all my older vehicles. A friend just took apart a Rallye 350 Cutlass, it's not a hi po motor, just a 3504bbl 310 hp. The inside wasn't bad he said, except the cam was badly worn. Makes you wonder... I guess I'll be switching to dino oil, the new Rotella Synthetic is not good anymore for flat lifters
the new Rotella Synthetic is not good anymore for flat lifters
you need to break the cams in with either an older +zinc oil formulation or you can buy ZDDP separately. you also need to apply the break in grease liberally to the cam lobes.
this is a known issue for older engines, these newer oils are formulated for roller lifters and are not nearly so tolerant.
once the cam is broken in and the lobes have some heat cycles on them they should harden up and synth shouldn't be a problem any more.
The way to crush the bourgeoisie is to grind them between the millstones of taxation and inflation.
Vladimir Lenin
Government schooling is about "the perfect organization of the hive."
H.H. Goddard, Human Efficiency (1920)
There's a huge oil analysis at 540RATBlog.wordpress.com Scroll down to get past the endless text. The results will surely surprise you!
I am bumping this back to the top of this forum subsection because this is the exact info I needed! Thanks guys.
Hey Moderators (or really nice Buick guys) can someone summarize this lifter noise discussion and remedies and include it in the Reference section? If it was there I would have found it much quicker. This kind of in depth knowledge needs to be documented well.
Thanks for having this help here for my 401.
Randy
Many years ago my wife's dad gave her his 1960 Buick with a 401 ci engine and it hadn't been started for 17 years. It is a Buick Electra two door hardtop with 50,000 original miles on it. I went through the car and was finally ready to start it up with fresh gas and when it started there was a bad lifter clatter. I couldn't live with it so I put a quart of Marvel Mystery oil in the engine and ran it for a little while. My wife told me the engine always had that noise. I ran it in the garage for a while but really didn't think it would do any good. The next time I went to the garage I planned on pulling the lifters out of the car but started it up one more time. I started it up and the clatter went away and never returned, I was surprised.
My wife's dad was an oil change fanatic but the oils he used were no match for what we have today. What a cheap easy fix this was.
For those unfamiliar with Marvel Mystery oil, it looks like automatic transmission fluid and you can use it for your air tools because of it's high detergent content it will remove varnish from internal engine parts.
…. great news and glad the clatter has gone … however with that said, MMO has been around since I believe the 1930's but used as a gas additive more so, Rislone was and has been the chief additive to oil that the old timers used and I was taught to use as well with every oil change … as it went like this … add 1 quart of Rislone to your oil at change time replacing 1 quart of oil in it's place … what happened to the lifters as they sat in hibernation is that internal varnishing occurred freezing the internal plunger, ball valve and spring … or lodged crap preventing proper infusion and expulsion of oil throughout the lifter(s) in question ….
Thanks in Advance!
David
Born Buick - " I like things just the way they were and drive-em just the way they are "
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