1998 Chevy 3.4 Ticking...

[Mosin]

Vehicle - 1998 Chevy Venture - 3.4L V6 - 160k

My friend took her van to a shop to get a tune-up and had spark plugs, wires, oil, oil filter, fuel filter, etc changed and supposedly changed from conventional oil to a full synthetic oil.

Few weeks later, the motor starts making a ticking sound... Like a rocker or something. But a check coolant light came on then went off right away. No check engine light whatsoever.

The ticking is getting worse and worse so the van is now parked.

There isn't any smell or signs of coolant in the oil. Every fluid is topped off.. Motor is not mis-firing either.

Any ideas of what could be going on with this motor? To me it sounds like the motor is being starved of oil. I've ran a couple 3.4's low in oil. (Not purposely)

and thats the sound I keep thinking of when I hear the ticking.

Any help/tips would be appreciated.

[c_stud]

me personally i'd say the lifters would be the problem

did you up the oil weight ex. from 5-40w to 10-30w or vice versa?

[Mosin]

me personally i'd say the lifters would be the problem

did you up the oil weight ex. from 5-40w to 10-30w or vice versa?

Oil was switched from conventional 5W-30 to synthetic 5W-30. It really does sound like a lifter though. What causes a lifter to go bad though?

[c_stud]

i don't know what exactly causes a lifter to tick but i believe it's called "lifter bleed down"

here is a trick i have used for years and it has worked every time.... do this right before you change the oil

get about 1/2 quart of diesel fuel and pour it into your oil,drive around for a few hours or a day or two right before an oil change, make sure u drive in a gear lower then u ussusaly do(if its a 5 speed) to keep the rpm's up to keep your oil pressure up.the heat of your engine plus the diesel fuel breaks all the sludge that are blocking and clogging all your oil ports and the diesel is oil based so its safe on bearings and internal parts and it wont dry it out. then change your oil and all that nasty stuff will come out with it. i also recommend changing your oil filter about half way through your next oil change to catch any debris that is still in there.

there is a product at your autoparts store for like 6 dollars but IMO the desil works better and it only cost about .50 cents...

[speeddemon0308]

also sounds like a lifter noise to me or mabey even a rocker arm has came a little loose.

[blackrosetiger]

It's the rocker arms not the lifers. i had the same problem with my 3.1 which is the older version of the 3.4. Pull the valve covers off and check your rocker arms. One or more is probably loose.

Vehicle - 1998 Chevy Venture - 3.4L V6 - 160k

My friend took her van to a shop to get a tune-up and had spark plugs, wires, oil, oil filter, fuel filter, etc changed and supposedly changed from conventional oil to a full synthetic oil.

Few weeks later, the motor starts making a ticking sound... Like a rocker or something. But a check coolant light came on then went off right away. No check engine light whatsoever.

The ticking is getting worse and worse so the van is now parked.

There isn't any smell or signs of coolant in the oil. Every fluid is topped off.. Motor is not mis-firing either.

Any ideas of what could be going on with this motor? To me it sounds like the motor is being starved of oil. I've ran a couple 3.4's low in oil. (Not purposely)

and thats the sound I keep thinking of when I hear the ticking.

Any help/tips would be appreciated.

[speeddemon0308]

is it more of a tick or a rattle?

im going to have to say a bad lifter since it happend after he changed the oil out for synthetic. changing oil wont just make a rocker arm loosen off..

[phils1996gmc1500]

it is most likely a lifter or a rocker arm. my truck has that tap sound. it because you switched from a conventional oil to a full synthetic oil.

[Mosin]

Here is what I was told off of another Forum:

If your familiar with older v-8's.....

a rod knock in the 3.4's sound just like a lifter tick in an old iron v-8.

Till you get used to the 3.4 that is. can you see down into the valve cover area? Through the oil cap? with the motor running see if oil is pooling, it should, if its being lubed right. Also check your oil pressure with a gauge, not the van's gages, temporarily hook one up and get a real reading at idle with engine warm.

got a test light? the tool that looks like an ice pick with a wire off the end of it.

get one, ground the wire, then with engine running, poke through the end of the spark plug wire boot at the coils/distributor cap, one at a time and listen to your tapping. This will short out and shut-down each cylinder spark. If you have piston slap or a spun rod bearing the tapping will cease when you kill the cylinder its on. If it keeps tapping GOOD! means you got a lifter tap for sure.

There is a very good chance that the new oil cleaned out goop, and the goop got jammed in a lifter. If you have good oil pressure, change the oil again, stay synthetic, substitute 1 quart of oil for a quart of marvel mystery oil. drive the van for 2 months or 1500 miles, which ever comes first, and change the oil again with same mixture till noise goes away.

Or

Yank intake and change lifters.

This seems like the plan of action here right? Any ideas about this info??

[abaddon]

3.1 and 3.4 GM V6 car motors are notorious for lifter knock. I've done this quite a few times to fix the problem.. Start car, let idle for about 5 minutes to warm it up. Poor about a half a quart of transmission fluid in the oil filler cap, then stick a screwdriver in the throttle so it sticks at about 3000-3500 rpms, and then let it sit for about 10-15 minutes like that. When that's done, shut it off, turn it back on. See if knock is still there. Get an oil change after doing this procedure also.