Does anyone else's car have excessive lifter noise? The car does it a little at start up and once it's been driven several miles it gets pretty bad. Oil level is fine, about 500 off of being due for a change. The guy I bought the car from said it's done it since he had it but when I asked about what oil he uses, he said Castrol 10w-40. My understanding is these cars should run 5w20 or 20w-50 to really quieten them down. any thoughts?
Lifter noise at start up is one thing, but having it get worse after driving doesn't sound good at all. At start up, the oil has drained back to the pan and it takes a few seconds for the oil pump to circulate it..at which time they should quiet down. If it's getting worse after being driven, that sounds to me like oil starvation in the valve train.
Mine does it some at startup. Mostly after the oil has gone past 3k miles. I use synthetic Mobil 1. You might try that. Also if you are just 500 from a change I would go ahead and do it, especially since you just bought it. I would also consider synthetic. 10w-40 is too thick for these cars, unless there is excessive usage or leaking. I use 10w-30 and have thought about using 5w-30. To be specific, I use 10w-30 High Mileage Mobil 1. I would buy 5w-30 High Mileage if they made it in that weight, but they don't. Also, you might consider the filter. A bad drainback valve can cause lifter noise. Use Mazda filters, Mobil 1 or equivalent with the drainback valve. Once, I changed my oil and there was very little oil in the filter. The valve had given up. That was a Mazda filter that had the bad valve, so they even have bad valves sometimes. Hope this helps...
after doing a little research over at miata.net, it seems the NA's were well known for lifter noise. I've read Marvel Mystery Oil soaks, Gunk Engine Flush and a method they call 2TWISTYS engine flush which involves 3 qts ATF and 1 qt of 50w, idling for an hour, draining and optionally flushing with 1 gallon of kerosene to completely remove the ATF. The theory behind all of the flushes is to loosen and gunk in the engine and valvetrain. Most report little or no noise afterwards. I'm still researching any harmful effects that have been encountered. A lot of the guys that have done it report the same exact symptoms.
I thought the oil pump strainer might be clogged with gunk but my pressure it good from start up and through out the normal range of driving.
here's one of the main threads i found that wasn't on miata.net, it's about 7 pages long and it's convinced me to try this.
http://forums.dfwmx5.com/showthread.php?t=12481&page=1
Well, that is convincing alright. If mine ever gets worse maybe I'll give this a try. I would also be interested in knowing folks that have tried this if they have noticed any long term side-effects.
i'll let you know in the coming days how much luck i have with it. i really want to do it before the event sunday.
When you test drove it before you bought was it doing it? Like others have said the noise should go away after a short time not get loudier. I change the oil put in 2gts of 10w40 & 2gts of atf an drive it get the water temp up & see if that helps. If it helps drain it & put in new oil. Also do the oil filter both times. Im not a fan of flushing engines or synthetic oils its not worth the cost if you change oil ever 3000 miles is what I have read. Synthetic oil ok if you going to run it 5000 miles or more between oil changes alot of stop & go driving & setting idling for a long time like a police car etc..
yeah it did it some when i drove it, the previous owner said it's done it since he's owned it and that it was due for an oil change (the oil looked pretty clean). From what I gather this is pretty common on the cars with hydraulic lifters.
I don't think I would do the 2TWISTYS yet. I would just change the oil and filter and see if it helps. Mine gets loud before a change and I can tell a difference with fresh oil and filter. Again, use a good filter. I would save the more drastic measures after I know the car a little better and if just the oil/filter change doesn't work.
The twisty flush has caught my eye before too. People say it could be risky though cause you're cleaning out 100,000+ miles of gunk, especially if maintenance wasn't always spot on, and that can cause leaks. My ticking is only noticeable after a hard run and then a quick cool down (like in autocrossing). Someone on Miata net has a signature that says HLA ticking is like a stupid kid. You can make it be quiet for a while but you can't fix stupid.
Next time I change my timing belt, I'm going to go ahead and remove the camshafts and manually clean the HLA's out. There's an EXCELLENT write up for that somewhere.
is this the article you speak of?
http://www.miata.net/garage/hla/cleaning.html
Sure is. Glad you found it, I didn't have time earlier. I would do it now if taking off everything wasn't such a pain.
Doing a oil change with a good quality oil and OEM filter should quiet the lifters.
The tapping is normal when the oil is old and ready to be replaced. My engine taps when she sits to long for about the first 30 to 45 seconds. I figure it's her way of reminding me to stay out of boost until shes warmed up a little.
If you don't want to use the OEM filter, the NAPA Gold (made by Wix) is a good choice. That's what I use and I don't have any HLA noise at all. I use them in my MGB and Subaru as well...
well i got it all changed and before I had tapping at start up and after 20 minutes of normal driving. Now I have just a little at start up and after 6 HARD runs at the autocross, no noise!
You looked like you had fun out there, glad you got it straightened out in time to thrash the course. :) Will you go to the Arkansas or Mississippi events?
I didn't get a chance to introduce myself but I'm Billy and I have the other red Miata that was out there.
we'll just call you Billy with the red miata that looks good! lol
I might try and make the little rock event but i'll either spectate or shag cones.
