4Driver4

When I got the Miata, it had the loudest lifters I have ever heard. Marc S helped me transport the car, and even after 2 hours of highway driving the engine was so loud that we were basically shouting at each other across the hood. Apparently, this is common with the older Miatas; newer lifters have larger oil orifices, and newer Miatas have solid lifters.

After lurking on the Miata boards for a week or two, I decided to try what they call a 2Twisty Flush, named after a forum member:

First get the car hot and drain the oil.
Install a new filter and 3 quarts ATF, one quart 50w oil
Run the car AT IDLE for 2 hours.
Drain the oil, remove the filter, and pour a gallon of kero or diesel through the engine.
Replace filter and drain plug and fill with synth 10/30

Sounds crazy, but it worked. The last lifter stopped tapping at the 1 hour 20 minute mark. I skipped the kero flush (not a good idea IMHO) and put in the new oil. The engine is quiet.

Some of the other solutions were using a commerical engine flush, but that was a little too scary for me. A couple guys reported that their aged timing belts snapped right after doing this flush (non-interference). They did not make the connection between the belt and the flush, but I would bet that once you flush all the oil out, cam resistance increases. I bought a can of flush, but didn't have the ballz to dump it in.

I thought the ATF was a good compromise. It is a lubricant, a thin one, but a lubricant, and it's loaded with detergents. The 50w is enough to keep the engine happy. The main thing is to avoid putting a load on the motor during this.

Not saying you should should try this or even that it will work, but the results on the Miata were amazing.

Bill the Cat

- drive 50 miles - and change oil again. MUCH safer!

I have heard of a variation - add a quart of ATF - drive 500 miles or so - & change the oil.

DO NOT USE TYPE F!!!! Less of a lubricant!

Disclaimer - this proceedure is only recomended on someone ELSE'S ricer or Detroilet issue. No loss.

Captain Sensible

Here's unorthodox solution for noisy lifters. A few years ago I got a 4000 Quattro really cheap ($650). It drove perfect but, unfortunately, it had ZERO oil pressure and the lifters were the noisiest I'd ever heard. I drove it home with the oil pressure light on, the buzzer buzzing, and the lifters sounding like the world's loudest sewing machine. After two treatments of engine flush there was no change. Someone suggested changing the pressure senders - I had driven it over 40 miles with the light on so it had to have at least some pressure. New senders, no change. I pulled both senders out of the block and fired it up expecting to end up with oil all over the place - not a drop. I pulled the oil pan to find at least an inch and a half of black sludge in the bottom and the pickup was completely clogged. I cleaned everything out and, before putting it back together, pulled a rod bearing cap. My race car partner (with whom I've built quite a few engines) took one look and said "It's fine. Put it back in." I put the pan back on, put in fresh oil, and "Voila!" - oil pressure. But the lifters were still just as noisy. My parts guy (who's a former Audi tech) offered a solution he said was actually in a service bulletin (although I doubt it). I followed his instructions:

I added one 12 oz can of Classic Coke (not diet, not Pepsi, etc.) to the crankcase.
I started the engine and let it idle for 30 minutes (the lifters were noisy the whole time).
I drained the oil (it looked like a vanilla milkshake).
I changed the filter and added fresh oil.

When I started the engine, the lifters were still just as noisy - I thought "So much for free advice and cheap fixes!"

Less than a minute later - It was as quiet as a Honda. Maybe it was a combination of the carbonation and the citric acid.

Now I'm not about to try this on my A4 or my wife's Miata (or recommend it for someone's S4/6) but, on a $650 beater, I didn't have much to lose. That motor went another 70,000mi before I finally had to replace the cylinder head because the aluminum cam bearing surfaces were so worn that it wouldn't maintain oil pressure. At about that same time, I found out that the previous owner had actually driven the car for a couple of hundred miles with no oil pressure before I got it.

NotCrapple

placebo effect :-P