The Castrol Gtx 20W50 and marvel Mystery Oil Experiment.

[Guest oregonloyale]

Alright, after lots of feedback Im giving the MMO shot a try.

Tonight 8/8/03 I changed the oil from 10W30 castrol in my 92 EA82 Loyale with 96k and a bad valve tick to Castrol GTX 20W50 and two 16oz bottles of MMO.

At initial startup it ticked for like 2 seconds and then vanished , I was stunned! Then after 2 miles of driving it came back intermittently . I have since put 10 miles on the MMO experiment and it hasnt changed. Stay tuned as I will update this thread every day for 1 week on its progress.

May the sube be with me .

[Guest SubieSTORMTROOPER]

never heard of MMO, but I tried just a small 8 or 12oz. bottle of generic Engine dtergent "for noisy lifters" and it worked like a charm, about twenty seconds of idling...

[Guest Meeky Moose]

286k on the ole ticker - 10w40 or 20w50 or mix, and 8 oz. MMO. A clean engine is a healthy, long lived one.

[Guest Skip]

Jason,

The amount of MMO is a little high, but should do the trick for the first run. One 16 oz bottle is the norm.

This fix has never failed as far as I know. MM's turbowagon's PO swore by it. As do I

Sometimes it takes 100 mi or so to have long lasting effects but I am glad to see you had almost immediate results.

3000 mi change 20/50 GTX + 8~16 oz MMO is the mix I use.

Lot easier than ripping lifters out

[Guest Dennis]

from my experiences, the oil pump is the key

 

if you really want to rid your car of the noisy lifters, get a new oil pump from autozone or pepboys for $80 and be done with it-some people say to reseal the pump, i would just replace it out right...

[Guest UltimateRX]

Marvel Mystery Oil (MMO) has been around as long as I can remember (and that is a long time ago). My dad introduced me to it back in the late 50's. When I finally got a car of my own in the mid 60's, I used it occasionally. Whenever I was prepping an engine for storage I would pour MMO into the spark plug hole and turn the engine over by hand a few times. Years later that engine would still turn by hand. I agree with Skip that you have too high of a ratio of MMO to oil, but I still don't think that it is a bad thing, it should be fine till the next oil change. I'll bet that the next time you do change the oil, it will be blacker then normal, and you engine will be cleaner internally then normal.

[Guest archemitis]

i think the oil pump has nothing to do with it, because i got 75lbs of oil pressure, and a clacky motor

[Guest jon61484]

I used 4 quarts Castrol GTX High Mileage 20w50 with one half a quart (16 oz total) of MMO, twice. Each time, it was the best oil I think I've run in the car.

[Guest oregonloyale]

8/9/03

Car started up great 2 seconds of noisy lifter then gone .

Drove it across town, about 7 miles , and noise came back intermittent.

Car sat for 1 hour while I did my errands and drove it back home .

No noise till I got about 6 miles.

drove all over town , driving the wife and kid shopping and clicked all damn day!

I noticed that the colder the engine the better the oil pressure.

I also noticed that when the engine is cold the noisy lifter is quieter.

At this point in the experiment we have around 25 miles and no real change good change in noise , yet?

well see what happens tomorrow.

Im actually thinking I may have used to much MMO and thus caused the oil to thin out to much ?

[Guest syphon]

I seem to be an exception here....

 

1985 GL Wagon, 209K, ticks like mad.

 

When I bought the car, I put 3 quarts of 20W50 in, along with a quart of Rislone Lifter Detergent.

 

I left that in for a week (a week of commuting to work, 25 miles each way).

 

After that week, I changed the oil again, 3 quarts of 20W50, 1 quart of MMO.

 

Car still ticks like mad.

 

For some reason, the car will randomly stop ticking for a short while. I have no idea why. Doesn't seem to relate to ambient temp, engine temp, oil pressure, or anything else I can think of. It still ticks 9 times out of 10 I start it up.

 

Also, my oil pressure is excellent. It's always well up there.

[Guest edrach]

We keep rehashing this topic. There is no one reason for noisy lifters. The oil pump and the seals certainly can contribute to this; crud in the engine can contribute to this; an intermittant check valve can contribute to this. Even with a new oil pump, gasket, and seals and lots of oil pressure, you can have noisy lifters--see reasons two and three above. Also, re-read the previous thread:

<a href="http://pub110.ezboard.com/fultimatesubarumessageboardsgeneralsubarudiscussion.showMessage?topicID=22878.topic" target="top">pub110.ezboard.com/fultimatesubarumessageboardsgeneralsubarudiscussion.showMessage?topicID=22878.topic</a>. I do have photos on how to get at the check valve spring in question, but I haven't the means to post them. If anyone wants to see them, email me and I'll send them out.

[Guest chef tim]

Oil pressure will stay good, but the mickey mouse gasket under the oil pump gets distorted and alows air in to the oil causing the tick. I love MMO, saved my red 'Ru. Tim

[Guest Tom63050]

Ditto on the Micky Mouse gasket. My 86 wagon w/200K had ticking due to the cavitation (air bubbles) caused by a worn MM gasket. Replaced it and the ticking went away just like that.

[Guest Hondasucks]

Don't forget teh pressure relief valves in the heads, as well as the little O ring between the cam tower and the head, I've heard those cause noisy lifters. Also, people don't change their oil often enough (Oil and filter every 3,000) and crud builds up in the lifters and plugs teh oil channels, so they don't "pump up" correctly, causing clatter.

[Guest OH Noah]

Ditto Ditto on the MickeyMouse gasket.

[Guest syphon]

Is this Mickey Mouse Gasket difficult to get to? Is it the one that's way easier to do with the engine pulled, or is it possible to do it without pulling the motor?

[Guest uhohru]

So when you goto 20W-50 from 10W-30.... the MMO thins it out?

 

Would 20W-50 be too heavy for use if you DIDNT add MMO?

[Guest Tom63050]

You pull the oil pump. The motor stays in the car.

 

20W50 is fine, especially in hot weather. Slows down oil leaks too. The MMO does thin it out a bit, and cleans out the crud. Better to start with thicker-than-necessary oil when using the MMO.

 

If you're going in that deep, might as well do all the seals (camshaft and crankshaft), pull the radiator and do hoses, and the o-ring that seals the metal tube between the upper radiator hose and the water pump. (A little grease gets that seal on easily).

 

Consider leaving off the outer timing belt covers, especially the center one, to simplify future jobs.

[Guest Subazoo]

I drain a can of PB (penetrant) into a can, pour it in with the oil and Marvel. I had clatter at start up forever, did this once (and ran the car at 90 mph down Rt. 89 for 20 minutes) and hadn;t heard noise in 20,000 miles.

 

Now its back, right at oil change time, and I'll mix this "Roo Cocktail" up for the last time for EsmerRoolda....then go to 20W50 GTX...

[Guest uhohru]

ummm 20,000 miles per oil change ?

 

I get that right?

[Guest thesubarukid]

Wouldnt 20w50 be too heavy for my car? at least in the winter? Up here we get into the teens pretty constantly and even on occasion down to the single digits during the winter.

 

Summer time is a different story, though. We get up into the 100's in july and an average of 95 or so in august.

 

So, it's just about time to change my oil, and it probably wont need changing again until about late january. What should i use?

 

20w50 is too think for winter, but just right for now if I'm reading correctly...?

 

Thanks in advance,

[Guest ShawnW]

20W50 would be bad in the winter yes.

 

It would also be bad for a lot of short trip driving where you aren't going to get the car to full temp. You need lighter oil for that too.

I don't see much mention of 15W30 here but its very popular among Diesel vehicle owners and you have some good quality choices with this weight. Shell and Mobil make some great oils in this weight.

 

I run 10W30 in all of my Subaru's almost year round without any problems. If it has been really cold out for a little bit around the time I change my oil I go with 5W30. I live in the midwest in one of the most diverse temperature climates in the country in my opinion. In the winter we see some of the coldest weather and in the summer we get our share too.

[Guest snotrocket23]

15w-40 wouldn't be a bad choice for the turbo cars, either. The majority of diesel trucks have turbo, and that oil does fine for them. Run it in my s-10 year-round.

[Guest oregonloyale]

8/12/03

sob still tickin like a clock , still intermitent!

Ordered the check valve spring today and should be in by friday.

Gonna change it this weekend thanx to edrach's knowledge.

Found oil pump , new, for $63 from import car parts.

Not gonna do the seals and pump till after the check valve attempt.

Thing is arent the oil pumps mechanical, and if so shouldnt they be difficult to go bad?

I know my 70 vw bug is mechanical and I have NEVER had problems with it .

[Guest Subazoo]

I do the mix of MMO, PB, and 30W ONCE and run her hot.

 

Then I change the oil every 3K after that, a little MMO with 20W50 good stuff...

 

Interstingly, Theodore ROOsevelt must have heard all this discussion and got some clatter, so i ran her right up to 85-90 for the ride to WRJ and the clatter stopped.