Increased valve tapping

[GOFISH]

My 2000 Wrangler SE with 2.5L 4.0 engine has recently increased rattle/tapping of valves. The engine has 212,000 miles on it and gets serviced regularly. It runs like a champ but the tapping has become more noticeable.

I have asked the mechanics about this and they just say it's normal and just more pronounced as it gets higher mileage. I dunno:dunno:

Any ideas or suggestions????

[Dukes69]

maybe try a thicker oil.

[GOFISH]

ok, that is an idea. Just got it changed yesterday and they went with 5W30It is pretty hot an humid here in VA. so they like to use lighter weight. Is stepping up the heavier weight going to affect performance negatively???

[Dukes69]

It might slow you down a little, but I think performance shouldnt be a concern with an engine that has 212k on it. I'd just try to keep it alive.

[GOFISH]

Hey, wait a minute..... I thought these babies could go forever. Advice taken, I will look into it, what kind would you put in?

[maddmike]

as engines age, the constant motion of the valves can wear down the cylinder head and increase the size of the "hole" in which the valve rides. It can make the engine "chatter" a bit. last year i sold a honda with 195,000 miles on it, which ran like a top but had this same noise, most noticeably at start-up (before the oil was fully circulated). this is totally normal even if you service the engine regularly.

oil weight is broken down into 2 numbers, the "cold" viscosity and "hot" viscosity. The first number is the "cold" and second is "hot". as an example comparing 5W-30 to 10W-30, it means that the 5W-30 will have a lower viscosity when cold than the 10W-30 (meaning it flows more freely when cold), but will get just as thick as 10W-30 when hot.

it's recommended to use a lower cold-weight oil in the winter (like 5W), and a higher cold-weight oil in the summer (like 10W). I used to use this schedule on my cars when I lived in upstate NY.

as for the "hot" weight, as Dukes69 also said, maybe try using a 40 or 50 weight "hot" rated oil instead of 30, since it will get thicker when hot than the 30W stuff, and will do better at filling in the looser part tolerances which have developed after 212,000 miles of driving. i do not believe a thicker oil should affect any performance, or at least anything you would notice in a 4-cyl with 212,000 miles on it.

Hope this makes some basic sense and is at all useful.

just my :2:

[maddmike]

Hey, wait a minute..... I thought these babies could go forever. Advice taken, I will look into it, what kind would you put in?

see my explanation...if your jeep were mine i would use 5W-50 in the winter and 10W-50 in the summer. should make less rattles.

[GOFISH]

Thanks Guys, very intuitive and insightful info. I appreciate you breaking it down for me. I will definitely give this a shot on my next oil change.