DO NOT do a engine flush unless it is a last resort.
If you do you run the risk of dislodging alot of sludge all at once and it will clog your oil pick up and then you will need to remove the oil pan and clean it all out.
Your best bet is to use a high detergent motor oil like a diesel oil or a full synthetic oil.
Either of those will clean your engine slowly over time.
If you do not know the history of the engine then use a diesel oil and change it at 2,000 miles for the first 2 oil changes and then use either the diesel oil or a full synthetic oil.

I use Castrol Tectra 15w-40 and change it every 5,000 miles.
Buy your oil filters at NAPA and get the NAPA brand, they are made by WIX, cost $5 and are one of the top rated filters.
Purolator is one of the other top rated brands and also costs about $5.

I refuse to pay $15 for a oil filter because of the name.

 

didnt get the cold numbers but when warm at idle was 11 and at 2000 was 45. got everything installed and had a defective sender so took it back. the motor was hot when finally finished. i just bought the car two weeks ago. did oil change with 15w30 castrol gtx. replaced plugs and the dealer put new plug wires on it before i bought it because it had a slight miss. i akso replaced the oil pan gasket. dont seem to have any more oil leaks ( no more on the driveway atleast). all of this done before i found out abou the oil pump issue. i currently have 120000 on it and i dont know the history. any help is appreciated..thanks again
john

 

Stop using 5w-30 and use at min a 10w-40, I use 15w-40.
5w-40 in the winter time.
Switch out the 5w-30 and your numbers will be better at hot idle.

 

what about the tick. since im driving it more i notice all the time under 1500 rpms. once i get above 1500 it goes away. is it bad news? do you think it is lifter noise? how difficult is it to rebuild the heads? never tackled that monster before. never worked on internals before. done just about everything else though. thanks again spike.
john

 

any ideas how bad it is? is thye tick repairable? is there any chance im not one of the oil pump victims?

 

First thing I would do is change the oil and put in a 10w-40 or a 15w-40.
If the tick stays then you have to decide what to do next.

 

My friend, do yourself a favor and check the metal gaskets between the exhaust manifolds and the top portion of the mufflers. It's made of metal and has a center divider that if split from age ca. Make a sound similar to an oil starved valve train but sporadic in nature. It was the source of my engine noise. Easy to check (relatively) and cheap to replace.

 

We've all got our favorite de-sludge routines.

I've tried several from what I've read on forums and picked CDR (yellow can) from any auto parts.

It's simply a detergent booster safe for constant use.

My lifter tick has disappeared in the last (3) oil changes.

I agree regarding 15/40 oil (rotella) & increased my pressure about 2# hot, but I have used castrol gtx 10/40 in all my vehicles b/4 my DI.

Keep changing your oil and the lifter tick (if that's what it is) may disappear.



luck,greg

 

thanks guys. ill check those gaskets. i dont think thats what it is though. it sounds like its coming from the heads though.

 

It very well coulb be the valvetrain. The tell tail sign for me and from what others who had the same issues had said was that if the sound is more distinct from inside the truck than while being outside having the hood up, it's most likely those gaskets. Otherwise flush away!