Ran into a problem a few months back - the lifters collapsed and began the "Death Rattle That Sounds Like a Diesel Truck." Searched and found a cure - frequent oil changes and Marvel Mystery Oil, which seemed to work.
But it came back, even worse. Change oil again. More MMO.
It came back again. Change, and more MMO.
What is the problem, I thought, I'm not getting the crud out of my oil, and it keeps coming back . . .
So I left it to slow cook in the back of my mind, until -
Ah, doofus, the coolant recovery does not need to consume two gallons of antifreeze over 6 weeks, does it? Where'd it go? That and a coupla other things, like 1) a/f mixing with oil creates sludge that clogs up tiny Jeep lifters 2) Water Wetter helps things like oil and water mix better because it breaks the surface tension of water, and it hides in the oil, duh.
I had a really slow head gasket leak.
Glass Sealed the coolant system and tried again, straight water. Result? No more Diesel Rattle, no coolant loss over the last 900 miles.
Much better. Very counter intuitive - but if you have lifter problems that are just not getting cured with an oil change and MMO, consider it. It's a lot easier to drop six of those little brown pills in the radiator and eliminate the problem. From what I hear, it's what the factory does to every vehicle before it rolls off the line. After 180k, it's good insurance.
FWIW.
But it came back, even worse. Change oil again. More MMO.
It came back again. Change, and more MMO.
What is the problem, I thought, I'm not getting the crud out of my oil, and it keeps coming back . . .
So I left it to slow cook in the back of my mind, until -
Ah, doofus, the coolant recovery does not need to consume two gallons of antifreeze over 6 weeks, does it? Where'd it go? That and a coupla other things, like 1) a/f mixing with oil creates sludge that clogs up tiny Jeep lifters 2) Water Wetter helps things like oil and water mix better because it breaks the surface tension of water, and it hides in the oil, duh.
I had a really slow head gasket leak.
Glass Sealed the coolant system and tried again, straight water. Result? No more Diesel Rattle, no coolant loss over the last 900 miles.
Much better. Very counter intuitive - but if you have lifter problems that are just not getting cured with an oil change and MMO, consider it. It's a lot easier to drop six of those little brown pills in the radiator and eliminate the problem. From what I hear, it's what the factory does to every vehicle before it rolls off the line. After 180k, it's good insurance.
FWIW.