I have a 01 Camaro with a 3.8 V6. It's got around 79,000 miles on it. Recently when started after sitting overnight I hear a tapping noise which I think sounds like a lifter. After it warms up it slowly goes away.

I took it to arepair shopand they looked at the oil cap and found some moisture.The mechanicasked if I was losing coolant and I did notice that I was a little lowawhile back.The mechanic said that maybe I have a intake leak and water is getting into the oil system.

Does this sound right?

 

Check your dipstick, is the oil milky or have a lighter color to it? How long has it been since you changed the oil? What viscosity oil are your using?

 

The oil does not look "milky".

I checked the level and it's right where it's supposed to be. It wasn't ready for an oil change but I went out this morning and bought 5 quarts ofCastrol 20W50 High Mileage oil anda new Delco filter. Changed the oil in hopes that the noise would go away.

No such luck! I started it up and it imediately started making the noise. I let it idle like that in about 5-7 minutes it went away.

 

i dont think you need a high milage oil,you should invest in some synthic oil,and as long as the noise goes away then i dont see it as a problem i had a old pickup that would just do that in the mouring then it would go away.and also i have heard that the 3.8 v6 some times have a problem with the intake mainfold gasket leaking,or 98 has the problem and it has yet to cuase us any problems,so inless your car is over heating or its letting in a lot of water in to your oil then i wouldnt worry about it,oh and also if you do not drive your car enough to get it to full operating temp, moisture well form in side of the motor,take your car on a long drive and see if the moisture still remains in the oil.

 

oh and is it a lite tick or a loud tick.

 

It's seems to be a med. tick, not light but not a "knock".

I mis-typed the grade of oil that I just put in...it' 5W20. Just went out and started it after it was sitting for a couple of hours now and the "tapping" hasn't come back yet.

As for the warm up period, I drive it 25 miles one way to work at 70+ MPH on an interstate so I'm pretty sure that it gets warmed up. I know that 79,000 might not be "high mileage" but I was told that the "high mileage" oils have some additives that help.

Thanks!

 

Don't worry about buying synthetic oil. In older cars, it's not the best thing to use, unless you have a new rebuilt engine. The best thing you can do for your car is to give it regular oil changes. I change mine every 3000 miles because I drive it hard. No fancy oil, just regular changes. If the ticking is gone, sounds like it needed an oil change.

 

Yeah I haven't been a fan of synthetic oil and I've seen where in some cases you end up with low oil pressure with them. I try to change the oil every 3000 miles but have to admit that I go over once in a while. I'll have to see how it sounds after it sits over night.

Thanks!

 

i dont getwhat ur talking about old cars his car is only 7 years old,and synthic can do things for a car better than just regular oil. we used it in a lot of our cars and only good has happend,shoot they have even gotten better gas milage,but what ever you do, do not go from using syn back to regular oil cause i have seen motors give up there life cuase of losing the additves it has.

 

Unless he's been using synthetic from day one, it's useless to switch to it now. It's a thinner oil. It's great in a brand new tight engine, but it's best to keep using standard oil if it's been the norm for that car since it was new.