Question
Hi, I own a 1992 Plymouth Laser. I hadn't changed the oil in 7000 miles, and by the time I realized this, the oil level was down below the bottom of the dipstick; however, the Oil Warning Light had come on only twice; each time I had been cornering sharply. This prompted me to change the oil. Afterwards I started to hear clicking, near the top of the engine, near the lifters. The pace of the clicking increases along with the RPMs of the engine. It might go away now and then, but it returns about 5 seconds later, at a low volume which increases slowly but surely. This car usually doesn't burn oil too badly, and I'm sure it wasn't that low for very long. Or at least, that's my hope. <grin> I took it to a mechanic and he said the lifters were making the noise, and he fiddled with some fuel and idle settings, but he didn't actually open up the engine and look at the lifters. He told me the lack of oil had caused the lifters to gum up, which results in them being noisy. However, he insisted they were functionly normally, albeit loudly, and no damage was occurring. He said I should change the oil in 1500 miles, and then every 3000, and the clicking would eventually go away. What I want to know is, is this guy off his rocker? The clicking is still there, and it's hard for me to believe this isn't causing damage. There's plenty of oil in the engine now; why doesn't the oil lube the lifters well enough to prevent the clicking? Would an oil additive designed to clean gummy lifters help? Thanks, Doug
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