Lifters sticking on 3.8
 

My rear main oil seal started leaking at 50,000 miles. I had that fixed (which wasnt cheap), and now the lifters sound like they are making a loud ticking sound on startup. They do this for a couple of seconds and then they are quiet. they only started doing this after the rear main seal was fixed. maybe its just coincidence but it seems kind of odd. The jeep is a 2011 and currently has 52,000 miles. The oil level is right where it should be. I have been checking it regularly since the repair. Is this something I should be concerned about?

Could simply be the oil filter. Some brands have crappy anti drain back valves. I tried different brands and went back to the Mopar brand.

Yup just stick with the factory filter. No problems its even cheaper than most out there

So you think simply changing my oil filter should fix the problem? Ill give it a shot

What oil are you running?

I have been using full synthetic i believe 5W-20 since i bought it 2 years ago. The shop that did the repair did an oil change with a brand that i have never heard of.

I would switch to 5W30 and also go with a different oil filter. You didn't mention the brand of filter you are currently using. My last JK was an 07, and never had any lifter noise or dry starting. I always ran 5W30 Castrol with a Mopar filter and changed the oil every 3k miles.

Other than using only Mopar OEM oil filters, I would also recommend using Valvoline High Mileage Synth-blend 5w-30 (red bottle). Engine has been loving this and have used it for the past 3 oil changes....I'm at 40K miles now.

Just curious as to why you think you need a high mileage blend at barely 40k mileage mark. I Use synthetic every 10k and change the filter every 3k.

I'd like to know too, usually those oils are formulated for engines with alot of deposits and that run extra hot right?

Specifically, Valvoline MaxLife (HM) can be used in new cars as discussed on bobistheoilguy forums....but I really wanted to quiet down the (sewing machine sound) in the motor at idle and clean out any sludge buildup if any while I was at it. Also, I had a slow oil burning issue, that has all but stopped for the past 3,000 miles since my last (3rd) change. I started at 5w-20 weight of this oil (first 2 changes) to now running 5w-30 at last change. Before any of this, I was using dealer oil changes with their yellow bottle Penzoil 5w-20.

At this point, I figured it has flushed out whatever was in there and engine is now purring like new.

sorry I did forget. They used BG oil and a BG oil filter, and it was synthetic blend 5W-20. I just looked at the paperwork from the repair.

You can change the filter without doing a full oil change. You just lose whatever oil is in the filter.

Or go back to the place and ask them to replace the filter because you suspect the anti-drain back valve is not working.

Well i changed the oil filter today. I used a mopar filter and it seems to have taken care of the problem.

Mine would tick on startup when i was using a mopar filter now i use wix filters and have no problems at all.

A few years back there was a thread or ten on which brand filters had bad ADBV issues. For everyone who said Brand X was the problem and Brand Y the solution there was someone who said Brand Y was the problem and Brand Z the solution and another would say Brand Z was the problem and Brand X the solution and so on and so on.

Much like I'll do now:
I went from Mopar filters to an M1 filters (they were free with M1 oil purchase) but the ABDV leaked so I switched back to OEM Mopar filters and never had the problem again. (Even now that I use Fram Ultras)

So it seems to be an occasional problem with many brands. Sometimes the filter just can't handle the horizontal positioning.


If you think the ADBV is bad (it's usually described as a momentary grind sound on a cold start), turn the key to on without starting, let the pre-start systems check cycle finish, then watch for the oil pressure idiot light (red oil can symbol).

If the red oil can flashes for a very brief moment, it's a sign that the ADBV may have let the filter drain.

I used a Mobil 1 filter when my Jeep was new and had the same issue on cold starts. I switched to Motorcraft FL-400A, and never heard it again.

This is a good tip