More Engine Noises!

[Schultzy]

Hey guys i'm a bit worried!

When turning the car on after its completely cold, there is a hell of a racket coming from the engine! Oil is Royal purple and is the right level.

It sounds like a clunky/rattle/strange noise but i cant tell exactly where its coming from......

Went to Mazda and asked and the guy said it could be oil build up and when it gets warm it loosens. He also said if its bad it can lead to an engine rebuild!

I dont have the money for this so if anyone has any ideas please help me!

[sirbob]

Oil is royal purple?

Im not sure what oil your using, but generally i thought if oil is black, then oil is stuffed. Clean oil should be nearly impossible to see on the dipstick and be a clear yellow colour.

Maybe an oil change?

Otherwise, i would have a look at your engine mounts and see if they are stuffed, or could just be your hydraulic valve lifters being noisy on startup, which is a common problem.

But start with a good flush of your engine oil and replace it with something decent like Penrite or Castrol.

[Russellb]

What Model????
The NA's have a HLA noise problem when cold
there is a temp fix on the big Forum http://www.miata.net/garage/tsb/tip_1_0595.html

[Schultzy]

Yes it is the NA. If it is the lifters, is there a fix? The car is coming up to its 100k service soon too but i did only change the oil a month or two ago and it is a bit black. Is there a reason why it would have gone black so quick?

[Russellb]

Change the oil for Penrite SIN 10 this stop the cold start HLA noise on my car
Also you before doing the oil change go to AutoPro ect and get some LIFTER FREE

[Schultzy]

Heya guys did the oil change about an hour ago and went for a drive. That Penrite Sin 10 stuff is good! Much smoother

Only one problem though. When i poured the old oil back into a container, there were a few very small pieces of metal in the botom of the bucket. What does this mean? Is something stuffed?

Thanks
Schultzy

[Russellb]

Metal How big were the pieces???
A small amount is OK but if it is big bits then I'D Say You have a bigend bearing gone

to check this warm up the engine and then give short burst of full throttle
( quick snap open then closed ) if there is a rattleing noise from the Engine there is a chance that you have a bigend gone
The SIN 10 is a great Oil run nothing But in my car

[Schultzy]

the pieces are only very fine like grains of sand. will do the throttle thing tomorrow when i get a chance.

Thanks
Schultzy

[Benny]

With the earlier models, a ticking noise from the lifters when cold usually indicates that it's time to change the oil.
This may occur at 5,000k's, 10,000 k's, it all depends on your car and your driving style.

As soon as you hear this ticking noise on start-up, then you know it's time for fresh oil.