Hemi tick temporarily goes away after oil change?

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Curt Gobbell

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2014 5.7 w/ 172k miles.
New lifters @ 150k.
MDS turned off

Everytime I change my oil (5w20) and filter, I notice my hemi tick is drastically reduced for 2-3 weeks, then it returns.

I've tried redline, moly additives, rislone etc... all with the same result (helps for a while, then the tick returns)

Anyone else experience the same "temporary relief"?
 

Burla

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The likely reason for this is oil has vii's that when in tact they lubricate incredibly, but as they break up during miles they no longer lubricate at all. There is some possible good news, thanks to the work of hemi395 on the board this type of tick can usually be cured by upping the viscosity. When you ran redline did you run 5w30 or 5/20 or something else? Two types of fix ticks in the mess of causes of hemi tick, the two are ticks that can be help with additives and the other is a viscosity tick where viscosity is the key. "Usually" the worse the tick, the more those ticks need additives, the lesser ticks don't provide enough pressure for those additives to do as well, usually a viscosity change can help. Hemi395's last run in his 5.7 was amsoil 0w40 and he had real good luck keeping his tick away.

I am not a fan of the strategy that I am about to say, but I am less of a fan of doing nothing when the engine is ticking, but an oil thickner might be worth a shot, lucas synthetic oil stabilizer. I would rather you move to a thicker oil, but if you are not going to change the oil soon this is something you can drain a little out and put a quart of that in. The synthetic one has additives as well, so not much dilution, plus isnt as thick as the non synthetic, so if you try this make sure it is the synthetic version. The good news if you try this and it stops the tick even for a while, you will know you have viscosity tick and you can correct that next oil change by running a 0w40 paired with a good filter.

The bad news, most assured this tick is lifter tick.
 
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Curt Gobbell

Curt Gobbell

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Burla, you always have good, informative advice. Many thanks.

I did drain some oil 4 weeks ago and added Lucas stabilizer which drastically reduced the tick for a few weeks.

I'll try the 0w40 strategy and report back.
 
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Burla

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Burla, I forgot to answer your question.

I ran redline 5w30 during my test
Kinda disappointing on that because it is so thick. This may be something where you invest in removing heads and adjusting the lash of the lifters. My guess, you have one really loose on top with the pushrod/rocker arm. Did this happen before you turned off mds?How many miles on truck when this showed up? It sucks because if you cant do it yourself it is a big bite, but it is better then a cam/lifter job.
 

Hemi395

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I don't see reports anymore of Dealers claiming Hemi tick is normal.

You don't suppose they've given up lying to us after 20 years of production?
I mean they still state in the 2022 manual, although somewhat less sternly: "YOU **MUST** RUN 5w20(0W20) IN THE 5.7 WITH MDS OR IT WILL EXPLODE INTO A FIREY HELLISH EXPLOSION THAT WILL DECIMATE THE CONTINENT"
 

Hemi395

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Burla, you always have good, informative advice. Many thanks.

I did drain some oil 4 weeks ago and added Lucas stabilizer which drastically reduced the tick for a few weeks.

I'll try the 0w40 strategy and report back.
Try some 0w40 Amsoil SS or M1 0w40 FS, both are thick 40wts. The Amsoil has a much healthier dose of Moly than the M1 tho so I would try that.
 

HEMIMANN

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Hey @Burla - Amsoil 0W-40 S.S. $12.95 per quart (preferred price = $25 annual membership). With Red Line price skyrocketing, maybe we should switch, seeing as they have good moly now?

Can't recall if it shears much?
 

Burla

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My local napa sells redline so cheap honestly I think they are broken, lol. I just picked up some d6 for the rav 4 11 something per quarts, lol? That plus I have 4 cases in the garage, I think I may pick up another case while this store somehow forget to add inflation to their shelf. But yeah, generally I agree with you, it is at least worth a try for those who havent tried it. However, just because it worked for one guy doesnt mean all of a sudden it will work for all, we still have those guys that tried both and redline was the only tick killer. I would say in most cases not only is it worth a try, but we also now know that if the truck is still ticking adding lubegard might kill that tick as well. So I'm not sure how many of the old amsoil testers had this additional knowledge and move to make just in case. I sure am spinning my wheels with these prices, so yeah more moves should be considered, HP as well, allthough I don't see that any cheaper then redline.

I talked to the owner this last time, he said he has a redline shelf for a "Draw" for customers. He doesnt even get it from redline which is close to this location, but some secondary vendor. Pretty cool stuff because nobody else sells redline here, and this dude has a huge shelf dedicated to it, plus end cap for all redline's gallons. He also does this will other oils like RP, which may not be as impressive, but gives me the idea to ask him about 20-820's next time.
 

Burla

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As far as this case goes, I'm not sure I would bother with lubegard, I would want the thick oil and lubegard visc 7 might detract from what we are looking for here.
 

HEMIMANN

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Wasn't that prior to Amsoil spiking Moly additive? That would be the difference in test results, since that is what Lubegard has done.

I don't see a lot of evidence that Red Line's heavy blend of ester base oil has helped stop ticks.

btw, our metro NAPA doesn't even carry Red Line.
 
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Curt Gobbell

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Update on my findings.

After 1 month of running Havoline 10w40 in my 5.7, the tick is noticeably quieter from day 1 of the oil change to today. Again, I have MDS disabled so I do not need oil pressure/viscosity to manage any valve train.

I'll keep you posted.
 

Nicholas Cove

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Update on my findings.

After 1 month of running Havoline 10w40 in my 5.7, the tick is noticeably quieter from day 1 of the oil change to today. Again, I have MDS disabled so I do not need oil pressure/viscosity to manage any valve train.

I'll keep you posted.
You still have a vvt controlled cam so you do need pressure/viscosity to manage valve train. That doesn't change just because mds is disabled.
 

huntergreen

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Update on my findings.

After 1 month of running Havoline 10w40 in my 5.7, the tick is noticeably quieter from day 1 of the oil change to today. Again, I have MDS disabled so I do not need oil pressure/viscosity to manage any valve train.

I'll keep you posted.
Just curious, which oil filter are you running? Could this be your issue?
 

Wild one

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Nicholas,

Help me understand how the 5 7 hemi has VVT with MDS turned off?
2 totally differant entities VVT or variable valve timing advances and ******* the camshaft in relation to the crankshaft,MDS drops lifters in and out of operation.VVT is controlled by the gear on the end of the camshaft,aka the phazor limiter
 

Wild one

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Got it. Thanks.

So the MDS and VVT are independent of each other and even though I have MDS turned off, I still benefit from the VVT cam elongation?
Yup.Can't say as i've heard VVT referred to as cam elongation,but it works for describing the advance and retard action,i'm gonna have to remember that one :waytogo: :Big Laugh:
 
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