Trying PPHM 5w30 + Lubegard: ‘09 Ram 1500

[pdabhi29]

Sounds good. What possible reasons can explain why my hemi ticks louder on Pennzoil Platinum full syn 5w30? The tick was nearly gone with regular Pennzoil full syn 5w20. Also, do you recommend draining the oil early and filling up with something different if all the oil’s doing is make the truck tick more?

 

[Burla]

Sounds good. What possible reasons can explain why my hemi ticks louder on Pennzoil Platinum full syn 5w30? The tick was nearly gone with regular Pennzoil full syn 5w20. Also, do you recommend draining the oil early and filling up with something different if all the oil’s doing is make the truck tick more?

There could be a couple possibilities, one is new oil cleaned up some oil film, the other is the thin oil gets a better sling on your truck. It is just a more rare result, we tend to see better results against tick with thicker oil, but it's not unheard of. Many of the guys in the north are using 0w30 for this reason, good cold flow characteristics and also better film strength. The science of moly is that it takes time to plate, so I wouldnt get off it, but if you feel confident going back to 5w20 will get it quiet again it might be worth it. Not every case can we put in our neat box, and yours is one of those. My sense is maybe it isnt lifter tick, I would rule out exhaust boilts. If it is lifter tick, with the amount of testing you have already done, maybe it is time for 5w20 redline and a rp 20-820 filter. Or go back and try what you said works for a couple thousand miles, or maybe 0w30 m1 with biotech, dunno. Many of us have been there, find something that works best and roll with that.

 

[pdabhi29]

I will also note, I tried one quart of Marvel Mystery Oil, after seeing its ability to unseize a lifter in a Chevy 5.3L with a gnarly lifter tick, like a tapping sound that speeds up when you give it rpm. In that case, the owner stated he had to add MMO every 1k miles or so when the tick returned. My results with MMO, MDS runs slightly smoother, other than that, no difference in quieting tick. I will change my oil next month and get back with the details. If my testing helps at least one person, I'm happy. Thanks to everyone so far for your input.

 

[pdabhi29]

Update:

7 quarts Valvoline Extended Protection High Mileage full synthetic 5w30, with a new Fram XG2 filter.

Hot idle tick nearly gone, engine purrs even after getting it up to 203F when it usually ticks the most. I think the issue wasn’t viscosity, but the poor qualities of Pennzoil Plat. High Mileage. Barely 50ppm moly based on 2023 VOA, and lower viscosity and less additives than other 5w30s. Look up the VOAs.

This specific Valvoline has nearly 400ppm Moly in itself, without putting lubegard biotech in. Good viscosity of 11.0. I’ll update and see how long till the hot idle tick returns. And yes MDS runs perfect.

This OCI was 2300 miles after the previous one with the Pennzoil Platinum. 134,800 miles and running strong.