I have a 02 cavalier with 190k. have a ticking in the head when i first start the engine for the day. it goes away after its running for a bit but i just dont like it and im a little bit anal and just dont like the sound. I'm somewhat mechanically inclined and have taken somethings apart and fixed it. so wondering what i can do. i dont want to do a oil flush due to engine sludge seeings how it has 190k on the engine.
If you live in a cold or cool area this is regular. The oil in your motor needs time to heat up and move around inside the motor to lube everything up. It's ok to drive the car during this period, but anything that causes excessive engine stress should be avoided especially. This is because your motors individual parts are machined to fit perfectly together when hot (around 195 F) and while cold the contact areas will wear faster. Think of it like trying to sprint without stretching or warming up first, would probably pull something. Hope this puts your fears / anal retentive-ness to rest.
Personally, I just start my 04 cav about 10 minutes before I want to drive it if it's chilly and it hasn't been driven in the last few hours. By the time I'm ready to leave, the motor is warm, oil is moving, and the drivers seat is warm too
Took the words right out of my mouth
i have a 01 cavalier with the same problem and was wondering if their are any high flow oil pumps that would help cure this problem only have 60,000 on the car and plan on building this engine up a lil bit ... just cant seem to find any thing other then stock or equivalent to stock
green twat waffle
I don't know of one. It's not a problem though, the motor is designed with this whole thing in mind. GM's engineers are pretty good. A high flow oil pump wouldn't stop oil from settling and getting cold when the motor is off, it may even exacerbate the problem by forcing cold oil into portions of the motor not machined with cold oil in mind. Cold oil is way thicker than warm oil, and it could cause clearance issues. This is a waaaaaay extreme scenario, but it is possible.
