Engine Tapping

[Otto]

Hi Guys, I bought my VX about 3 years ago with 56,000 miles. First thing I did was change all the fluids; Trans,Transfer case, Rear end, & oil to syn. Everything ran fine except when I give it gas from standing still or just to go faster, I would hear a load tapping coming from the bottom of the engine. I would imediately let off the gas because I was afriad of blowing the engine.I tryed gunk engine flush, seafoam engine treatment to clean the engine but the noise was still there. I would also lose a half quart to a fill quart of oil depending on how fast I would drive every 1000 miles.At about 80,000 miles I replaced the valve cover gaskets, small leak, and noticed a large amount of sludge in the engine and was very worryed about my engine condition.About a month ago at 84,000 miles I did a power engine flush at a local lube place. It took about 20 minutes they replaced the oil with 4 qts of 5W 30 and 1 qt of luca heavy duty oil stabilizer. The results were the bottom end noise is completely gone, know matter how fast I drive or hit the gas, no noise, and 1500 miles later and no oil lost noticed. Depending where you go the service cost anyware from $89.00 -$120.00 dollars. I payed $115.00 and glad I did. If anyone would like to read about what the power flush actually does, go to www.motorlife.com. I am very impressed with the results so far.

[Tobert]

Just curious, did you ever consider valve spacing as the source of the tapping? I know mine taps differently depending on what kind of oil I'm running because they need to be adjusted.

[Otto]

I am not an expert with engines just basic mechanics, But it really sounds like a new engine. My oil use to get dirty looking between 500 miles to 1000 miles and now at 1500 mile later still looks clean.