2001 Blazer LT 4x4 with 135500 miles. Quick question: why is it that first thing in the morning does one or two of my cylinders tick until the engine completely warms up? It sounds like the back two cylinders. I am thinking that maybe when they changed the oil last they put the wrong grade in. It has been in the mid 20's to 30's here. And it doesn't do it all the time. Just once in and a while. Oil is full and I have great oil pressure.

Once it warms up, no problems at all . . . Something I should worry about or is it just the cold making the oil hard to move around until it heats up (do I really need to put a block warmer in it since I live NJ????).

Thanks for listening. . . .

 

i have the same problem in my 02 i was going to ask if others have this problem and what can be done to remedy it look forward to see what people say

 

don't know if it would be in the cylinder, on my dads f250 it ticks until it warms up, he has a small hole in the intake manifold though and stops once it heats up. don't know if it would be related on a blazer?

 

I had a similar issue in my 2001 blazer that started at around 100k miles. A thorough cleaning of the oil system cleared it right up. There are a few ways of accomplishing this but I will give my own personal recipe. It has served me well for many years and I believe has helped many of my engines along to their 300k plus lives.

Step 1
Drain the oil while still warm and change the oil filter. Make sure to give it a good long while to get as much out as possible.

Step 2
Replace the drain plug and fill the crankcase with the following cleaning cocktail.
1 can seafoam
2 quarts transmission fluid.
(dextron III or better preferred personally but the cheapo genaric stuff works as well if the budget is tight.)
2 quarts of oil of the proper grade (I use mobil 1 personally)
Be sure to check the dipstick and top up to the full mark with oil as this is a 5 quart engine.

Step 3
Start engine and run until warm.
Do NOT drive the vehicle or put it under load. (That includes no revving the engine up high as well)
Turn off engine and allow to cool.

Step 4
With the engine cool but the oil still a bit warm drain the fluid cocktail.
Then replace the drain plug and dump in the last of that partial quart of oil you have laying around the garage.
Wait a couple minutes and then pull the plug again.
Go have lunch or something and let it drip the last of the gunk out until it can't drip any more.
Then replace the drain plug.

Step 5
Replace the oil filter
Fill with the correct grade of oil to the proper level.
Enjoy your now much cleaner oil system.


Just a note.

The oil, tranny fluid, seafoam cocktail is just the cleaning blend that I personally use in all my vehicles. There are many other possible blends that can also be used to clean your oil system.
Please be aware that some cleaning agents can have detrimental effects on some engines more than others. Keep in mind things such as viscosity, proper lubrication, and thermal protection are all important when making a cleaning solution for your oil system no matter how short a time it will be in the engine.

 

INTAKE GASKETS, are more than likley the cause. Time to tear it apart, I am in the process of doing mine right now, pain in the *** of a job. GOOD LUCK.

 

i also have the same problem in the cold 0-35 degres, but i have just replaced the lifters pushrods, rockers and rocker studs along with all new felpro gaskets from the lower intake up when i got the truck in august, i use seafoam once every couple months in the gas and oil but have never heard of tranny fluid. What exactly does the tranny fluid do to stop the ticking?

 

Standard automatic transmission fluid is essentially an oil base augmented with several extras such as ingredients to increase it's lifespan, thermal transfer ect. But for this application it is the inclusion of some very good cleaning agents that do an excellent job of removing engine sludge.
It is also said that some of the additives have a positive effect on some of the engines internal oil seals. Though that part could just be an old mechanics tale.

I can say for certain however that I have seen a tranny fluid and seafoam bath clean out more engine gunk then just seafoam alone. I have also personally seen many a tapping and ticking noise disappear from a number of engines with nothing more then a good oil system cleaning.

You may just be surprised at how much junk your engine tends to collect over the years. Even more so if at some point your engine had been running rich for a while.
And if you have a bunch of gunk in the oil system then there is a good chance that something isn't getting properly lubricated. We all know that means extra ware and tear on the engine which translates to extra costs down the road. As well as those annoying ticking sounds.

A clean engine is a long lived one and I have seen many an engine to the 300k+ mark by keeping that in mind over the years.

 

i can see that to remove engine gunk but, i dont have any engine gunk in the engine i just cleaned it in august and religiously change my oil <2500mi, but next time that i do change my oil i will run a extra quart of tranny fluid righ tbefore i change it.

 

Ryanmatt135, It is not a cure all for every tick and tap in every engine. I can see from the pictures that you don't have any visible engine gunk but I'm certain that is not the case for the OP or for most people.

Most people don't take the time to do that thorough a cleaning of their engines even if they do have them apart. So engine sludge restricting lubrication is often the problem for them.

 

the ticking is a hyd lifter that hasnt pumped up do to deposits in the lifter or just cold thick oil that takes a min to warm up and flow. as to the cold a different weight oil may fix. as for the diposits in the lifter. marvels mystery oil works pretty good. i would run the pint marvels throught it about 200 miles before the next oil change.