My First Oil Change/Engine Chatter

[Yelbom15]

I purchased my Fiesta at 54,000 and already about to hit 60,000 so the dealership contacted me to get my “free” oil change.

They went ahead and used Quaker State 5W20 synthetic blend. (Any experience?)

Being this is my first change to an unfamiliar oil, I don’t know what’s normal.

Engine chatter is a lot more noticeable than before and I don’t really know what was in it before the change either. Thinner the oil, the louder the engine?

 

[SteveS]

5W-20 synthetic blend is the OEM oil for the Fiesta ST. Motorcraft, of course. I'm surprised a Ford dealership is using Quaker State.

 

[green_henry]

I run 5-30 in mine. Maybe that's what was in there before. I wouldn't be concerned, but you may want to switch to 5-30 the next time you change it.

 

[M-Sport fan]

Yes, especially in a (mostly) warm year round climate, 5W-30 is just fine.

Also, the SAE/API regulations allow much range in the actual measured viscosities of oils labeled as a '5W-20, 5W-30', etc., and even if there was a 5W-20 in the sump previously, the QS semi-synthetic could be substantially thinner, and therefore yes, cause slightly more noise at the tappets.

 

[Yelbom15]

I just checked some paper work and the last oil in it was Motocraft. It is odd that this Ford dealership has their techs using QS like @SteveS said. I’m here in Florida where it’s currently 70 degrees so maybe they’re on to something using this oil in our weather.

 

[Intuit]

(LINK: https://www.fiestastforum.com/threads/new-oil-specifications.31812/)

I'm not one to argue with engineering spec. Rumor has it, the ever lightening oil weights have to do with CAFE (manufacturer fleet's average mileage). But modern engines also have much tighter tolerances. Many engines are now 0W-20 and soon to be even less.

I confess ignorance (or just plain forgot) about the 5W-20 spec and have been using 5W-30.

For a cleaner running engine, prevent carbon build-up, today's direct injection engines are intentionally run hotter.

For that reason I'd be running 30 weight anyway. As mentioned, I'm not one to argue with engineering spec. 20 weight may be perfectly fine. The ears should be able to tell the difference...

Also of interest, we use 4.3qt instead of 4... so barring that there's 0.3qt left over in the engine, you may need to buy that 5qt bottle every now and then. In the days of potentially putting everything on the table to lighten the vehicle, (like removing the spare tire,) you'd think the 4qt standard would changed/deminished as well.

 

[Yelbom15]

@Intuit This is all sparks my interest so I enjoy the explanations and opinions. My ears pick up a lot of noises from the car so I like the know what’s going on and why. Thank you for that link as well.

 

[Intuit]

Oh BTW, if the car has been sitting or post oil change, I always prime the engine before starting by taking advantage of an old feature that is meant to clear a flooded engine to extend the crank time.

This eliminates the brief second(s) of lifter clatter that you get when starting the engine.

* Hold clutch to the floor as normal.
* Begin holding the accelerator to the floor.
* Press the start button to begin cranking.

When holding the accelerator pedal to the floor during crank, the ECU doesn't fire the fuel injectors. With no fuel in the engine, it'll just keep cranking. Release the accelerator pedal and the engine will start.

To prevent stressing the starter motor, limit your crank time; no more than say 8 seconds if cold, 5 seconds if warm and less if the engine is hot. Just give it a break is all I'm saying. You can resume cranking some more if desired/needed to prevent that cold start lifter clatter.

 

[Yelbom15]

@Intuit And to get your opinion again on the link you sent me. You also touched base on the noise of chatter to correlate with “wear & tear”. Do you still feel that way?

A noise is now present and I worry that is exactly what’s going on.

 

[Intuit]

Yes. But this direct injection engine has some other noises that are normal operation. I don't want to make anyone paranoid. All of the manual shift vehicles (including two motorocycles) on an intermittent basis have had some clatter that disappears when pushing in the clutch pedal. Nothing has ever become of that.

Lifter clatter on startup = go lower on the first number
Lifter clatter on hot engine = go higher on the last number

What @M-Sport said about differences between oils (despite the numbers on the bottle) explains my observations. Some oils are down right watery compared to others.

 

[M-Sport fan]

Some have also claimed some (extra) noise from a worn high pressure fuel pump tappet as well (there is only ONE of these in the head), and have pre-emptively replaced that item at only the mileage you currently have on your car (whether it was needed or not in some cases).

 

[akiraproject24]

Did you check the level after it was done? See if its on the low side maybe.

 

[Yelbom15]

@akiraproject24 It looked like the stick was indicating low so I topped off just a little more so it’s closer to full. I may just be over thinking it. Inside the cabin, I hear the noise when it’s dead quiet. I go outside and listen, seems smooth like a sewing machine.

 

[Intuit]

There is a lot of acoustic shielding between the engine bay and passenger compartment. If any of it is removed, shifted out of place, significant noise leakage may occur. I was shocked at how noisy the passenger cabin became after temporarily removing the cowling from beneath the windshield while troubleshooting https://www.fiestastforum.com/threa...l-flash-wiper-stop-resolved.29473/post-496986 .

 

[Dialcaliper]

(LINK: https://www.fiestastforum.com/threads/new-oil-specifications.31812/)

I'm not one to argue with engineering spec. Rumor has it, the ever lightening oil weights have to do with CAFE (manufacturer fleet's average mileage). But modern engines also have much tighter tolerances. Many engines are now 0W-20 and soon to be even less.

I confess ignorance (or just plain forgot) about the 5W-20 spec and have been using 5W-30.

For a cleaner running engine, prevent carbon build-up, today's direct injection engines are intentionally run hotter.

For that reason I'd be running 30 weight anyway. As mentioned, I'm not one to argue with engineering spec. 20 weight may be perfectly fine. The ears should be able to tell the difference...

Also of interest, we use 4.3qt instead of 4... so barring that there's 0.3qt left over in the engine, you may need to buy that 5qt bottle every now and then. In the days of potentially putting everything on the table to lighten the vehicle, (like removing the spare tire,) you'd think the 4qt standard would changed/deminished as well.

Fun fact, normally aspirated Honda engines have been running 0W-16 oil for 5 years or so. Some little fuel efficient Kei cars in Japan started using it before 2000

 

[akiraproject24]

@akiraproject24 It looked like the stick was indicating low so I topped off just a little more so it’s closer to full. I may just be over thinking it. Inside the cabin, I hear the noise when it’s dead quiet. I go outside and listen, seems smooth like a sewing machine.

one time I had mine on ramps did the oil change put 4 in then primed and started (like to top off when level off ramps) and when it started it chattered quite a bit more than normal, kinda freaked me out but never had it happen again. The cars do have a bit of a loud injector tick however. Ive seen multiple people take issue with it on here.