Engine Oil Additives

[69CamaroAgain]

I have a 1969 Camaro with a 396/325 engine that we believe is all original and has a documented 41,000 miles.  Over the course of this summer it seems to have developed a slight tick.  I had it looked at and one of the lifters is weak or not getting enough oil and is creating the noise.  We pulled the valve cover and it seemed that there wasn't much oil coming up from the pushrods.  I don't believe the engine has ever been apart and judging from the condition from inside the valve cover it very well could be all the original lifters and never cleaned.  The question is, should I add in some sort of additive into the oil to see if it would clean the sludge out a bit?  Could that help the ticking noise? Sorry if these are dumb questions, just trying to learn a bit more about the

[maroman]

Marvel Mystery oil will clean things up and MAY get rid of the tick if it is in deed caused by blockage. BUT it may clean the rings too, which may start it to use oil. I love it, I have used it in may engine including all my OLD cars. It made a high mileage VW my son owned for a while sound like new. It likes hydraulic lifters.

[boomer632]

What kind of oil have you been using in the motor? If it wasn't something with higher zinc content the lifters could be cupping or cam lobe wiping. Could be other things such as bent pushrod as well. Regardless.. I hope its as easy as oil additive but I would guess a valve train component is on its way out.

[Kelley W King]

If it really has only 41k it had to sit up a long time. Drive it and change the oil every 1000 miles or so and maybe a good additive. Unless it got worse than a slight tick, I would hold off on tear downs. New lifters you get today might even tick worse. I bought what I thought was the best lifters when I changed the cam in my 396 325 and they are not silent by any means no matter how I adjusted them.

[69CamaroAgain]

Thanks everybody for the comments and suggestions. I just had the oil changed and I used the Valvoline VR1 10W-30 racing oil which I believe has more zinc.   

When we took the cover off and had the car running you could hear a small tick coming from the number 1 cylinder.  When we tighten the rocker arm it went away but after about 5-10 times the small tick started to come back.  Pretty sure it is related to a lifter and nothing else but I'll keep an eye on it. Actually sounds a bit worse with the valve cover on. 

I really want to avoid tearing it down.  I don't believe the engine has ever been out of the car and really want to avoid that if possible, at least for now. 

I'll look into the Marvel Mystery.  Any other suggestions?

Thanks again!

[bcmiller]

Personally I would take it apart and inspect everything.  But at a minimum keep a VERY close eye (and ear) on it.  50 plus years is a long time to ask an engine to survive.

[rocco376]

Could be a rounded camshaft lobe.  I think it's worth taking it apart.

[GMAD_Van Nuys]

Perhaps the oil passage in the push rod is partially clogged.  Is there a dripper in the valve cover for this cylinder as it helps to direct oil to the rocker arm?

[camaronut]

I don't think any additive will help at this point.  Being that you adjusted the noise away and it came back indicates to me that you have a cam lobe wiping or the associated lifter is cupping out.  I would stop running it until you investigate further.  Your putting metal particles in the oil, and that will lead to a total rebuild.

[David K]

Is there no oil coming up the push rod?
 Is the rocker arm moving fully up and down? 

[169INDY]

Additionally Check your "Locknut" for proper running torque i.e. locking action.