| Subject: | 98 Mitsubishi Galant Engine problems |
| Question: | There is a loud and
constant clatter to my engine and a loss of power. It's running like
there isn't any oil in it. However there are 4 1/2 quarts of 20w/50
castor oil in it. After I changed the oil and filter that evening and
let the car run for say, 5 or 10 minutes - It was running fine. It
sat over night and in the morning I drove it for less than a mile and
it started clattering and there is no power when I press the gas. Can
you help me? |
| Answer: | Steven, If your car wasn't getting oil, it would be able to even run for 5-10 minutes. Unless you live in a desert climate, or in an area that consistantly has temperatures of over 100 degrees, 20W-50 motor oil is much too thick for your engine. The noise you may be hearing before your engine warms up is most likely the oil pump and the lifters. The oil pump is straining to push that heavy oil through your engine. And when oil is too thick, it will have a difficult time passing through your lifters. If your lifters are having a hard time passing oil, they will chatter. Excess chatter can trip your knock sensor in thinking your engine is experiencing combustion knock. Your car's engine would then reduce timing to try to reduce the knock, and when timing gets reduced (retarded as it were), you will have lose in power. If your oil filter is brand new, leave it in there, but drain the
20W-50 oil in your engine and use a thinner weight; such as 10W-30.
You may experience better results and less noise. Try that to see
if it helps. |