The Under the Hood
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Dear Motor Medics, I’ve got a Nissan Titan and it has a ticking noise in the engine. It has had this for about a year and it doesn’t seem to get any louder, but it makes me nervous about taking it on trips far from home.
When I have my engine oil changed, my shop says it’s just lifters and they probably are noisy because I tend to change my engine oil every 10k miles—I know, that’s too long between changes.
I recently put in an additive that cleans the engine oil system and the noise stopped for two weeks then came back. Should I try two cans at the same time?
Carry in Hills, Minnesota
Dear Carry, No! That’s the best way we can answer that last question. Never use an additive in a way not directed by the manufacturer of said product or you risk permanent damage.
Additives have their place and if used as directed sometimes can fix a problem and save you a ton of money, but they are also some of the most abused products out there.
With your extended oil changes, you probably clogged up some oil passages and using the cleaner helped restore them. Most of those cleaners are meant to be installed, then the engine oil changed within a few minutes of running.
If that works then you may be able to repeat every 1k miles for a few months and you may save the engine.
Take care, The Motor Medics
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