My car (o3 z) had a lift tick since i changed the oil (m1 5w 30 HM) it got a little louder I know LSx engine are know to have noisy valve train it just bugged me i'm planing a heads and cam swap over the winter and planed on installing new lifters but came across a few guys that said put a quart of AFT in the engine oil WTF? so i started to google it here and there seen a lot of post that say it helps so after kicking it around for a week I said screw it I checked my oil it was just about 1 quart short and I have ATF on hand so added about a little less then a quart to the engine oil

well i started the car and got the usual sewing machine start up noise and as the engine idled I thought I was going nuts since it seamed like it was getting quieter I called my son over to hear the engine didnt tell him any thing I just asked does it sound different? he listened and said yeah that tick it a lot quieter then asked what did I do? then he rev's it a little and said the car feels more stable at idle and it has better throttle response the exhaust sounds a touch deeper too

I let the car idle for about 30 minutes then drove it for about 10 miles it did really get quieter now I just hear the injectors ticking total amazed, I started it today again I was amazed as the cold start it 70% quieter then before I'm going to put 50 - 60 miles and have the oil changed every thing I read said drive it for 300 to 500 miles then change the oil not sure I feel good driving it that much though plus when I installed new valve cover gaskets heads are very clean so thinking this engine dont need that much especially since it already working

not saying any one should do this and IF you do i'm not responsible I just thought since I was going to swap them what the hell, I also have a built ls2 sitting on an engine stand for a project that got sold

yeah I know go easy on me!

 

ATF has a lot of detergents in it but it's also close to a 5 or 10wt oil. Should only idle with it as it will make your 5w30 closer to a 25 or less. Good to hear it fixed you up, that's an age old trick to clean gunk out of hydraulic lifters.

If you run a diesel oil you won't have the issue again as diesel oil has more detergents than your typical gas oil like mobil 1 for example.

 

I've done this trick with my 4.0 Jeep and 98 Accord. Really cleaned the gunk/sludge out of both high mileage motors. For safe measure I ran some junk oil just clean all the ATF out afterwards.

Glad it fixed your issue!

 

ATF works just like Marvels. It will clean out any sludge for sure.

 

well i got about 350 mile with the ATF (changing oil today) very impressed cold start and even after a 30 mile run the valve train is MUCH quieter really done even hear any more, cant wait to see what comes out in the oil

 

Whoops thought I was starting new thread.
Moved by me

 

OK fully report!

finished the oil change (moble1 5w30) engine is much quieter, idle is better to it wasn't bad but now its just smoother can hear it in the exhaust to more stable , MPG is up too 1.5 per gallon and oil pressure is up a few psi, like I said i only drove for 350 miles with a little less then 1 quart of AFT but it did help

oil really didnt look bad it was on the dark side but clean? no lumps or dirt that I could see? it had just shy of 3k on it