[Mike 76]

I just bought a 1990 wrangler. 4 cylinder, 5 speed.
It only has 119,000 miles on it but it does have what
I was told to be lifter noise. I've had a mechanic tell me
that I can change the oil and replace a quart of oil with a quart
of ATF fluid. He claims he done that to his Chevy and the
the lifter noise quite. Any truth to that??

 

[jokerchief462]

Yes and no. If it is reduced oiling to the valve train by build of "sludge" YES definitely. If it is normal wear of the valve train components not likely. However your mechanic is steering you to the best/easiest solution at no cost other than a quicker oil change. So YES change the oil substitute one quart for the ATF and short change the oil at 500-1000 miles. If it clears it up he is a hero if not it is the classic ticking associated with wear and the mighty 2.5. Mine is a fresh overhaul they are considerably quieter than before. Give it a try all it costs is an oil change.

 

[Tyler92yj]

lucas upper cylinder lube the the hole quart they have synthetic and regular i ran a quart and a half and hardley any noise

 

[firemandad07]

So if you have high mileage and want to clean out the engine of some sludge..you can run this atf/oil and short change it?

 

[Chris Larabell]

I've noticed to that if you leave out thickeners like lucas, and run a thinner oil like 5w30 it tends to run a little quieter. The thinner the oil, the faster it gets to the top end.

 

[ryanmalzac1]

Have heard alot about seafoam fixing this lifter issue, have never had the problem personally but I just read a post the other day about using it for that exact problem... search the forum and you can find it

 

[USMC 0369]

Have heard alot about seafoam fixing this lifter issue, have never had the problem personally but I just read a post the other day about using it for that exact problem... search the forum and you can find it

LOLz, I was just about to post the exact same thing. Here is the thread.

 

[Alamo_Jake]

Take this for what it's worth as well, I have an '88 wrangler with the 4.2L 6cyl. Drained a quart of oil and replaced with Lucas heavy duty oil stablizer:

Lucas Heavy Duty Oil Stabilizer : Lucas Oil

Engine runs noticeably quieter, is smoother and idle, and revs easier. From here on out I intend on replacing a quart of oil with the Lucas every time I give it an oil/filter change.

 

[95YamJam]

Lucas stabilizer is great stuff. I have been running high mileage oil on mine and it seems to help a lot with the noise. I have kind of just resigned myself to the fact that I like the fact that my motor sounds like it's coming apart at the seams yet it still keeps going. Just rolled 185k the other day.

 

[Alamo_Jake]

I plan on rebuilding the motor myself(and maybe even converting to fuel injection if I can afford the kit). I'll keep an eye on it now that I'm running Lucas oil stablizer, if I feel like it's buying me some time out of the old 4.2L I'll keep using it.

Trying to keep things on topic...OP, try running some Lucas and see if that helps the noise coming from a lifter.