Hey All,

I just bought a 99 with a 4.7. It has the notorious top end rattle. It is very very faint at idle, but quite noticeable when revving, especially right after letting off from a high rev. It is either due for an oil change, or the previous owner didn't reset the "perform service" message. Even though the oil looks pretty good, I think I want to change it and put something a little heavier to help with the rattle, so I was just wondering what the general consensus is in what to run for oil in these motors.

Thanks,

Eric

 

Whatever the manufacturer recommends. Lifter tick is common in these engines.

 

I run 5W-30 Valvoline Maxlife High mileage in this Dakota. Only thing I get is the brief clatter at start up. After the oil flows, it's pretty quiet.

Thicker oil will probably make the problem worse by taking longer to flow at startup, when you most need it. I'm afraid your engine might have been run low on oil a time too many. Might also want to check your oil pressure, just in case it's low.

 

the 4.7 was not available in the durango until 2000 MY, so im assuming that is the year of the rig, and owners manual recommends 5w30 as the preferred oil, with 10w30 was an acceptable substitute above a certain temperature (i think its 0F).

does the 'rattle' go away after the car warms up?

 

I run 5W-30 (high milage now) in my 4.7. It's always had some lifter tick which mellows out after warm up.

 

I made the switch to synthetic in my 03 durango. I run valvoline full synthetic 10w 30 and don't get any lifter noise anymore.