I've been getting this knocking noise off and on. I live in northeastern PA where its kinda cold. I've been reading and people say that it could just be the oil being to thin so upgrade to a thicker oil for the colder times. I just want to know will that fix the problem entirely or just fix it temporary? I just hope its not a valve or piston. Is this common in the R/T?

 

I have an '02 R/T. My car makes strange noises in the cold also. Sort of like a rattling. It made me nervous at first. I think it is common with this car. I would try that doesn't hurt. I also notice my power steering acts up in cold temps also.

 

I'm not so sure about going to thicker oil for cold weather. I actually have gone a step thinner, and it eliminated my lifter tick during the cold times, that was caused by the thick oil not being able to be pumped well until the engine warmed up. If it's actually knocking, you should get that checked out. If it's a light ticking from the top end, thinner oil will flow easier in the cold weather.

 

Exactly. Common issue with the 2.4 and 3.0 Mitsu motors is lash adjuster tick. Switching to synthetic helped my tick a lot. You can pop the lash adjuster out, stick a paper clip in them to drain the oil, clean them real good and reinstall and you will be good for a while.