My Maruader sat idle for 1.5 years. Now, engine "tap" is gone?

[studio460]

You guys know that Marauder "engine tap" that so many of us had? Well mine, oddly, disappeared! I had it sitting in my driveway for over a year. I'd start it only once every few months. So, last week, I finally get some new tires and wheels (the reason it was idle—first one, then, all four tires went flat, and I just couldn't decide on the wheels). The first thing I do then is, I go to do an oil flush and a fresh fill of Mobil 1 5W-20 (which it always got filled with). Now . . . no tapping. Wonder why?

[Bradley G]

Calm, before the storm?

[studio460]

Calm, before the storm?
Boy, I certainly hope not!

Any other opinions on this? Previously, my "tap" (aka, "ticking") was fairly pronounced. When in a fast-food, drive-thru lane, for example, I would hear a loud, "TICK-TICK-TICK," since the close-proximity of the drive-thru structure would reflect much of the engine sound back into the passenger cabin.

When I set her up with the new wheels and tires last week, EZ-Lube filled the engine with three pints of oil flush, WITH the OLD oil still in the crankcase (long story). After a 15-minute idle, they drained the oil pan of about 95% of the remaining "old" oil. It took forever because they informed me that my drain plug was stripped, and they were afraid to back the whole thing out.

We mutually decided to skip the "real" oil flush (with new oil and new filter), and simply filled the engine with the "final" fill of 6 quarts of Mobil 1 5W-20 in the engine. When they checked the dipstick, it read "spot-on." Ever since then . . . no "ticking." Could the remaning oil flush in the system be adding extra "insulation" and thereby attenuating the ticking?

[Paul]

I am by no means an expert, but I would think the mechanical issue is still there. I don't know how it is being masked, but something related to the oil flush or old oil is probably providing the extra cushion. Perhaps oil thickens from sitting, so viscosity is higher? Just enough left from the 5% not replaced, to make the difference? Or perhaps the flush chemical is doing it by providing extra lubrication in some fashion?

I say the above because I thought for a while that seafoaming my engine (in the fuel, crankcase, and through the intake manifold vacuum line - all at same time) was curing my tick/tap, but at the end of the day, after changing the oil and running the gas tank clear of seafoam, the tick/tap came back. The seafoam was just masking the true problem. Ultimately, the performance shop opened up the timing cover and found and replaced the mechanical cause - in my case it was a worn timing wheel due to improper torqueing of the crankshaft bolt.

[Bradley G]

I was kidding Shooter, my car did this ticking noise when it was new til about 5-7 K miles then it went away.
Then again so did that motor(went away) @ 34800 mi..
Keep driving the snots out of her.