Clicking under hood, could be lifter

EXPORTLACKEY

MEMBER
1998 CHEVROLET MALIBU
113,000 MILES

I ran my 1998 Chevy Malibu LS dangerously low on oil the other day. Not to empty, but pretty close. The engine started making a loud clicking noise. I put oil in and filled it up and it still made the noise. I read online that it is probably one of the lifters is now messed up. I changed the oil yesterday and added marvel oil treatment to the oil when I changed it. The guy at advanced auto told me this would help the lifter noise. My question is, will that help quite down my lifter/fix it or am I going to have to get a new engine? Is there anything else I can do to fix this problem without having to get a new engine?

1 Reply

HMAC300

MECHANIC
48,601 POSTS

If you ran oil that low you've already done the damage. Auto parts people only know who to sell parts and not what is required to fix. The marvel stuff may stop the lifter noise but it's best to have the valve cover pulled off and check to see if there is any cam damage. I'd bet there is if not you are very lucky. I can't give you a definite answer without actually seeing this. But have it looked at as soon as you can. You should check our oil weekly to avoid problems like this.