1958 Cadillac making chirping noise

[fleajr]

My 1958 Cadillac Fleetwood Sixty Special. I changed the oil and installed Rotella 15-40w and 1 quart of Lucas oil stabilizer. After driving for 5 minutes or so a chirping noise is coming from the engine /carb. area? When I accelerate the noise gets louder and more often. When I turn the ignition key on the gen. and oil lights come on as usual, then go off monce the engine is runnuing. Since this year Cadillac did not come with a dash oil gage I am wondering if my oil pump is working correctly or the lines are blocked up somewhere. I did notice a light ticking noise when the engine is idling, but this maybe nothing. What could this noise be, besides the obviuos chiping noise that belts can make? My car has a canister oil filter located on top of engine. It has a thin copper tube coming out of the very bottom of the canister and another one about 1 inch from the top . Does the oil first enter the upper tube and into the filter or from the bottom tube and out of the upper? The level of oil in the filter canister is about 1 inch below the upper hole/pipe area. Is this normal or should the canister be totally full all of oil the time with the upper pipe hole submerst? I appreciate any help. Al ( Cleveland, Ohio)

[5219]

The oil goes in the upper hole and drains back into the pan from the lower hole. The oil that comes in to the filter has already fed the cam and lifters and is under pressure.

When the car is not running, the oil level in the canister can be no higher than the hole in the center post. Your finding that the level is about one inch down from the top is normal. It is higher when the car is running.

With the car running, you should be able to feel the filter and the lines heat up as the oil heats up. Naturally, the incoming line should heat up first. If you feel the filter heat up, you can be assured that you at least have oil circulating.

I wish I could help you out with your noise, but this should be of some help.

Good luck

[mrspeedyt]

not so sure of your noise... but i've had good luck with the lucas oil stabilizer in my '62 cad. the engine is completly worn out, to the point of having the 'death rattle' of the main bearings if the engine has no 'lucas' added to the oil. i drove the car a lot... perhaps 10,000 miles or more after letting it sit for years. putting in about 3 pints of 'lucas' allowed me to enjoy the cad until the front u joint started to destroy itself after 45 years. some day i need to drop in the replacement engine thats been in storage...

[Guest Silverghost]

On your oil filter canister.

I believe ~

The thin small line is the pressure IN line.

The larger diameter line is the filter's return OUT drain line .

That is usually the top line.

Don't know about the "chirp sound"

[Guest Jim_Edwards]

My 1958 Cadillac Fleetwood Sixty Special. I changed the oil and installed Rotella 15-40w and 1 quart of Lucas oil stabilizer. After driving for 5 minutes or so a chirping noise is coming from the engine /carb. area? When I accelerate the noise gets louder and more often. When I turn the ignition key on the gen. and oil lights come on as usual, then go off monce the engine is runnuing. Since this year Cadillac did not come with a dash oil gage I am wondering if my oil pump is working correctly or the lines are blocked up somewhere. I did notice a light ticking noise when the engine is idling, but this maybe nothing. What could this noise be, besides the obviuos chiping noise that belts can make? My car has a canister oil filter located on top of engine. It has a thin copper tube coming out of the very bottom of the canister and another one about 1 inch from the top . Does the oil first enter the upper tube and into the filter or from the bottom tube and out of the upper? The level of oil in the filter canister is about 1 inch below the upper hole/pipe area. Is this normal or should the canister be totally full all of oil the time with the upper pipe hole submerst? I appreciate any help. Al ( Cleveland, Ohio)

If your car has A/C you might want listen closely to the compressor clutch. A6 compressor clutches often make a chirping sound just before they go out. If you are certain the chirp is nearer the top of the engine it might well be a fuel pump arm issue.

The slight ticking noise is more than likely a lifter failing to fully pump up or as is common with all rocker tube engines there may be a rocker out of adjustment. Worse case scenario would be a slightly bent push rod or weak valve spring, neither of which can be gotten passed with a rocker adjustment or an engine flush.

A lot of folks are going to challenge this statement, but here goes anyway. Rotella 15-40 oil is not well suited for your 365. Best to stick with a good quality HD-30 detergent oil and change it and the filter every couple of thousand miles or at least twice a year regardless of mileage.

[PONTIAC1953]

hi, a ticking noise most likely is a lifter that not pumping up all the way, and the chirping noise could be a dry rocker arm, it just might be that the ticking lifter and the chirping rocker arm are for the same engine valve, and the cause would be the oil passage that feeds that is plugged with sludge or something. i would get a stetascope with the long metal probe, run the engine, and locate where the noise can be heard the loudest. charles coker, 1953 pontiac tech advisor.

[Richard Lichtfel]

Because of the enviromental issues the new motor oils are lacking the additives that protected the older engines. I was told by an oil engineer that for our older engines we should use heavy duty diesel engine oil, this has all the additives that regular motor oil had a few years ago. This should not be used with a catalitic converter.

[W_Higgins]

Because of the enviromental issues the new motor oils are lacking the additives that protected the older engines. I was told by an oil engineer that for our older engines we should use heavy duty diesel engine oil, this has all the additives that regular motor oil had a few years ago. This should not be used with a catalitic converter.

That was true until they started putting catalytic converters on 18-wheelers. There is no guarantee diesel rated oil has a high ZDDP content anymore.

The ZDDP problem is more a flat tappet break-in issue, anyway. I think Mr. Coker hit the nail on the head with his diagnosis, and I agree with Mr. Edwards that synthetics are overrated for our applications. Any name brand 30wt is fine for our cars. My mothers Suburban, purchased from new, finally conked out just shy of a mere 300,000 miles, all on 10w30 Pennzoil and had never so much as had the heads off or pan removed.

[Guest Jim_Edwards]

That was true until they started putting catalytic converters on 18-wheelers. There is no guarantee diesel rated oil has a high ZDDP content anymore.

The ZDDP problem is more a flat tappet break-in issue, anyway. I think Mr. Coker hit the nail on the head with his diagnosis, and I agree with Mr. Edwards that synthetics are overrated for our applications. Any name brand 30wt is fine for our cars. My mothers Suburban, purchased from new, finally conked out just shy of a mere 300,000 miles, all on 10w30 Pennzoil and had never so much as had the heads off or pan removed.

The big problem with any lubricant intended primarily for diesel engine lubrication is all good ones, such as Rotella T, Delo, and Delvac are Paraffinic lubricants, which is great for diesel engines not so great for old fashioned push rod engines with all their small orifices that just love to get plugged up from paraffin/varnish build up over time. Paraffinic lubricants are generally superior to Napthenic lubricants for a variety of reasons, just not necessarily superior for our old push rod engines.