Engine, WTF

[Sillyasianz]

well i had some issues with my valve cover...long story short, its now junk. So I went to the local junk yard, picked one up for 50.00 and got a new gasket for it. I also went and did an oil change. went to super autobacs and was gonna get 5w30 or 10w30 amsoil, but a guy there suggested 15w40 cause I told him my car has 120,000 miles and i hear the lifters ticking (but only when I start the car some times). So I did the oil change. Now here is where im confused. The Oil is suggested for turbo diesel and high power gasoline cars. It does NOT have a SAE Gasoline use approved logo on it, but I still went ahead and used it. The guy said that didnt matter, i just needed thicker oil. But now I have to completely wait for the car to warm up, taking longer than before and when DRIVING I swear I hear the lifters even more, or atleast some ticking from my engine bay. I see no oil leaks around valve cover, even used some light on the rear side to check. No leaks on the floor either. Is this noise due to the oil, air leaks on the valve? Im kinda annoyed about this and plan to just do another damn oil change w/ the oil i usually use, 10w30 mobile1 synthetic. Such a headache. Thoughts?

[manybrews]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Sillyasianz)</div><div class='quotemain'> It does NOT have a SAE Gasoline use approved logo on it, but I still went ahead and used it. The guy said that didnt matter, i just needed thicker oil. </div>
the guy is a TOTAL moron.
first, 5w30 is all you should be using.
second, using an oil without the SAE/API mark on it is not a good idea.

[jusmills]

I would think a higher weight oil would cause more problems. Originally isn't lifter tick because the oiling holes get clogged with debris/thickened oil, causing a restriction in flow. Using a thicker oil would compound this problem. Personally I wouldn't listen to someone like that...maybe it works with older motors but I doubt that it would continue to hold true with newer engines...but that's hindsight now...

You might be able to "cut" the oil, by using a thinner oil (or maybe even one of those engine cleaners--most say some sort of petroleum distillates on it). Or you could go back to using your regular oil and just do 2 or 3 more frequent oil changes (<3000 miles) to flush it out normally. The reason being waiting too long will cause the higher weight oil to continue to build weight as its used.

[DryBear]

Yeah, I've heard stories about Autobacs - nice selection, but most of the employees are regular Joes that probably know jack about cars.

I'd switch back to 5W30 ASAP.

[Sillyasianz]

well, spent another 25 or so bucks to fix the problem. Its all good now. Using 10w30 Mobile1, i still wanna try amsoil 10w30 next time. Thank GOD I'm stocked up on OEM filters. MY dealership sends me a coupon everyother month on specials, one is $3.99 oil filters (max 5), so i always milk that. its usually 9.99. hahaha. What a headache. I even kno the guy that told me this, gonna call him tomm and bitch at him...IDIOT.