So the '02 max was parked in the garage for over a week without being used. I came back from a trip and started the car. Right away, I heard loud lifter hitting (tappet ??) noise from the engine that almost felt like the engine was starving for oil. I immediately turned the car off and checked and oil level (the car does burn about a quart every 2k miles - a bit less with heavier oil) and oil was only half a quart low. I added half quart and started the car back. But noise lingered on for couple of mins and slowly died down. This has never happened in this car before. Any explanation why this happened? I use best quality 10-40 oil and i always put 80% regular and 20% mobil-1 synthetic just to prevent this kind of problem with initial start-up related engine abuse. Short of not parking the car for extended time, what other ways are there to prevent this from happening again?

 

Maybe it's just the heat shield rattling

 

Happens on my 02 Max, but even more so on my 04 Quest. Basically its oil dripping/seeping/draining back into the pan over the extended period of non use. Remember, tappets are hydraulic and need to be pressurized with oil and that takes time.

Don't worry about it, its been happening in both my engines for years if I leave them for an extended period.

 

Thanks much for this feedback. I appreciate it.