[DeTomaso] NPC-sticky lifter question

[Tom Borcich]

Need some advice....my daughters 05 Kia Sorento has a lifter that's making some noise. Car sat while she was away for
two weeks and it appears that the top end & lifters lost oil from normal drain back. When it started you could hear most 
the lifters had lost their oil, all but one pumped back up immediately. I called a mechanic that we've used for 
years and he suggested adding "Lifter Free" which is an oil additive that supposedly cleans varnish and dissolves gunk that 
might be clogging an oil passage or creating a sticky lifter from pumping back up. The engine runs fine, but you can hear
the lifter tick. The engine has 85,000 miles on it and of course my daughter hasn't been religious about changing oil and 
you can see gunk build up when looking down inside the oil fill hole on the valve cover. It's a DOHC motor.

>From my research many of these so called engine cleaners are kerosene based which might promote
some cleaning, but I'm concerned about something that could breakdown the oils protective properties and damage
a cam or bearing surface. Most of these products are supposed to be used prior to an oil change and run in the engine
for as little as 5 minutes at idle to as much as being driven 1,000 miles. When I went to the local Autozone to check this out 
the manager suggested adding a quart of trans fluid and driving the car. He says trans fluid has detergents and some lubrication
properties and is gentler on the engine. I've hear of this before, but I've never added any additives to the oil....any advise
and personal experience would be appreciated.

 Best Regards, Tom