los bastardos

iTrader: (1)

put about a 60k mile used 2000 LS1 in the car, before I put it in I put in a small cam, new comp springs, moly push rods (7.4") and a set of LS6 heads that had been milled just to true them up.
Engine has been running fine, I didn't touch the oil pump so I think the O-ring is ok, on a cold start it runs about 50psi of oil pressure, when warm it idles about 30-40 (tough to tell on this gauge) and I'm running mobil 1 5w30
I can't locate the tick, it sounds like it's from the front but definitely doesn't sound off to one side or another.
it's louder under load and quieter when you're coasting but still there
it's not any louder or quiter with engine temperature that I can tell (like warm engine/cold engine)
it's probably not a header leak, I torqed those down again tonight.
it's definitely not a loose rocker, I torqued those again tonight too, all tightI don't think it's a lack of oil in the valvetrain, there wasn't a flood of oil in there but each rocker was oiled so I don't think it's a plugged passage or anything
I haven't torqued the spark plugs again in case I had a leak there, they wer pretty tight when I installed them though..
I haven't checked to be 100% sure the rods are the right length but this cam is so small I just kind of figured stock length would be ok, could be wrong I guess.
on the off chance it was just a sticky lifter I put in some seafoam last weekend, it's been about 100 miles and no change, I'll give it about 300 and change the oil
I didn't think until now to pull the rods and check for a bent one I should have done that.

any other ideas before I go crazy? I'm so paranoid it's something in the bottom end

Oscar Will

A rocker arm may have lost a few rollers...that could make a little noise but I'm afraid if it's load sensitive you could be talking piston/rod/bearing noise.

andrew69_04

iTrader: (148)

could be minor piston slap.

Justin00SS

iTrader: (5)

Did you run the engine before upgrading?

I think it may have been a previous problem.

Scoggin Dickey

iTrader: (34)

How loud is the tick? Does it sound like a sewing machine?

los bastardos

iTrader: (1)

nope, bought the dropout and did the work then put it in the car.

los bastardos

iTrader: (1)

I don't know how to answer that, louder than a sewing machine, loud enough I can hear it inside the cabin at highway speed.
I know with noises it's real hard to diagnose on the interweb
it has an LS7 clutch from you guys on it, that's working great

it's hard to locate where the noise is, but sounds like front of the engine, like around the water pump. It's not really fast, which makes me hope it's the top end.

tell you what, I'll try to get a vid of it tonight and see if you can hear the ticking on the video.

was also thinking I should pull the belts off to eliminate noise in the accessories and test run it a few seconds.

DCx

iTrader: (12)

a buddy of mine had a tick on his 2000 ws6. i pulled out all the push rods and checked for broken rocker arms. nothin.

ended up being a whole bunch of spun rod bearings.

los bastardos

iTrader: (1)

a little wishful thinking here but this is a spun rod bearing
http://www.n2s1.net/RacingVideos/havoc_enginesound.wmv
and it doesn't sound like that at all.

it's like a taptaptaptap noise

los bastardos

iTrader: (1)

I think I'll change the timing set and oil pump this weekend just in case.

philntx

iTrader: (8)

Also check for a broken valve spring. Some comp springs have had a "reputation"

los bastardos

iTrader: (1)

they're good, looked last night, these are the replacements with the blue stripe.