BanditDave

iTrader: (11)

Hey Guys,

Whew...today was a rough day for GM in my house. To start, or not to start rather (no pun intended), my '68 GTO's ignition switch shyt the bed so no driving that for a few days...

Next, I peak in the back window of my '06 GTO while covering it and the stitching on the top of the back seat split wide open!!!! Couldn't believe it!

And now for the grand finale!!! Two fold finale actually... I finally try to pull my LS1/4l60e swapped '78 TA out of my driveway and take it for a ride and wouldn't ya know it, it won't make it out of the drive because the ground clearance on BRP Hotrods "swap hedders" as well as the shitty LH8 oil pan give NO ground clearance!!! After all the time and effort I spent on the phone with them to get the right stuff...I can't get out of my driveway. Granted I lowered the suspension quite a bit but the pan is literally 2-3 inches below the crossmember...totally unacceptable!

Now that I vented I will get to my actual reason for the post. I am getting a wicked "clanking" noise from the driver's side for the engine and I am thinking it is probably a blown header gasket because while it is an obnoxiously loud noise it only developed over the last week or so. Last week it started up and if you push on the header it went away, but what startled me today was when I tried to back it out of the driveway and was unsuccessful, I was pulling it back down the driveway to the garage (~200 long ride...I have a fairly long driveway) it was making what I thought was a pinging noise?!?!?! This now leads me to believe it isn't a header gasker deal and maybe I need to dig a little further. The engine is a bone stone stock '99 LS1 out of a Camaro with ~90,000 miles on it. I am hoping it isn't valve related but could be lifter or push rod related so I am unsure at this point. The performance from what I can tell from a holeshot down the driveway isn't degrading, but it is noisy as all get out now.

Soooo....what say you community? I will post a vid later tonight.

Thanks in advance...and a '78 TA LS1 swap car will be for sale tomorrow... Just messing...

Dave

98RedBird

iTrader: (77)

So the noise went away when you pushed the header snug up against the head? Check and make sure the bolts are tight... 18ft lbs is the final torque on them.

May want to check the gasket as well.

SOMbitch

iTrader: (8)

Good luck man and stick in there with the 2nd Gen. I have had 2 and still miss them I would love to have an LSx transplant 2nd Gen...best of both worlds.... The 77-78's are by far the hottest T/A's ever IMO.

IWGF

iTrader: (6)

Start with the easiest fix, then go from there.

BanditDave

iTrader: (11)

Well I will post the video I took yesterday but I now believe that it is the lifters making this noise. Reason being that once the car runs for a little bit it quiets completely down. Burp the throttle and it comes right back. I also believe since the lifter jacked that is why when I was driving back up the driveway it sounded like it was pinging. Regardless, I have to yank the motor out anyway to deal with the stupid issues I was having with the oil pan. Since ground clearance is non-existant with the BRP headers, I am going to remove them and use 6.0 Truck manifolds (ceramic coated for pretty factor) and change my exhaust to simple true duals. Yea it won't flow as well, but they will be better than the logs and ground clearance will VASTLY improve. While it is out I am going to install a new cam and lifters and slap on my 5.3 stage 2.5 PRC heads and a ported LS6 pump. Also have a 3000 stall converter so I will have my work cut out for me but will be very happy with the finished results. Also going to put heat in the car while I am at it.

I am not going to go nuts on the cam just a little more lope and tire frying goodness PLUS, with the truck manifolds....well....you all know what else I could do at a later date!

MemphisZ28

iTrader: (1)

good luck my ls bit the dust bone stock at 83k. Started like a lifter noise and got worse, spun bearing. my tranny made it to 88k. these things are peices of @#$% but boy are they fun!!

2slow2flurry-ous

iTrader: (13)

I know just about all gto's have that stitching coming apart at the top of the back seats. Mine did. I got it fixed under warranty and they said it would have cost $600 if it was not covered. Good luck with the rest of your technical difficulties. Hope they are nothing major but you gotta expect OLD cars to give you some problems...