02Z28LS1

iTrader: (2)

so today i was on the way home from work and got on it to get around someone, and when i got to my mailbox to check the mail, i heard a tapping/ticking sound from the engine (didn't hear it before that due to the stereo). the sound increases/decreases with RPM.

it sounds like it's coming from the passenger's side of the car, and after i shut off the engine and restarted it again after it sat for about 10 mins, i noticed a puff of smoke come from the exhaust, but it stopped smoking after a few seconds...just one little puff of smoke, and that's it.

here's a video of the sound:


please tell me that it's on the top end (valves/lifters) and not the bottom end (piston/crank/bearings)....

greenvortec97

iTrader: (1)

I can't watch the video since im in class right now but if it increases with RPM it could be a lifter or a lose rocker arm

02Z28LS1

iTrader: (2)

btw, the engine is completely stock internally, only mods so far are suspension & K&N/air lid...and i just got through changing the oil about 400/500 miles ago...oil was black, but i didn't notice any metal shavings or anything from the filter

greenvortec97

iTrader: (1)

my bet would be a lifter for sure... oil change would have loosened from sludge or someting. wait for other people to chime in though

Armycraft

Def sounds like a lifter to me. my friend just had the same thing happen, passenger side to, he didnt listen to me when i told him to fix it, it ended up sticking, ls7 lifters are cheap, id do that and lifter trays at the minimum

HumanNipple

iTrader: (2)

Just spun a bearing in mine and that doesn't sound like a bearing from the top camera view. Does it make any sound below the engine?

02Z28LS1

iTrader: (2)

i don't think so, it all sounds like it's from the top to me...but i'm no expert, and being deaf in one ear surely doesn't help....

is replacing lifters something that can be done heads-on, or do they have to come off?

Alvin@PCMofNC

It's always hard to tell from a video, but it does sound a bit like a lifter.

Does it get better/worse when it warms up?

Is it misfiring or low on power?

Any accidental over-revs lately?

gagliano7

You need to take the heads off to change the lifters.

02Z28LS1

iTrader: (2)

i just drove it to work (only for lack of any other options for a ride), and as near as i can tell, it stays about the same. once i come to a stop, it does idle a bit rougher than it usually does, there's more vibration in the car. seems about the same power, but then again, i'm not gonna rev it up high right now either, so my engine doesn't explode

no over-revs that i can think of, but it has seen some high revs (~6000 - 6200) here lately

WS6ICK2k

The lifters are underneath the heads, they have to come off hate to break the bad news.

maxpower_454

iTrader: (7)

Call me crazy but mine does that too. I was told it's just typical for a LS1. It kind of comes and goes. Also, I just replaced H/C, lifters, trays, etc and it still does it so it's either bottom end or nothing. I sure hope it's nothing.

02Z28LS1

iTrader: (2)

no, this is much louder than it ever has been, and i've been driving the car since 2004....there's the "normal" valvetrain noise, and then there's this. this only started yesterday after passing someone at high rpm's.

the video just doesn't capture exactly how loud it is. i've got a couple more vids that i shot from inside the car while i'm driving, and i'll upload them once i get home from work.

03Sssnake

iTrader: (20)

its does not sound terrible and/or fatal, could be some lifter clatter, loose rocker, perhaps a slightly bent pushrod, (though those tend to be noisy as hell)...Get a mechanics stethoscope and listen around the valve cover/area. You might be able to pin point the origin. I had that happen on my with 99 a few months back, got after it on the feeder, lots of wheel spin in 2nd to 3rd, tagged the limiter before I knew it..Had a real nasty tick on the way home, was positive I had hurt a lifter or pr, noise pretty much cleared up by the time I got home. Recently did a H/C swap a few weekends back, old lifters were fine and the PRs were straight, though my dual valve springs did eat a valve seal on #7.

tjwashow

iTrader: (2)

for god sakes MAN CHECK YOUR EXHAUST MANFIOLD GASKETS, i got my self worried sick that it was a lifter and i babied it and all this and that. Turns out a burnt up exhaust mani gasket was the culprit. It sounded just like a lifter. Please do your self a favor and check this simple gasket, in fact replace it and see if it goes away. Mine got messed up one day when i was showing off in front of my buddy. It just got really loud like a lifter. I bought a new cam and lifters and did a whole cam swap because i thought it was for sure a lifter. My mechanic gave me back my old gasket and said "could have saved your self a 1,000" lol but it was worth it.

03Sssnake

iTrader: (20)

^^^lol...in my case I was already planning the swap, was tired of dd driving with a T-Rex cam.

tjwashow

iTrader: (2)

yea now i want a 6 speed and bigger cam.

03Sssnake

iTrader: (20)

I went down to a smaller Futral F13 and some milled 243s w/BTR platinums, much better combo than untouched 853s and a T-Rex. Bigger is not always better, that 224 is great cam. Do you have a stall?

02Z28LS1

iTrader: (2)

i know it's not that, i just replaced the exhaust manifold gaskets about 6 months ago...plus if it was an exhaust gasket, the engine wouldn't rock the way it does. i had a cat completely tear away from its mount (still stayed together somewhat because the tube goes far enough into it that it stayed), and it didn't rock or sound like this.

camaroz98

iTrader: (1)

push rods, stock ones are weak and bend i bent 7 all intake side. drove it ticking for way to long and smashed a lifter into the cam and ruined everything
its pretty simple to take the valve covers off, un bolt the rockers and pull out and check for bent push rods. find one of those and then you need to worry about lifters