pat-ls101

Ive had it ever since I got my camaro(over a year) and its the only one that does it and, ive owned 3 LS1's. Learned to live with it. It goes away when it warms up. And, is real bad on cold start ups. Havent noticed any problems with power loss or oil consumption. Ive nicknamed her "Slappy"

Share your stories! Good or bad...

RAWPWR3

iTrader: (1)

I dont have piston slap in any of my ls1 powered TA's. I live in south florida though, maybe the colder weather has more of an effect on the severity of the sound.

Lt1Porsche

iTrader: (6)

I barely hear mine at all in the summer but when i use to drive my ta on a daily basis and the weather reached the 20's and 30's, it was really bad but goes away when it warmed up.

johnlv6

iTrader: (3)

No issues here. I've started mine in the 20's - 30's on many occasions and haven't had a problem.

Armageddon

iTrader: (41)

GEN 3 small blocks are all prone to slap. I wouldn't think twice about it unless it was loud as hell.

pat-ls101

During the summer, its still there but, not as bad. Now, the winter its crazy! sounds like a diesel. Its embarrassing, I was at a Taco Bell drive thru and I had just drivin across the street from my work and people walking out were like, "What the hell is wrong with his car?" hahaha I just snickered.....

Ws6kid.

i have piston slap first piston on the driver side
its noticeable but not bad
but it does go away with the engine warming up
i dont feel any power loss
actually i kick some other ls1's butts

Lopoetve

iTrader: (1)

Summer - you hear it just a little till it warms up.

We had it at -15 below the other day and I started it - I seriously thought the engine was about to **** a rod when I tried giving it some gas after 30 seconds. I stopped moving and let it keep warming up - 5 minutes later, quiet as could be.

I was worried at first, but everyone keeps saying it's normal,so...

+badss+

iTrader: (12)

Mine has it also goes away once its warmed up tho..

SS99LS1

iTrader: (21)

my camaro had it but it went away after warm up, my vette doesnt have any noise

O2Form

Mine is very loud cold but goes away completely hot. Most are quiet for a while after you get the engine decarboned at the dealer. My 99 knocked terrible until i had it decarboned then it was completely quiet.

G Engines

My tahoe sounds like its going to spit a piston when it cold out, goes away after about 10-15 seconds it doesn't burn any oil and GM says it's normal try to swallow that being I'm an engine builder.

Breathing Fire

Mine has a little. The colder it is the worse it gets, but not loud by any means. Usually by about 100deg its gone completely. I'm kind of a freak, but I don't drive until its gone.

G Engines

I dont drive mine until its gone as well.

RickClarke23

iTrader: (4)

My car with the stock motor had it bad.........when i first bought it i thought it was about to crap a rod.....after reading about it the next morning i never thought twice about it. Usually takes about 20-30 sec to go away when its real cold

02 BLK WS6

iTrader: (11)

Mine has it bad when cold. Once it's warmed up it goes away.

O2Form

Piston slap doesn't go away in 15-20 second. Piston noise starts about 30 seconds after you start the engine and will usually knock until its just about completely warmed up. Piston noise goes away because the pistons expand as they warm up. Pistons don't warm up in 15-20 seconds.
If you have a noise that disappears after 15-20 seconds it could be wrist pin noise or bearing noise or carbon on the pistons.

Most people don't realize this piston noise is nothing new to gm engines. I can remember brand new vettes back in the 70's that had terrible piston knock. In fact I PERSONALLY pulled a brand new L82 corvette engine apart because of a cold knock that everyone thought was a rod........IT WAS THE PISTONS>

Its completely normal to hear some in a hipo engine, the difference is todays engines are aluminum and it transmits noise differently. Honestly "real" piston noise is a diesel type noise that lasts until the engine warms up for a few mins.

Piston Slap where there is excessive clearance because the piston is not fitted properly is LOUD KNOCKING sound that doesn't go away. It may get quieter as the engine warms but it will still be there if the piston is not fitted properly. That cylinder will also use oil, rings can't seal with a piston rocking back and forth.

So before you post you have "piston slap" do you really have it?

I think what the OP had in mind was do you have normal piston noise, OF COURSE ALL HI performance engines do until they warm up.

Now i did look at a used 02 Camaro back in 03 on a dealers lot that had REAL PISTON SLAP, it knocked TERRIBLE for 10 mins until it was warmed up completely and then it still had some knock. I drove it and without a doubt is was piston noise.The dealer couldn't give it away...not sure what ever happened to it. Was a nice car with about 20k on it. sat there for about a year LOL

greg_74

iTrader: (9)

I'm pretty sure mine is a piston slap on the passenger side. Mine is very inconsistent though. Sometimes I will start it and there will be nothing, even if its cold out and other times its real loud. I guess it just depends on the mood she's in haha.

Mike454SS

iTrader: (4)

Mine sounds really bad on a really cold day, but it goes away within driving 2 blocks down the street (I just barely touch the throttle at first)...on a warmer morning in the summer (figure 65-70 in the morning) I don't notice it at all...but it's wintertime now, and very cold in the morning.

That said, I've never had any problems from it, I've had my car for 90K of it's 177K miles, and it's always sounded the same, never burns ANY oil, compression test showed very good...I'm going to try to look in the cylinders with a borescope this spring and see how the walls look, it's too cold to bother now, but I'm curious so I will when I can.

sweet-94z28

iTrader: (30)

Well, I have a few friends that are co-ops for GM and they all claim that around 1999-2000, GM switched from net piston selection (actually measuring the bore and matching a proper piston to it) to gross piston selection (assuming the piston and the bore are a perfect match) and this is what lead to piston slap. With aluminum blocks, it is more prevalent, but it has been noticed in nearly every engine since.