whats wrong with my motor???
06-27-2010, 09:40 AM
#1
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whats wrong with my motor??? ive got a '95 trans am i just bought about 2 months ago with 116K bone stock. every since ive had the car the oil pressure was very close to red line and sometimes would trigger the check guages light at warm idle. but once given rpm i get a solid 30psi or so. well i put a mechanical guage on it and i was getting between 5 and 8 psi at idle. and keep in mind i get 40psi cold start.and i had no engine noise watsoever.
well lets skip to now last week i did a spirited driving one night no problems. next morning i crsnk as normal but now i get a engine rattle/knock at 1500rpm to 3000 or so. at idle the motor is smooth, not a tick or knock. but once i hit 1500rpm whether sitting still or driving the rattling starts. i took the inspection cover off the trans and it was not the converter or the flexplate making the noise.its definitely coming from the oil pan area and the lifters are noisy when revved.
does this sound like the beginning of rod knock? and if so y is is quiet as a mouse until 1500rpm or more?
well lets skip to now last week i did a spirited driving one night no problems. next morning i crsnk as normal but now i get a engine rattle/knock at 1500rpm to 3000 or so. at idle the motor is smooth, not a tick or knock. but once i hit 1500rpm whether sitting still or driving the rattling starts. i took the inspection cover off the trans and it was not the converter or the flexplate making the noise.its definitely coming from the oil pan area and the lifters are noisy when revved.
does this sound like the beginning of rod knock? and if so y is is quiet as a mouse until 1500rpm or more?
06-27-2010, 09:44 AM
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and let me add that the nite i did the spirited driving, i did a red light run with a 6spd lt1 and got my *** handed to me.car was unusually sluggish, way down on power..didnt really have timeto check things out because i did park the car at home about 5 minutes after the run
06-27-2010, 10:09 AM
#3
I think if you pull the pan you're gonna get some fast answers. Here's the good news: This is a perect opportunity to rebuild it a lot faster than it is/ ever was. Dependig on your budget, you can go for a stock bottom end rebuild with H/C/I or step up to a 355 , 383, etc. Sorry to hear you're in this spot so soon after buying it...
06-27-2010, 10:22 AM
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I think if you pull the pan you're gonna get some fast answers. Here's the good news: This is a perect opportunity to rebuild it a lot faster than it is/ ever was. Dependig on your budget, you can go for a stock bottom end rebuild with H/C/I or step up to a 355 , 383, etc. Sorry to hear you're in this spot so soon after buying it...
06-27-2010, 10:26 AM
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and ive started to look around for shortblocks just in case my bottom end is done. i cant find a rebuilt shortblock for less than 2200..why are these lt1's so high to replace. when i had my 5.0 you could easily find a stock replacement for 7 or 800 and a fully forged 347 for 2200. 2200 gets me a cast 355 in this case. or am i looking in all the wrong places?
06-27-2010, 10:38 AM
#6
Just pull the motor, tear it down and take it to a good machine shop. They'll assemble your rotating assembly, install new bearings, make it ready to accept the heads, etc. I stayed with a 350 and just refreshed the short block and added ARP rod bolts. Go as big as you want to go...
Don't look for a mail order short block. Have yours redone locally. That gives you an experienced machinist/engine builder to talk to and go to. Hard to get that via mail order (you get what shows up and you're stuck with it for good or ill).
Don't look for a mail order short block. Have yours redone locally. That gives you an experienced machinist/engine builder to talk to and go to. Hard to get that via mail order (you get what shows up and you're stuck with it for good or ill).
06-27-2010, 10:40 AM
#7
I would say your motor is done. Sounds like some severely clearanced bearings which drop oil pressure, and increase drag, which is why your car feels very sluggish. I'm gonna say it will probably even stall at an idle now. Take off the oil filter and have a look inside. I guarantee you will find metal in there.DO NOT run it anymore! You may want to reuse some parts in that motor such as the lifters. You don't want to take a chance at damaging anything.
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06-27-2010, 11:33 AM
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well so much for having a car to play with for the summer....i guess ill just buy all my bolt ons and get it rebuilt once it cools down.
do you all think a cc503 is a good match for the 3200 vig? or do i need more stall or a bigger cam? im wanting to keep my stock heads but utilize them the best i can in stock form. there wont be any 6500rpm runs for me, not planning on having another bearing prob hopefully
do you all think a cc503 is a good match for the 3200 vig? or do i need more stall or a bigger cam? im wanting to keep my stock heads but utilize them the best i can in stock form. there wont be any 6500rpm runs for me, not planning on having another bearing prob hopefully
