natronathon

how do i tell if my car has piston slap? Also, if it does, is this a serious problem, how can it be fixed?

5POINT7

What does it sound like when you fire it up? Is it loud? Like a jarring sound? It happens when you first start the car and goes on for like 10 sec.

Not a serious problem, just adds unnecessary wear to your motor, but then again so does driving it.

Btw, I've never heard of 98's having major piston slap issues.

2002 Trans Am

Sounds like a diesel engine in my opinion

02WS6Bird

iTrader: (2)

FILE

iTrader: (5)

http://www.pistonslap.com/

luvmeZ28

iTrader: (3)

arent you a little old, forumwise, to be asking this question?



no its not serious, and its a ticking noise that is usually very noticeable on startup, but most cars it goes away after warmup.

what, nathon, you gonna ask a lid question next?

just messin with ya man

BlueSix

I've never seen a '98 that slapped. It will sound like a diesel if you have slap.

Full-Force

iTrader: (11)

wow, alot of good info on that piston slap site

SgtB

iTrader: (3)

This is the first place Ive ever heard of pistonslap. I always have known it as engine knock. I see that it is teh same thing, I just never heard this terminology before.

Anyway, if my engine was knocking I would stopd driving it and rebuild it. Once it starts it will never go away. It comes from your rod ends having too much tolerance and it vibrates back and forth..therefore causing and engine knock.

sumdumbum

So a rebuild should get rid of piston slap? How much would a rebuild cost (to OEM specs and also if you had it bored and other things put if - assuming you supplied the parts)? The reason I ask is I may be looking for a LS1 in a few months, just curious on what I should look out for.

B-MAN

You can't say OEM specs and suggest a different bore?

You need know exactly what you want to do in order to estimate a price

What pistons
What connecting rods
What size bore
What stroke length
what cam

All these things make a difference

sumdumbum

Sorry if I was a bit unclear - I meant what would be the standard price for a rebuild to OEM specs and then what would be a standard price if you had it built with say a 408 stroke/bore package (crank, pistons, rods), cam (you supplied), etc (if you bought the parts separate, just paid for the install / bore of everything onto the block). Hopefully that's clearer.

edit: oh yeah, but would a rebuild get rid of slap?

natronathon

well, luvmez28

I was merely curious. I agree that I am gettin on in years in this forum, still have some aging post-wise to catch with some of ya, but i never really resolved this issue in my brain, and now that its cold out, and my engine is a bit more noisy when starting, i just was wondering. I can safely say, i am piston slap free.

Thanks for the info gentlemen, and dont worry luvmez28, i know ur messin around. but two things you should know:
1. ive got a whisper lid
2. its Nathan! not Nathon (AHHHHHH!!!!)

And i guess it just comes down to the fact that, im still a newb at heart

NOT!

SgtB

iTrader: (3)

Yes, a rebuild will get rid of the knocking sound(sounds like someone knocking from under the hood). Price...well that all depends....you should bore the engine to freshen up the cylinders...therefore you will need oversized pistons and rings. You will need to bore the crank and that also means oversized races on the connecting rods. Since you already have the motor apart you might as well have the heads reworked. It's not cheap...the machine work will cost you a few hundred dollars..but make sure that you go to someone that is reputable for that. Then for the internal components...it all depends on what brand you are buying....choosing the brand depends on what application you will be using the engine for...street..street/strip..or all out strip....

If you need more help feel free to send me an email

brian.bilski@airliance.com

badhoopty

i always wondered what exactly piston slap sounded like. and after hearing that piston slap example on that site i can tell you i dont have it. thank god.

incautious

Piston slap is very common on a lot of Gm cars and trucks not just the LS1. This has to do with the type of materials in the pistons and rings. There have been many TSB's
from Gm about this. They claim that if it goes away within 90 seconds afters start up, Gm considers this normal. The only way to eleminate this would be to use after market pistons and rings with a different composition than OEM.

luvmeZ28

iTrader: (3)

should have got an MTI lid

and sorry about the nathOn thing, the natro threw me off.

so when are you gonna get LTs? ive got mine sitting in the garage, waiting for an ORY. so take that!

natronathon

just savin the money to buy them now, im gonna get qtp's and tsp true duals, and hp tuners as well. its gonna be great

Full-Force

iTrader: (11)

well not according to the experts

seems that GM has made the pistons lighter to rev more by making shorter straight skirts on the pistons and when they are cold there is too much clearance between the piston and the wall and it slaps against the wall making the ticking sound until it warms up and the piston expands and closes up some of the clearance

natronathon

makes sense, still sucks though