ILuvMyTransam

Ok, i got my car back from the shop this morning and brought it str8 to the dragstrip for some testing. i had done stage 2 patriot heads. nitrious comp cam 519 lift, chrome molly push rods, long tubes, 3200 stall, transgo shift kit, tran cooler, TNT 150 nitrious kit, window and WOT switch, (pills at 3800 on and 6K off and 100 shot jet's in place currently.), purge kit, -1 plugs, dyno tune, dyno'd at 376HP/354Torque all motor. everything else is stock. A4 trans 3.23 gears on a 1999 Trans Am Ls1. i made 7 passes 5 on all motor and 2 on a 100 shot. with no suspension or rear end work and without drag radials my best pass was a 12.55 on the juice and 12.9 on all motor. i had MAJOR traction issues as i smoked the tires EVERY run WELL past the 60 mark no matter what i tried.

Now that you know what i'm running here's what problem i ran into on the way home. I was returning to the expressway to head home and i started to hear a light ticking from under the hood which reminded me of a lifter noise by the time i got home (1 hour away) it wasn't much worse but did progress a bit. but the power was still there as i leaned into maybe 50-60% throttle to check if it's still alive at the tail end of my trip. (needless to say no nitrious was used on the way home) what are the possible things that this could be? I had a friend with me that does minor machanics and he seemed pretty sure it is probably just something that came off adjustment.

Comments?

Adrenaline_Z

"Ok, i got my car back from the shop this morning and brought it str8 to the dragstrip for some testing"

Did you break in the camshaft before beating on the engine?
I'd throw a dial on the suspect cam lobe and check the max lift, valve opening, and valve closing (VO and VC at 0.006 and 0.050").

Seems like lobe damage.

ILuvMyTransam

Hmm, I'm not much of a machanic but i understand a little. by lobe you're saying that i may have shaved a fraction off the cam itself? what would couse this? and what is the fix? cost? or should my parts be warrentied and i don't have to worry about this much. is it something i can live with or a major "DO NOT START THE CAR AGAIN!!"?

Adrenaline_Z

"by lobe you're saying that i may have shaved a fraction off the cam itself? what would couse this? "

It's tough to say. It would be rare that a roller cam would shave down, but
a fresh cam that hasn't been broken-in properly could very well wear quickly
if the surface layer overheated (poor oiling).

and what is the fix?

Don't go ripping anything apart until you check the pre-load clearances and
cam lobe lift, opening and closing. Get a friend that knows how to read a cam
card, and dail-in cams to check the lobe that you believe to be faulty.

"is it something i can live with or a major "DO NOT START THE CAR AGAIN!!"?"

I would look into the noise before starting the motor. If there is excessive
play between the lifter and primary side of the rocker, the lifter seat may
slam into the rod and break. The pushrod could also bend...things like that.

It would be safer to check to reduce the risk of breaking parts IMO.

ILuvMyTransam

11K for the car, 8K for the stereo, 8.5K on the motor, 7K more of performance mods soon to come then comes appearence probably another 5K expected. for a grand total of roughly 40K spent to have my dream car...and all i have to look forward to is everything breaking and falling apart in a couple years and a price tag of around 17K or less on it when i get tired of it all...sounds fair to me I


Sigh.................


Thanks for the Reply i'm going to forward that idea to the shop when i call them up moday to make the appointment to have it looked at...

Adrenaline_Z

It could be something as simple as resetting the pre-load.

Don't worry...I'd just hate to see the motor get damaged if you continue
to run it.

1QuickT-A

iTrader: (12)

Are you ****** KIDDING ME? You spent $8,000 dollars on your freakin stereo!?!?!? And you've got $8,500 in the motor and only running 12's?


Holy Jesus..

ILuvMyTransam

I dunno what to say man, i couldn't get traction, my rear end isn't handling to well either which is why i stopped running it down the track and didn't even attemt the full 150 shot of nitrious. I've got a few other things that need to be done and i'll be in the 10's as i should be. i might be able to do it just with a new set drag radials in the rear alone which i may try, but that's for another post...

the stereo is all top of the line parts which is why it cost so much. top of the line kenwood dvd reciever KVT-915 eclispe speakers all around, navigation blah blah.

Phoenix 5.7

iTrader: (7)

the weight of the stereo might be why hes so slow . sounds like a sweet car, good luck keeping the rear and tranny alive

SiL3NtXWS6

iTrader: (17)

Since when do you have to break in the camshaft on an LS1?

ArcticZ28

iTrader: (14)

You don't, the break-in procedure is heat-cycling the springs if you switched them. Other than that, all you have to do on first startup (after you have cranked the engine over a couple times with the fuel line fuse pulled) is wait for the lifters/springs to pump up with oil and away you go on your first easy test drive.

CamTom12

iTrader: (1)

yeah, I was gonna say the same thing. All I did was drive home from my friend's house after the cam-swap and kept it under 3.5k. Then she sat all night and then I drove to work the next day with a couple of WOT redline runs

ILuvMyTransam

I can't wait to get my traction issues under control. and i'm not worried about the noise anymore really becasue almost everyone that has heard it that i personally know have all said the same thing. "valve lash" which from the sounds of it is not a big deal at all just a an annoying ticking noise really. now as with anyhting i'm sure there are some norror stories of valve lash turing into other problems but the majority have said that it is something your engine can live with forever.

As far as my runs, i'm not worried either, i can sure feel the power busting underneeth me, and it's not weak let me tell you. i was on teh way home tonight from a local pool hall and from 55MPH i nailed her with all motor, this was plenty fun but then i decided to try this from the same speed with Nitrious and i have to say even a 100 shot threw me back in my seat HARD. it kind of reminded me of a scene from that movie. the fast and the ferious becasue the power threw me back in my seat and never let up untill i decided 130MPH was enough. yup you guessed it "about 2 seconds to get to that point" lol it's SICK full of power it's just my traction is fc*ked up somewhere. i'll get to the bottem of it becasue i'm hooked to this sport now.


Peace

Stroker 1500

iTrader: (1)

ls1 cam=hydraulic roller=no break in required.. Don't mind Adrenaline_Z he has been running around the site giving false information

TurboTA93

..pushrods? something like that happend to my friend and he bent a pushrod

SiL3NtXWS6

iTrader: (17)

That's what i thought...

ILuvMyTransam

well yeah it's one one of those two things i've been told by a few. first was "vavle lash" and the other is that i bent a push rod. but the push rods were new that morning chrome molly. but thankfully for me either way is harmless. i'm feeling good about it. not as worried as i was at first...thanks though all.

I'm taking it in to the shop this friday to leave it with them for a day so they can inspect it properly and i'lll keep this string updated just incase anybody else hear's these little ticks in the wind...

Adrenaline_Z

You guys make me laugh. You're going to take a fresh motor from the
builder and slam it down the track.

No break-in required at all on roller cams?

Someone please start a new thread and post the incorrect info I've offered.

jdoyle

iTrader: (27)

i would check everything in the valvetrain, like i did when i had my ticking sound. it increased in speed and volume as rpms went up. it could be many things.

For instance, what happened to me (if i can explain it properly):
Cracked a valve spring and side loaded a pushrod into the rocker arm shoving out the bearing and taking a little chunk out of the head. but my car does have 106K on the clock, but hey its worth a shot.

and if you really really cant find what is wrong, then i might just have to say the lifters but i dn. i have only had my car for almost 2 months. good luck finding what is wrong hope all goes well.

GuitsBoy

iTrader: (4)

Hydraulic roller cams do not require a breakin procedure like flat tappet cams. Heat cycle the springs and hit the dyno or track of your choice. Engine breakin is a different story due to seating piston rings, but even now there is a new theory / procedure that involves beating on the motor within the first few miles to forcefully seat the rings before the cyl crosss hatch dulls out. In this instance taking a fresh motor from the builder and slamming it down the track would be ideal. Im not saying that I believe in this personally, but there are people who have done this and claim excellent results.