bluehawk2

iTrader: (74)

I have a ticking noise that sounds like it comes from the top of the motor. It is not piston slap because it never stops. It sounds louder than any other noises from other ls1's. Some people have mentioned the rocker arms or maybe a lifter problem. As I rev the motor the noise gets faster. I would appreciate any help. 02 firehawk 53k miles

thunderstruck

iTrader: (15)

does it sound like its coming from one side? did it just start making the noise out of the blue or have you changed the valve springs?
after my cam/springs swap i didnt get a rocker arm tightened completely and it knocked pretty good.

~JOSHUA

iTrader: (92)

Here's the deal. I've got an '02 Firehawk w/46k miles. I use Mobil one oil. It was 5w-30 to be exact. Mobil oil gets really thin after it gets real hot. My motor is sounds normal(for LSx motors) until I beat on it real hard. It then makes a loud ticking which I suspect is lifter noise. I switched to Mobil ?w- 40 and the noise is GONE! The oil doesn't thin as much which gives me less lifter noise. Try the oil....


Before that I loosened and re-torqued the rockers. Nope. Then I tried tightening them a bit more (25 lbs) and it turned out to be the thickness of the motor oil.

Bryan @ Speed Inc.

iTrader: (19)

it might be a bent pushrod.... you do not want to drive too long if that is the case. i did. now a new motor rests between the fenders. if it sounds like it's coming from a certain side, then it most likely is the case. it's a possiblity that there is a piece of debris in the lifter that will eventually clean itself out. but i wouldn't bet on it. i'd just buy hardened pushrods to put in there as preventative maintanance.

bluehawk2

iTrader: (74)

Here is a little more info. When I bought the car it was making the noise. I have not done any head work at all. The heads are untouched. Sometimes I think the noise is coming from the passenger side of the car however it is very hard to tell. Should I try tightening the rockers first? How do I know if the noise is a pushrod or not? It has been doing this for 8K miles and I have no loss of power or missing. I don't know much about this stuff. I am still a newbe. Thanks for the comments. Oh the noise does not quiten at oil changes and I run the German castrol 0-30 oil. thanks

bluehawk2

iTrader: (74)

Are the rockers ajustable. If so to what torque to I tighten them also what is the best brand and price on hardened pushrods? Thanks

Dan_the_C5_Man

Stock rockers are not adjustable (nor would you want them / need them to be with your stock setup..) 22ft lbs is the Tq. value, w/ loctite applied..

Can you do a small video / sound file of the tapping? When I did my cam swap, I heard (just for the first min. or so) the dreaded "TAP TAP TAP". Clearly, the lifter had bled down, and there was a small gap between the top of the PR and the cup of the rocker arm.. So w/ each lift of the cam, that gap would close up immediately, causing the noise. As soon as the lifter finally finished filling w/ oil, silence..

You could also have a rocker w/ missing roller bearings.. Only way to check is to pull the valve cover off.

I got my Crane hardened PR's from Jason at Texas P. Speed.

bluehawk2

iTrader: (74)

Thanks Dan I plan on pulling the covers today and checking out the possible problems. Maybe I will have a little more info on this problem later tonight or tomorrow. If I still cannot figure it out I will put a soundclip on the net and we can go from there. Thanks everybody.

bluehawk2

iTrader: (74)

I just got finished checking the pushrods and they are all ok. where do I go from here? How do I check for a collapsed lifter or a lifter with a missing roller bearing. Worst case could it be the bottom end of the motor. There should be no reason for the worst case since the car has not had a hard life. Now that I listen closer The noise sounds like it comes from the middle maybe a little deeper. sounds like a tock, hell I'll put a sound clip on here this weekend. Thanks

DreamState23x

iTrader: (4)

get a automotive stethoscope(however you spell that) and try to pin point the area, then go from there. Pinpointed mine that way in about 1minute. Took the valve cover off and pulled that rocker arm off I had pinpointed, and walla, snapped a push rod. I know you said yours are fine, but if you can pinpoint the noise it will help you find the problem. Good luck.

bluehawk2

iTrader: (74)

Thank you,I will try that tomorrow.

98A4LS1

iTrader: (1)

Mine started recently. It sounds like its coming from middle to passenger side top. No performance loss. Almost sounds like the fan belt tensioner. It's a clicking sound. Driving me nuts trying to pinpoint it.

Dan_the_C5_Man

Oops, just checked my post, meant "rocker", not "lifter" w/ missing rollers.. So you did check the rockers then??

One last suggestion, that you don't want to hear..

Our buddy "TT_Vert" (Dave) went through the same exercise you are now, and unfortunately it turned out to be rod bearings.. Let's hope that's not the case.

MadMike329

I had a ticking sound coming form my engine too, thought it was something major so i took it to the dealer to see what they said. It ended up being a loose spark plug cap. The guy who sold me the car was the one to fix it, lol didn't even take a mechanic! He just pushed the cap into the spark plug in and the ticking stopped. For me it was the No.1 cylinder but it might be different for you. A few weeks after fixing it the engine started making that sound again, so i took the spark plug cap off and put some dielectric grease inside the cap and on the top of the spark plug and the problem was solved again. If i were you i would just figure out which side it soung likes it's coming from and the take your best guess at which cylinder it is. Take the plug off of the spark plug cap (when the engine is turned off, i got zapped pretty bad when it last messed with the spark plugs with the engine on! DUH, sometimes i tend to act then think) and then start the engine and see if it makes the sound. it's pretty much just a process of elimination i guess. When i had this problem my car also idled a little rough and when i gave it about half throttle around 1500-1800 rpm's it would kinda hesitate and jerk back and forth, so that might help you pipoint the problem too. hope this helps and good luck!!!!

Grave

iTrader: (4)

Bluehawk... I've had this exact same problem about a 3 weeks ago.

My ticking noise sounded like it was coming from the intake manifold, and it was a ticking noise that was louder than the normal LS1 noises.

What I did... I went to AutoZone and bought a mechanics stethescope. I prodded around the entire engine to see if I can hear anything unusual: headers, injectors, valve covers, etc... you get the idea.

I noticed that my front passenger side fuel injector sounded a little different than the rest of the 7 injectors. It had a different "tone" to it, I don't know how else to describe it. It also seems to be where my loud ticking noise was coming from as well.

From what I could best tell... it seems like that particular fuel injector was the culprit. Also like you, when I would rev the engine, the ticking noise would get faster.

However... the noise went away as quickly as it came about. That was 3 some weeks ago... and the noise hasn't come back.

So maybe you might want to look into how your fuel injectors are behaving?

bluehawk2

iTrader: (74)

Hey I used the stethescope today and found that the passenger side head is making a clacking noise. I now think that one or a couple of the rockers are bad. When I took them off yesterday to check the pushrods I noticed that a couple had a lot of side to side movement. I this my problem. The noise is not deep It sounds to come straight from the rocker in front. Does anyone know how to check the rockers without taking them back off? Thanks everyone I am learning a lot from this.

bluehawk2

iTrader: (74)

Grave...............I did put the scope on the fuel injectors and they all make the same clicking noise. I can see how a person could think the noise from the injectors would be a problem with the motor, However that is not my problem. Thanks

Vinnie

Is it an A4? On top of the mulititude of things we can come up with, here is another. I had a bad ticking noise at one point in time, it was a cracked flexplate. If you have an A4 and want to check it just remove the tin inspection cover and use a flashlight. Just a thought. Good luck.

bluehawk2

iTrader: (74)

Vinnie.......... I do have an A4, however while my car was still under waranty I had to have the flexplate replaced. Your right the flexplate made an awful noise. After that I had a few confrontations with the dealer because they were trying to tell me what to do with my own car. I cashed in the waranty and bought full exhaust. Hope that wasn't a bad decision.

Dan_the_C5_Man

The older LS1's have a history of loosing roller bearings out of the rockers.. Most of us run magnetic drain plugs (will capture the rollers / alert you to the problem).

If it is the rockers, that's an easy fix; I'm sure you can find low-mileage later-model rockers on this forum for sale (from someone who installed high-dollar aftermarket items). They are easy to swap as well..

Let us know how it works out.