UGOT8

I have been hearing a faint ticking under the hood lately and today I got to looking for it and it sounds like its coming from the internals ... on the driver side..

Someone said it sounded like lifters ... internally my engine is stock..

What is the cause of this .. is it a bad sign .. how hard to fix .. ???

TIA
::Austin::

Ferocity02

iTrader: (60)

Piston slap? Header leak?

Could be quite a few things, valvetrain too like your friend said.

Smoke_Ford

teflon coating wore off the psiton and it scored the cylinder, new motor time.

rnr27band1

bent pushrod? dose the ticking speed up as rpm goes up?

The Dragon

iTrader: (6)

Sooooo many possibilites, piston slap, header leak, valve-train . . . how many miles on your car? How hard do you drive it? What is a COMPLETE list of mods on your car? For how many driving miles has each mod been on the car?

WICKED SS

iTrader: (36)

I am having the same problem after I swaped my heads, its coming from the driver side also
my guess is a lifter. The only thing I didnt do was to make sure my valves were closed so what I am going to do is take the valve cover off and crank over the motor till the valves are shut then loosen the rockers and then retorque them to 22lbs and see if the noise goes away. I am gonna try to post a video on here to see if people think it sounds like a lifter.

UGOT8

yes the tick speed increases as the RPMs increase...

and smoke ford ... try not to be so harsh man ... damn
haha

TheSloth

I have had the same noise myself since I installed the hotcam. While doing some research I came upon a technical service bulletin which states:

Engine - Knocking or Lifter Noise
File In Section: 06 - Engine/Propulsion System
Bulletin No.: 02-06-01-038
Date: December, 2002
TECHNICAL

Subject:
Engine Knock or Lifter Noise (Replace 0-Ring)

Models:
2001-2002 Chevrolet Camaro, 2001-2003 Chevrolet Corvette, 2001-2002 Pontiac Firebird, 2002-2003 Cadillac Escalade, Escalade EXT, 2000-2003 Chevrolet Suburban, Tahoe, 2001-2003 Chevrolet Silverado, 2002-2003 Chevrolet Avalanche, 2000-2003 GMC Yukon, Yukon XL, 2001-2003 GMC Sierra,

with 4.8L, 5.3L, 5.7L or 6.0L V8 Engine (VINs V, T, Z, G, S, N, U - RPOs LR4, LM7, L59, LS1, LS6, LQ9, LQ4)

Condition

Some customers may comment on an engine tick noise. The distinguishing characteristic of this condition is that it likely will have been present since new, and is typically noticed within the first 161-322 km (100-200 mi). The noise may often be diagnosed as a collapsed lifter. Additionally, the noise may be present at cold start and appear to diminish and then return as the engine warms to operating temperature. This noise is different from other noises that may begin to occur at 3219-4828 km (2000-3000 mi).

Cause

The 0-ring seal between the oil pump screen and the oil pump may be cut, causing aeration of the oil.

Correction

Inspect the 0-ring seal and replace as necessary. Use the applicable part number listed below. Refer to the Engine Mechanical sub-section of the appropriate Service Manual.

Hope this is of some help.

BadAndy

Mine makes a ticking noise like that too. I thought it was a valve or lifter until I tracked it while listening with a hose. It was a damned injector!!!! Use the hose and try to locate the source.

Scoobie

iTrader: (8)

I had a slow ticking noise, then it got worse, came from the driver side valve cover. I pulled the valve cover off, and then pulled off the rockers. The 5th pushrod back was snapped in half. I knew something was wrong because i lost power. My bet, its a bent pushrod. I can walk you through it if you need help.
Scoobs

Josh

iTrader: (9)

Not an attempt to hijack a thread, but...

I've got the same sound, but never noticed it until my headers were installed. My dad doesn't seem to think it's an exhaust leak, and he knows his stuff, but my engine is internally stock.

My car has 35,500 miles on it and is driven pretty conservatively. I usually give it a few quick bursts to redline when I drive it, but I try not to put more than 100 miles on it in a week.

Thanks,
Josh

UGOT8

Well it doesnt sound like its anything HUGE from what you guys have said. This is a bit of hope for me. I couldn't sleep last night thinking about it.. because at this point in my life I just couldn't afford something major.

I would like some sort of writeup or something telling me how to get in there and try to figure out what it is. I don't think anything is broken because there isn't a lack of power from what its always had.

Sorry for not answering the mod question.

I don't have many mods at all. !MAF, !EGR, Whisper lid and FRA, HPP3, Cutout

I don't drive the car too hard. I get on it every once in a while but not too much. I know there are people who are a lot harder on their cars than I am. I especially don't drive it like I used to drive my 3.4 ... WOT every time I started up .. haha .. and that motor is still fine at 170,000miles. Slow motor but they hold up !

Also .. maybe it could be some sort of hose? At high RPMs and WOT I can always hear a TREMENDOUS sucking noise .. but I figure thats just my ramair and I know LS1s move LOTS of air ..

Thanks for everyone's help. You guys, and LS1Tech overall, rocks.

::Austin::

pekkaz

Rule out the easy stuff first, check valves, exhaust leaks, noisy injectors etc.

If it depends on load the chances are it's piston or rod. Noise under load more likely a piston, noise when you lift the throttle more typical for a rod bearing. Piston slap does not necessarily bring noticable loss in performance.

Noise at the half of engine speed is valvetrain related and is not very likely to depend on load other than RPM. Check pushrods and rocker arms. If they are OK then it's likely dirty lifters. In this case first try flushing the engine with adding some engine flush or diesel into the oil just before oil change according to instructions.

If it does not help the heads will have to come off anyway to replace the lifters. At this point you likely will see if there is a problem with a piston after all...or take a better look at the valves.

UGOT8

I just went out and started the car up to listen again and there was no ticking .. so i flicked the throttle a little and it started again. ???

TheSloth

I decided to take BadAndy's advice and check the injectors and that solved my problem once I took it to a friends shop to clean them out. Still a bit noisy but the definite tick is gone.

Thanks Andy

UGOT8

Sloth if you don't mind .. how do you check if its injectors. I've never done anything like this before. I'm definitely not a mechanic .. but I am hoping to maybe figure it out and fix it with a more knowledgable friend to save some $$.

Thanks

WICKED SS

iTrader: (36)

Was the noise coming from the driver side also? And what did you use to clean the injectors, did you take the fuel rail off?
Now that I think about it I also changed my injectors to FMS 30lbs at the same time I did my head swap. As soon as we started the car it was making a ticking noise? But I didnt know that a dirty or bad injector would make nois like this?

TheSloth

I took a small plastic hose and stuck it up to my ear and found a strong tick noise coming from the injector. When listening without the house I thought it was just coming from the driver side but also found that once I listened with the hose the rear passenger side also had a tick coming from the injector. I didn't have to take the fuel rail off, my buddy has this equipment that ties into the fuel rail and cleans it from there. I'm not quite sure what it does exactly except that I know you can also get the same thing done at any dealership although it might cost a bit. To my small amount of knowledge, all fuel injectors make a slight tick which comes from the solenoid.

UGOT8

OK. I'm gonna try that. Thanks. More suggestions please!

UGOT8

Well its not the injectors. I had my neighbor who is a mechanic come over and listen to it. He said it sounds like roller arms?

He said that it didn't sound like anything serious and that he wouldn't really worry about it.

I know its coming from the first or second cylinder on the driver side of the car .. so it'll be easy to get to..

I'd still like to determine EXACTLY what it is before I disregard it because I don't want to end up having to fork out a lot of money that I might not of had to if I had've gotten it fixed.

So .. what do you guys think?