bgw70

iTrader: (1)

I have had this car for over two years now with 70k miles.
Is it normal for these engines to tick during warm up?

At about the 2.5 minute mark, the engine will begin to tick then after about six minutes the ticking stops.

The engine is stock, I recently cleaned the fuel injectors, no change.
Oil is 10W-30, it was previously 5W-30. The sound was the same.

What do you think is ticking?
Lifters, exhaust leak, rocker arms, bent push rods?
The engine temp does make a difference!
Oil pressure is good along with fuel pressure.

NC01TA

Mine has 'ticked' when cold since I drove it off the showroom floor way back when. I did eliminate some of the ticking about two years ago when I switched the spark plugs to the A/C Delco Iridium. Not cheap but I'm really glad I got rid of the old original Denso plugs. I'm at 47,000 miles now. Never had an engine issue but I don't drive hard very often. I'm getting old.

bgw70

iTrader: (1)

Glad to hear from you!
Do you have any idea what component causes this sound?
It sounds like it is in the valve train vs. lower half piston slap.
I still get on mine but nothing radical like I would have back in my 20s & 30s, 50s now!

chevyss2008

From what I read on other post, its a common thing especially in cold weather...Mine does it also...Some say its piston slap etc..I just let mine idle for a few before driving...and when leaving my house I pretty much idle out, not going over 20 til I hit the main road a few mins away...

eseibel67

iTrader: (10)

The dashboard "SES" light is a long way from paradise.

bgw70

iTrader: (1)

LoL, yea I knew someone might notice that darn thing!

It is a P0430 issue I have been dealing with for months. I am right on the threshold and the catalyst efficiency fault is intermittent. Before I change the cat, I need to put it on a lift to make sure I do not have an exhaust leak. The O2 sensors have been changed and they look correct on a chart.

NC01TA

I do the same. I literally can't go over 20 mph for the first part of my drive off my mountain anyway. It's 1.5 miles before I hit the highway which gives the T/A a good warm up cycle.
BGW70, I don't know if you have this issue but I also had 'pinging' (like bad gas) when accelerating after long 8+ hour trips when on vacation or long day trips. That has all but vanished with the new plugs as well. I really disliked that sound and it's nice that it is gone whenever I travel now. I can't explain things mechanically, just the results and actions that resulted positively.
I'm not driving much anyway these days. My driveway and deck view give you an idea of what's been happening for January/February here. It's snowing again. That last shot is normally a long range view of the Nantahala mountains. What mountains??

bgw70

iTrader: (1)

Man, you sure live in a beautiful place!!!
I bet those roads are fun when it's top down weather!

My T/A never has a pinging problem but I have only driven it about 65 miles to a car show in Daytona. I did change the plugs shortly after I purchased it two years ago (7k miles) and I always run premium fuel.

Spartan7

iTrader: (7)

If it does away once it's warmed up, it's piston slap. Pretty common, my truck makes the same noise when it's cold.

bgw70

iTrader: (1)

For what it is worth, I did watch two YouTube videos last night, showing two people using B-12 to clean the push rods and lifters. They pulled the valve covers and sprayed it through the oiling hole in the rocker.m let it soak a while, then ran engine cleaner in the crankcase.

Drained the oil, refilled with fresh oil and the ticking did not show up again.
They were both LS engines.
They both blamed the lifters

wssix99

iTrader: (5)

My car has also done this, when cold, since it was delivered from the factory.

I'm sure the solution to ending the noise is in this article. I'm not sure where because I had to stop reading it. (Not long in to the article, I felt a strong urge to jump off a building...) http://www.sciencedirect.com/science...88327014004610

eseibel67

iTrader: (10)

Holy crap. My tolerance for dry technical articles is typically quite high, but this one beat me early. All those big words and strange symbols made me feel like a preschooler.

dan.b

iTrader: (1)

its the bottom edge of your pistons rocking back and forth against the cylinder bore until they heat up and swell..known as piston slap or "cold knock".. nothing to worry about

wssix99

iTrader: (5)

sounds dirty..

bgw70

iTrader: (1)

Are you referring to the sounds in the video or a comment from someone else?

dan.b

iTrader: (1)

the ticking noise in your video. aluminum's thermal expansion has to be accounted for, when the engines cold there is clearance between the piston and cylinder wall, as it warms up and expands it fits correctly. it was designed this way

bgw70

iTrader: (1)

But the ticking noise is not there for the first 2-2.5 minutes, why does it take that long to begin ticking?
Are you it is not something else?

dan.b

iTrader: (1)

has it gotten noticeably worse? the fact it completely goes away after its warm points to piston slap. ls1s are known for sounding like sewing machines on cold startups

bgw70

iTrader: (1)

No sir, it is consistent and linear. I was just wondering why the ticking does not begin until 2-2.5 minutes have elapsed.
Can you help me understand this?

dan.b

iTrader: (1)

Not sure, some slap louder, some longer, some barely at all..as long as the noise is consistently going away, and not getting louder under load, i would not worry at all

a lifter tick would always quietly be there and a bent pushrod would get louder and faster under acceleration