I am seeing this more and more with people just using conventional instead of synthetic with these motors. As long as its changed regularly its fine IMO.

 

Yeah I thought I was alone until I began looking into it. If the noise persists after going back to conventional oil/supplemental lubricity, I may dig deeper, but it's always easier to start with the easy stuff first imo. Frankly though, even when they gave me additive to add to my synthetic castrol it seems to be quieter with each passing day.

For me:

Castrol syntec synthetic 5w30=quieter at startup (less piston slap), but louder after operating temp (valvetrain noise)

Conventional oil 5w30+GM supplement= more pronounced piston slap at start-up, but much quieter when at operating temp (valvetrain specifically)

However- I have not tried a thicker version of sythetic yet either, but I hear it's not likely going to change a lot once at operating temp.

Edited for clarification and expansion.

 

I know a valvoline rep and he told me if I was religiously changing my oil at 3k I should just use a good conventional oil. He told me I could actually go over 3k on conventional unless I was driving it extremely hard all the time or driving in extreme cold or heat.

 

^^^Makes sense to me I have to change it every 3000 as per thrid party warranty requirements anyways, and up here that's 3000 kms (or 3 months) whichever comes first. Kind of a sham as far as that goes if you ask me. I'm 1 for 2 on third party warranties. My first one paid for itself and then some since I claimed head gasket/intake man.gasket replacement as well as air conditioning (new condenser etc). So I fared out ok on that one, but this one however, I have yet to get much more than a couple hundred back out of it and it's gone in one year. But getting back to point, I'm going back to conventional with the GM additive, since that seemed quieter to me before, see if it makes my noise go away. If not I'm probably dealing with a noisey lifter that isn't noisy simply because it's having a hard time staying inflated. Thanks for the replies everyone.

 

Do you have headers? If so it could be as simple as an exhaust leak at the head. my car has an exhaust leak at the head and it sounds like the valves "fluttering". i thought i had a sticky lifter for awhile until i found the leak. i would just give it a check before stressin to hard over it.

 

It does not have headers but I wonder if exhaust manifolds could cause it? Sounds like a paint can rattling at about 1500rpm or so? I also replaced one of the AIR tubes going into the exhaust manifold, maybe there is a leak there?

 

y no one mention about german castrol 0w30 ( get it from autozone ) having special right now, that oil will quiet down on lt1 and ls1, support to be best oil for these engine. I got UOA to back it up.

 

I had the same problem you were going through. Mine seemed to be getting louder, and louder everyday. Right after I got it tuned through a "tooner" that was doing mail orders for 75 bucks. I know these engines all have some noisy valve trains but this was different. My piston slap sounded waaay louder and the ticking was loud and I could here it up to around 2k rpms. Ended up being two leaky headgaskets...

 

mine has manifolds and the exhaust leak is the problem. mine sounds that way but not as high pitch as a rattle can

 

I'd be interested to know what exactly is causing this for you I also get a slight "tick" mainly in the lower rpm's and under light load. I don't think it has anything to do with piston slap because it does it when it is warm and hot. Seems like it is a little louder just after I change my oil, but maybe that's just me listening for it at that time in particular. I have been wanting to take a look at the pushrods, and have went so far as to order new valve cover gaskets. Just haven't got around to checking them yet.

 

I don't even know if I can get that stuff up here (autozone is not a name I see around here) Anyone know off hand? I'll be looking into this though, thanks.
Well the piston slap is quiet actually, and my car makes the same sound whether I use SLPs tune, stock tune, or the Diablew tune (which incidently, is not a mail order tune, but rather one that uses you log files driving data-tweaks are done on your tune based on your INDIVIDUAL car. Mail orders don't seem to do any "tweaking" based on your car's behaviours and how it reacts to changes,from what I can tell. This tune has gotten rid of my knock retard, and has made my car feel much more alive and it is FAR safer than a canned tune, since it is done for your specific vehicle. Look into Diablew tunes for more info.
Well I guess the pitch of a rattle can is subjective and dependant on what one calls high pitched. It's not REAL high pitched, but I just implied that it isn't a "knock" or "thunk/clunk" sound=not lower engine (crank) sound, but up top. It changes with rpm but goes away above 1800rpm (approx>) and at idle. There is only a very small window where you notice it. However, I will say this: if I honk on it a little (bring her up to 5000rpm or so for ex.) and then let off...I get the sound for about a second or less on deceleration, but it clears up very quickly and is hard to hear unless all variables are present. It's most noticeable at low rpm/steady cruising-and in fact CAN be reproduced while in park at around 1300rpm or so (contrary to what I first though-only under load)
I'm ALMOST at the point where I'm going to bring her in once more for a good mechanic (who knows ls1s) to have a look / listen. If he doesn't give me any solid concerns, then I'm not about to start ripping apart an LS1 because it's noisey (since they ALL seem to exhibit some form of valve noise - albeit some to a lesser/not noticeable degree. I'll just drive it and keep an eye/ear on vitals. If the sound gets worse than I have a problem with it, if not....then I'm leaving it alone and enjoying it. If ...*IF....it goes boom~!!, then LS3/7 here I come-watch out!


***For the record, I don't think it is wise to overly obsess about these things, especially when dealing with american muscle (which is notorious for being ....well..."unquiet" lol) and LS1 engines. It's a great idea to be observant and respect your engine, but it's another altogether to worry all the time while driving it....that's no fun. ****, I just put a new deck in my car and can't even enjoy hearing it since I'm burning gas all day trying to "hear this sound". I'm almost ready to say F*ck it and just enjoy. I mean after all, it's a great running and strong engine with great oil pressure, low miles, an automatic, and I don't race or burnout (sure I let the *** hang out a little from time to time-but no rev limited bounces that I know of-a4 car). Thanks again guys and I'll be sure to keep posting up as this develops (if it goes anywhere) and I'll let everyone know if my third party warranty is willing to cover if it's something pinpointed at a dealership (I doubt it though ) . Later gentlemen.