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PLEASE HELP!! Hella engine ticking noise

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Old May 23, 2009 | 06:42 PM
  #21  
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Originally Posted by The Alchemist
In other words, if you went and bought new ls1 lifters, they are the ls7 lifters, and you need ~0.050" shorter purshrods to maintain the right preload.
I think that is where the problem lies,

But I would still check the O-ring, that would be my first target..
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Old May 23, 2009 | 07:18 PM
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Originally Posted by PREDATOR-Z
LS7 lifters are official GM LS1/LS6 replacement lifters, wht GM fails to mention is that LS7 lifters have aproximately .060 higher cup and require shorter pushrods to re-establish preload in the correct range.
those sons of bitches
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Old May 23, 2009 | 07:23 PM
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Just based on previous experiences I say header leak is for sure a possibility.
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Old May 23, 2009 | 08:14 PM
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Also check plug wires.... I had the same problem tonight. Passenger side was making a weird, almost hissing/ticking sound. Come to find out, #4 plug wire wasn't seated competely on the plug.
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Old May 23, 2009 | 08:28 PM
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I've never seen a pinched oil pump o ring cause the engine to tick. He said it dropped to 40#'s of oil pressure not zero.

Check the car for a header leak or something simple like that. You would be surprised how many lifter ticks have been fixed by tightening theTheader bolts. This may not be the problem here but it will only take a few mins to check.
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Old May 23, 2009 | 08:52 PM
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So my check list is:

Tighten header bolt again
Check all spark plug wire
Open both valve cover and check for rocker arm bolt

Worst case:
Take the front cover and check for oil pump O-ring.

My main concern is the head. Those lifter ARE for LS1 not LS7 (aftermarket OEM). Hopefully I don't have to take them out.

Here's something I don't quite understand. For the first 40 min everything is fine with the car. Oil pressure stays at 60# on gauge and no noise. What is that now oil pressure drop, ticking noise getting louder, tachometer don't work, hone don't work?

Did the tachometer get signal from the cam sensor or crank sensor? Is that possible something loose inside the front cover, like the oil pump or cam gear?
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Old May 23, 2009 | 09:02 PM
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If the headers and plug wires check out ok, take a hammer or something with a handle on it place it on differant spots on the engine and hold your ear to it to try and pin piont the noise.

I have seen a cam bolt back out and start hitting the front cover. Check the front cover with the hammer.

And if you have the preload on the lifters any where close you should be fine with the LS1 lifters.
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Old May 23, 2009 | 09:07 PM
  #28  
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Did you check pushrod length/lash? Did you make sure the grounds at the back of the head were tight? Do you have a stethoscope to zero in on the where the tick is coming from?
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Old May 24, 2009 | 12:14 AM
  #29  
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Originally Posted by darknessxyz
So my check list is:

Tighten header bolt again
Check all spark plug wire
Open both valve cover and check for rocker arm bolt

Worst case:
Take the front cover and check for oil pump O-ring.

My main concern is the head. Those lifter ARE for LS1 not LS7 (aftermarket OEM). Hopefully I don't have to take them out.

Here's something I don't quite understand. For the first 40 min everything is fine with the car. Oil pressure stays at 60# on gauge and no noise. What is that now oil pressure drop, ticking noise getting louder, tachometer don't work, hone don't work?

Did the tachometer get signal from the cam sensor or crank sensor? Is that possible something loose inside the front cover, like the oil pump or cam gear?

What do you mean by aftermarket OEM?
Are they GM or some other brand?
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Old May 24, 2009 | 12:23 AM
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Originally Posted by PREDATOR-Z
What do you mean by aftermarket OEM?
Are they GM or some other brand?
They're not GM Factory OEM. They're generic brand with OEM LS1 spec. It's like those part from Napa.
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Old May 26, 2009 | 01:39 AM
  #31  
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I have a friend (familiar to LS1) come and look it up. We tried to fire up the car and now it had a hard to start up. It finally started after a few crank and we let it run for a while. There's hella smoke coming out around the cylinder #1 area. Open the oil cap, the smoke came out like a train.

I thought it's a header leak so I checked all the header bolts. They're tight, I can't every turn them. We've no idea where the hell those smoke coming from. Any clue?

Also, the tachometer STILL doesn't work. Will it related to the cam sensor or crank sensor? Any idea?
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Old May 26, 2009 | 02:02 AM
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No rpm signal indicates you either have a bad CKP or the CKP reluctor wheel has come loose from the crank, either way, I don't see how it would run without either one of those, so if you are not getting signal to the cluster, something is suspect in the IC.

BTW, Abnormal noise from a non-stock setup is normal. Especially valvetrain noise.

Also, excessive smoke (regardless of location) on a n20 car indicates "death", at this point valve train issues are beyond your problems, a p0300 indicates misfires on startup on the first 1000 ignition events (low compression based on not enough oil psi?) , if you continue to have issues that are not specifically cylinder related, then there is something mechanically causing your problems. whether its an improperly installed o-ring (I replaced mine after my build and gained 15 to 25 psi across the board), Just my two cents on the issue.

Like previously stated, there can be other issues with cam bolts backing out, and also remember, you cam sensor is at the back of the block behind the valley cover.

Whatever happens, let us know.

Last edited by ReedBooth; May 26, 2009 at 02:15 AM.
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Old May 26, 2009 | 09:00 AM
  #33  
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whenever i did my rebuild on my ls1 car i had a loud noise coming from the lifters too......i drove it about 300 miles and gave it a good oil change then after the oil change their was no noise at all.....give the car a good oil change and that might help it but who knows!?!?!?!?!?!
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Old May 26, 2009 | 12:33 PM
  #34  
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I listened to the car yesterday and it sounds more like a knocking and definitely sounds metal on metal banging together. I'm thinking either Rod knock or a bad lifter. But i was poking around with a stethoscope and it seems like its coming from the front drivers side head but i wasn't able to get under the car to check the bottom end. And the knocking is very loud he had the car running when i pulled up and i could here it from across the street.
-Trent
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Old May 26, 2009 | 02:18 PM
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That can't be good...
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Old Jun 5, 2009 | 12:53 AM
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Ok, some update here and more questions. We bought it to a local performance shop and they diagnose the #1 and #3 rod bearing went out. That shop said they can fix it (just replace the bearing, I guess) but it won't gonna last long, why?

A different machine shop can do a complete rebuild for good price. Is it worth the money to rebuild or just look for a different block?
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Old Jun 5, 2009 | 04:14 AM
  #37  
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From experience I would say no band aid.
What I would do is get a written quotation with all the details and compare to shortblocks from different companies.
You can find shortblocks forged for about 2800>3200$
Look at LME, HKE, SDPC etc....
Don't rush into anything, 1 day and some calls/e-mails can give you a better picture.
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Old Jun 5, 2009 | 04:23 AM
  #38  
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Was it tuned properly for the injectors. Maybe washed down the cylnders?? Does the oil smell like fuel.
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Old Jun 5, 2009 | 04:39 AM
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Originally Posted by PREDATOR-Z
From experience I would say no band aid.
What I would do is get a written quotation with all the details and compare to shortblocks from different companies.
You can find shortblocks forged for about 2800>3200$
Look at LME, HKE, SDPC etc....
Don't rush into anything, 1 day and some calls/e-mails can give you a better picture.
So you don't suggest rebuilding the old block. What likely damaged along with the rod bearing? I can think of the crank might not good but why need a new block?
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Old Jun 5, 2009 | 04:41 AM
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Originally Posted by WhiteRhino
Was it tuned properly for the injectors. Maybe washed down the cylnders?? Does the oil smell like fuel.
Yes, the injector is tuned. If you open the oil cap when it's running, there's hella white smoke coming out, like a train. It smell like burn oil to me instead of fuel.
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