My engine has your typical sewing machine noise.. but it has developed an inconsistant metallic tick it does vary with engine speed.. its not a clunk like a bottom end more of a ting... faint on the outside but noticeable while driving inside....

is it

A. bad rocker arm

B. sticky/collapsed lifter

C. broken valve spring im just not seeing

D. none of the above?


thanks folks for your replies its driving me nuts and i really do not want to drive it till its sorted out... im afraid it may be something critical like a wrist pin or such... I really dont feel like slinging a piston into my AFR's

 

Well, if you haven't done any recent changes to the car and it JUST developed the tick, I'd bet it's bad lifter. Give it some gas via the throttle body, and if you can tell the ticking gets louder with increasing rpm, then it's almost certainly a lifter. Sucks.

 

thanks! i guess i just was living in denial about it lol.... couple of people were telling me their home remedies of marvel mystery oil,sea foam, or tranny fluid.... im not sure how any of them would work, especially seen as though i religously change oil every 1200-1500 miles.

Any input on those home remedies? if not this motor is coming out asap, i promised myself i wouldn't pull the heads again without doing a bottom end

 

I would go ahead and replace the lifter. The longer it spends time in the motor the more of a chance it has to tear stuff up.

 

since adding heads (dual springs), cam and long tubes i hear a lot more valve train noise. the shop says that's normal.

 

im kinda having the same issue bit its consistant and one issue the guys around me are having that have ls1 cars is a bent pushrod.. could that be a concern as well, the noise im hearing sounds like it is coming from the rocker area not as deep as a lifter is tho