Sounds like my motor ate something. Take a listen
11-08-2012, 02:31 PM
#1
Staging Lane
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Sounds like my motor ate something. Take a listen LS1.
2.5 months down, and I finally put her back on the road for the last month. Last week, I ran her hard againt a bike. Got embarrassed even though I thought I pulled pretty hard. Got home, and next morning checked the oil. It was black, and exactly 1 qt low. I cringed, and added the quart and scheduled an oil change for this week. On monday, I decided to adjust the 102TB thats been idling at 1100-1200 on SD. The screw was damaged, and so I replaced it. It took 1.5hrs, with it idling high each time after the TPS reset. At one point, I fired her up, and it immediately surged to approx 2800-3k on the first crank, and I heard rattle on the buttom end, like something had broken off. I immediately shut her off. Cranked a few more times, and the rattle was gone.
I changed the oil on Tuesday, and every intention was to drop the oil pan to check for damage, but I got lazy. I kept the filter though, but haven't cut it open yet. She became a little sluggish after that, and vibrated at low rpms. I floored it a few times, and it pulled well. I kept thinking I'd have to properly adjust the TB before drawing any further conclusions. The oil pressure has been good the whole time.
Yesterday, I took a 1.5hr drive through traffic. It sat for about 30mins. Cranked her, and she went wild with the rattle. I shut it off at least 3times. At one point, it nearly died on its own, so I shut it off and cranked again. The oil pressure was good. I was about 45miles away from home, and was ready to call a tow truck when I cranked one last time and said **** it, I'll see how far it takes me. I drove about 30ft, and whatever it was became dislodged. I drove home and kept it under 1700rpm (above this, I heard a slight rattle, but nothing as bad as it was when idling in the parking lot). Longest slowest drive of my life. 40mph on the highway for 1.5hrs. SO between idle and 1700, there's nothing to be heard. Everything reads well.
Now I'm thinking of 2 things. Is it possible that a TC nut could have come off and cause that kind of rattle? I installed the tranny last year, and suddenly recall having a lot of trouble tightening those nuts.
I was first thinking rod bearings, but like I said, oil pressure is solid. lifters? I thought something could be trying to make its way up the oil pump, but with an oil pan filled with 6qts, it wouldn't rattle. I've already started sourcing another motor (Ls2), but depending on how much I have to shell out, it may not be possible until spring. I'll pull the oil pan tonight to see what lies in there and also check the nuts on the TC.
What are your thoughts?
Morning idle:
http://s171.beta.photobucket.com/use...didle.mp4.html
Nightime crank
http://s171.beta.photobucket.com/use..._1081.mp4.html
2.5 months down, and I finally put her back on the road for the last month. Last week, I ran her hard againt a bike. Got embarrassed even though I thought I pulled pretty hard. Got home, and next morning checked the oil. It was black, and exactly 1 qt low. I cringed, and added the quart and scheduled an oil change for this week. On monday, I decided to adjust the 102TB thats been idling at 1100-1200 on SD. The screw was damaged, and so I replaced it. It took 1.5hrs, with it idling high each time after the TPS reset. At one point, I fired her up, and it immediately surged to approx 2800-3k on the first crank, and I heard rattle on the buttom end, like something had broken off. I immediately shut her off. Cranked a few more times, and the rattle was gone.
I changed the oil on Tuesday, and every intention was to drop the oil pan to check for damage, but I got lazy. I kept the filter though, but haven't cut it open yet. She became a little sluggish after that, and vibrated at low rpms. I floored it a few times, and it pulled well. I kept thinking I'd have to properly adjust the TB before drawing any further conclusions. The oil pressure has been good the whole time.
Yesterday, I took a 1.5hr drive through traffic. It sat for about 30mins. Cranked her, and she went wild with the rattle. I shut it off at least 3times. At one point, it nearly died on its own, so I shut it off and cranked again. The oil pressure was good. I was about 45miles away from home, and was ready to call a tow truck when I cranked one last time and said **** it, I'll see how far it takes me. I drove about 30ft, and whatever it was became dislodged. I drove home and kept it under 1700rpm (above this, I heard a slight rattle, but nothing as bad as it was when idling in the parking lot). Longest slowest drive of my life. 40mph on the highway for 1.5hrs. SO between idle and 1700, there's nothing to be heard. Everything reads well.
Now I'm thinking of 2 things. Is it possible that a TC nut could have come off and cause that kind of rattle? I installed the tranny last year, and suddenly recall having a lot of trouble tightening those nuts.
I was first thinking rod bearings, but like I said, oil pressure is solid. lifters? I thought something could be trying to make its way up the oil pump, but with an oil pan filled with 6qts, it wouldn't rattle. I've already started sourcing another motor (Ls2), but depending on how much I have to shell out, it may not be possible until spring. I'll pull the oil pan tonight to see what lies in there and also check the nuts on the TC.
What are your thoughts?
Morning idle:
http://s171.beta.photobucket.com/use...didle.mp4.html
Nightime crank
http://s171.beta.photobucket.com/use..._1081.mp4.html
11-08-2012, 03:24 PM
#2
TECH Resident
pull your covers and check the rockers... could have broken a spring, a pin could have fallen out of a rocker (floating needle bearings) or somthing of that nature.... id check there since its easy
11-08-2012, 08:02 PM
#3
Sounds like a rattle. I'm not there to listen but here are some ideas. Pull the belt and let it run. If it's quiet, its not an accessory. Check all the heat shields. Check the dust cover for the transmission. Mine came loose and sounded like someone tapping on a beer can. I'd just jack it up and get under there and start listening.
11-09-2012, 08:28 PM
#4
Staging Lane
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Sounds like a rattle. I'm not there to listen but here are some ideas. Pull the belt and let it run. If it's quiet, its not an accessory. Check all the heat shields. Check the dust cover for the transmission. Mine came loose and sounded like someone tapping on a beer can. I'd just jack it up and get under there and start listening.
I have a new project that may take up to 2weeks. Unfortunately, this motor has to wait until I'm finished with the project
oh, and I forgot to mention that the oil change from tuesday had no metal shavings; I carefully sifted through it
11-19-2012, 02:06 PM
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Problem Solved Alright, I took a look at her last week, and here is the verdict.
Just when I started to regret spending time to take the valve covers apart, even though I heard the sound from below, I discovered a severed hose behind the intake manifold. This might explain the surges, unstable idle, shitty mpg, etc. I'll replace the entire line with something more reliable.
I went under to look for damage and here's what I found:
2 of the 3 TC bolts came loose and bounced around in there. The 3rd was loose and would have come apart soon. The flywheel/tranny cover is missing, meaning that one of the bolts took it out while I was driving. The plastic starter guard is missing a piece. The remaining bolt took a beating. In one of the pics, you can see where a piece of the tranny to motor mating surface is missing. That piece fell in as soon as I dropped the starter. I'm now thinking whether I should just let whatever is in there find its way out, or whether I should drop the tranny (the thought of this in the cold makes me cringe).
I now remember why the TC bolts were such a pain last year. I had spaced the TC from the flywheel with 2 washers. I should have just used a single thicker one and crazy glued it before rotating to bolt from the starter area. Believe it or not, it took me hours to get those 3 bolts bolted; I had never been so frustrated over something so simple. Exhaustion might have played a strong part in that too.
Just when I started to regret spending time to take the valve covers apart, even though I heard the sound from below, I discovered a severed hose behind the intake manifold. This might explain the surges, unstable idle, shitty mpg, etc. I'll replace the entire line with something more reliable.
I went under to look for damage and here's what I found:
2 of the 3 TC bolts came loose and bounced around in there. The 3rd was loose and would have come apart soon. The flywheel/tranny cover is missing, meaning that one of the bolts took it out while I was driving. The plastic starter guard is missing a piece. The remaining bolt took a beating. In one of the pics, you can see where a piece of the tranny to motor mating surface is missing. That piece fell in as soon as I dropped the starter. I'm now thinking whether I should just let whatever is in there find its way out, or whether I should drop the tranny (the thought of this in the cold makes me cringe).
I now remember why the TC bolts were such a pain last year. I had spaced the TC from the flywheel with 2 washers. I should have just used a single thicker one and crazy glued it before rotating to bolt from the starter area. Believe it or not, it took me hours to get those 3 bolts bolted; I had never been so frustrated over something so simple. Exhaustion might have played a strong part in that too.
Last edited by Sir Harmony; 11-19-2012 at 02:12 PM.
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11-19-2012, 05:32 PM
#8
Staging Lane
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I was trying to shim the torque converter. I added 2 washers before the flexplate. The problem was getting those washers to sit properly while I threaded in the bolts. Anything more than one washer will fall out of place when you're trying to tighten the bolts. I should have used a thicker washer, and held it in place by crazy gluing it to the TC. That would have made it easy and done in 10mins instead of over an hour. I should have also used thread locker. Oh yeah, and I should have also taken breaks. I had foot surgery and I was wearing a cast while swapping the tranny. A simple break would have allowed me to think.
The vibration from the motor caused the bolts to come loose. I put about 10k on it before this happened.
The vibration from the motor caused the bolts to come loose. I put about 10k on it before this happened.
11-19-2012, 07:11 PM
#9
I was trying to shim the torque converter. I added 2 washers before the flexplate. The problem was getting those washers to sit properly while I threaded in the bolts. Anything more than one washer will fall out of place when you're trying to tighten the bolts. I should have used a thicker washer, and held it in place by crazy gluing it to the TC. That would have made it easy and done in 10mins instead of over an hour. I should have also used thread locker. Oh yeah, and I should have also taken breaks. I had foot surgery and I was wearing a cast while swapping the tranny. A simple break would have allowed me to think.
The vibration from the motor caused the bolts to come loose. I put about 10k on it before this happened.
The vibration from the motor caused the bolts to come loose. I put about 10k on it before this happened.
11-19-2012, 07:18 PM
#10
Staging Lane
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No I did not. I either used what came with the new tranny or what I pulled from my old one; I don't recall. I forgot to mention that I didn't torque them to specs either. Lesson learned!
