tazmo65

iTrader: (3)

I know the valvetrain on our engines tend to make noise but mine is noisey on the Left bank only. The right bank is quiet as a church mouse Lol.
My build is
new ls2 block
afr 205 heads
228r cam
ls7 lifters and yt non adjustable rockers.
My lifter preload is .085 measured at the rocker. I am also running 10w30 oil. When I start it cold both sides are quiet but as the engine starts to warm the drivers side starts to get loud. Any ideas?

99Bluz28

iTrader: (35)

Is the lifter pre-load any different(lower) on the passenger side, compared to the noisy drive side? If it is what you can try is just shimming the YT rocker above the suspected noisy lifter or lifters just temporally to see if reducing the pre-load gets rid of the noise. If it does then get PRs that are .025 shorter. Now if it doesn't you'll have to replace the lifters to get ride of the lifter noise. FYI I've had quieter valvetrain with less preload (around .06") than with higher preload (around .085"). Furthermore it's not uncommon to a have a LS7 lifter that bleeds down to quickly in a new set, since the bleed down rate isn't verified to matched in a set of LS7 lifters.

tazmo65

iTrader: (3)

Thanks for the response. I did have .075 shims and 7.525 pushrod in it to correct valvetrain geometry on initial install. I have tried adding shims on the drivers side and had the preload down to .065 but it still had some clacking when warm.

tazmo65

iTrader: (3)

Could it be some weird oiling issue? Although I would think that would affect both sides.

RockinWs6

only way to know is to pull the valve covers and look. Probably oiling issues with the some of the lifters on that side. Doesn't take much dirt etc to mess with them.

99Bluz28

iTrader: (35)

Another option before pulling the head off is to remove the rocker arms on the driver side and spray a good dose of Chemtool B12 down the hole in the PRs, then re-install everything and start it up and let it idle until its up to full temperature. if this works for you(it has for me) then great! Now if it doesn't work then you'll need to pull the head.

FYI, I'd recommend doing a oil and filter change after you're done.

tazmo65

iTrader: (3)

I think I will go mess with the preload some more. This engine only has about 300 miles on it since complete rebuild.

tazmo65

iTrader: (3)

New lifters, cam, rockers and pushrods along with new guides in the heads. Speaking of heads, I bought these heads new for a 383ed ls1 that had a couple of cam lobes go bad and send cam pieces through the engine. We know what happens to cyl walls and bearing when that happens. On that engine I had the same issue although that engine had stud mounted adjustable rockers and comp r lifters. So it seems that problem followed the heads to this engine.

RockinWs6

hmmm I'd be looking at valve guides and push rod clearance through the holes.

tazmo65

iTrader: (3)

The valve guides were replaced before the heads went on this motor and according to the machine shop, there were not to bad but I had them replaced anyway. Would interference with the pushrods show up as witness marks? I am running 7.525 x 5/16 pushrods. What about valve springs?

tazmo65

iTrader: (3)

Did some more checking last night. So I pulled the inner springs out on the drivers side and now it sounds the same as the right bank. I wonder what is going on here. The heads have the dual valve springs as supplied by afr. My oil pressure is 60 cold and 30ish hot 40ish cruise. This is with a 10296 melling pump. Thinking about a set of beehives.

tazmo65

iTrader: (3)

What about a pinched oring on the oil pump? How could I check that short of tearing the thing apart? I would think that would affect both sides not just the drivers side.

99Bluz28

iTrader: (35)

The problem with the LS7 lifters is that they're not flow matched sets so you might have one or more lifters that are bleeding down to fast. IMO, it's not a pinched oil pump O-ring, that would effect the oil pressure/flow for the whole engine. The fact that it doesn't do it cold but does when the oil is warm(thinner), and with slightly less spring pressure the lifter noise goes away points me towards lifter/s bleeding down to fast.

tazmo65

iTrader: (3)

I have been thinking about cracking it open and take a look at the lifters. I was looking in to the Doug Tooley slow bleed lifters but after reading about them they appear to have issues also. What brand would be good that won't break the bank?

99Bluz28

iTrader: (35)

I think you're talking about Brian Tooley SLR lifters, as far as another brand, Johnson 2110 SLR lifters ($380 @ BTR)would definitely be a step up in quality over the LS7's. You could always try Comp Cam 850's which will still run you a little bit more than LS7 lifters, but I don't know if they're actually any better than gm LS7 lifters.
I'd get the Johnsons 2110's if you can swing the cost.
http://www.briantooleyracing.com/joh...ters-2110.html

tazmo65

iTrader: (3)

Ok so I am getting ready to tear into this engine. But before I do I wanted to do some more testing on it, so tonight I put a mechanical oil pressure gauge on it and noticed that when the engine got to operating temp the gauge was bouncing around. It started out at 60 psi cold and dropped down to 30ish when warm but the needle started bouncing around. The oil pressure climbs with rpm but still bounces around. I then let the engine cool and started it and the gauge had steady oil pressure readings. Am I aerating the oil?

Luis5.3

do you every figured it out ?

jetech

It would've been nice if the op let us all know the out come... back in 2014

Luis5.3

That’s true