TitanZ06

Hey all.
I have a 01 Z06 58k miles. LS6 engine. Upon cold start you cant really hear much. after it gets to operating temp. you can hear a ticking coming from what seems to be the driver side of the engine . at first I thought it was a exhaust leak. I don't drive it much as its not my daily. but the other day I had it out and did a few high rpm pulls and the ticking got very loud at idle when I got home.

side note: im planning to do a cam and valvetrain upgrade during the winter season. so im hoping to track down my issue and get it fixed along the way.

any input would be great I posted a link to some sound vids

Mercier

iTrader: (15)

Try running it without the belt for a few seconds to eliminate front accessories. Does it change when the clutch is pressed? How did you eliminate exhaust as a possibility? How has oil pressure been? Could be something internal but let's hope not on a low-mile motor.

SethU

That sound is, with very little doubt, a collapsed lifter. Somewhat common issue. It's a shame to have a beautiful car like that sound like a neglected farm truck.

New lifters will fix it, but it may also be possible to successfully resolve the issue with oil additives.

I wrote a somewhat lengthy response in another thread about the same thing. You might find it helpful.
https://ls1tech.com/forums/generatio...l#post18442777

RTM

I agree completely...

01MAROONz2890

it may be the lifters but if it started after a high rpm pull i'd pull the valve covers and inpect all the springs rockers and most importantly the PUSHRODS. That sound could just as easily be a bent pr

Mercier

iTrader: (15)

It does sound like something internal(lifter surely came to mind) but I figured the belt would have to come off anyway..and the clutch is pretty easy to check. Eliminate the easy stuff. Sounds in engine compartments bounce around and can be very deceiving. At least they deceive me all the time.

Seth, I actually read that thread re: Seafoam last night. Got me kind of excited to find a motor with a bad lifter tick to try it myself!

TitanZ06

right on, luckily I don't drive it much. so ill keep the cruise days to a minimum this winter. I tossed around doing my cam and valvetrain upgrades myself, but if I gota take the heads off ill probably just let the local speed shop do that and locate and fix my issue..hopefully nothing bad happens to my motor in the meantime thanks

SethU

A bent push rod would indeed make the same sound. If the car had aftermarket springs and such, it would be on my radar of likely causes. However, on a stock vehicle (which I gather this is) bent push rods are rare. And that it's manufactured in a year known to have lifter issues... My money is on a collapsed lifter, 99.8%... 0.1% on a bent push rod, 0.1% it's something else.

I was surprised and pleased with the outcome in the Jeep. But, as I mentioned YMMV. Haven't yet tried to resolve my dads 5.3 noisy lifters with it, so I can't attest to it's effectiveness on the seemingly poorly designed GM lifters of that era.

redbird555

iTrader: (14)

Springs wont make a difference one bit if the pushrods get bent or not. Pushrods get bent by a forced over rev causing the pistons to smack the valves for a split second. It happens all the time on stock cars by finding the wrong gear at WOT or some other way of forced over rev, I've even seen it happen by tapping to rev limiter. Had it happen myself when i was bolt ons by finding 2nd instead of 4th. This makes a lot of sense for the op since he said he was ******* it pretty hard right before.

Op take the valve covers off and unbolt the rockers then pull the pr's out and roll them on a table. It only takes an hr and you may find the issue.

mpatton

Well... on the bright side its perfect timing for your h c swap lol

handyandy496

iTrader: (9)

You should sell it really cheep. (To me lol). Gust kidding I Would at least examine the oil. Just in case or don't run it. I have heard of lifters coming apart. Rocker pins's falling out, valves bending, broken/bad springs. Lifter/pushrod might just be clogged too. Take it for an X-ray/ Mri. lol. Someone should offer that!

Mercier

iTrader: (15)

Yeah. They don't let you take your car keys near MRI machines. Love to see the destruction after you put an aluminum block in there full of ferrous internals. This would be super entertaining. I am waiting on a video of this...

SethU

You're right. I absolutely could have written that better. Should have written modified cam and valve train. Point being that the OEMs have these systems bullet proof before they start manufacturing. I don't live and breath LS's like some guys do and if you say stock Corvettes bend push rods all the time, that's something I haven't personally heard before. Could very well be true and I'll have to take your word on it, or investigate for myself if I'm ever inclined. Noisy lifters usually get quieter as the engine warms up, and this one gets louder... and it's louder than most of the usual crappy lifter plagued vehicles. Suspicious. It is possible that it's a bent push rod, but my money is still on a collapsed lifter. Perhaps we'll find out.

(The rest of this is written toward the OP)
If bent push rods are as common as we're being told, it's worth a look and it is a fairly easy afternoon project to check them. Before you even start, it should be easy to determine which side of the engine it's on and whether it's toward the front, middle, or rear of the engine. That way you don't have to pull both sides. If it's a bent rod it will most likely be under an exhaust rocker.

Worst case is you know they're good or you know there's a bent one and you can simply replace it.

Also, if all the push rods check out okay, you can decide if you want to try to free up the lifter while the valve cover and rockers are off.

This guy sprays B12 Chemtool down the push rods (I'd try to depress the plungers by pushing on the push rods and let it sit overnight, then poor oil over the lifters and depress them again the next day if it were me) and runs an engine flush additive as directed . Before and after clips of the engine running, seems to have worked well.

TitanZ06

thanks for all the replies. just to clarify. the ticking didn't start after I ripped on it. I bought the car back in may and I could hear the tick very softly. I put a borla catback on it and I could hear it a bit more. and just over the last few months its seemed to have gotten worse. the other day after i let it rip from a dig to 110 when i got back to the garage it just seemed lounder than ever. so ive put her up for now lol. my local speed shop said its most likely a lifter. which sucks because i didn't plan on having the heads pulled right now. so a lot more labor. i was just going to do a cam and valvetrain upgrade , but i gota get it fixed while going in w the cam.

penzfan

Hey all. I'm new to the forum and glad I found this post. I have an 06 Chevy Sub with the 5.3L engine with 150k miles on it. About 1200 miles ago, it started making the same ticking noise (but not as loud) as the posters Corvette while I was on vacation in the mountains. It DOES NOT tick when started cold first thing in the morning. After it warms up a bit it starts ticking from the rear of the passenger side of the engine. The tick gets quieter when the rpm's are raised and then becomes a bit louder at idle. Sometimes the tick goes away even when the engine is warm and then reappears. I dumped 8oz of Dura-Lube Instant Quiet in the oil (at the advice of a GM Dealer Service Manager while on vacation) and the tick went away immediately, but returned the next morning. GM SM said it could be a lifter, cam etc but would have to tear it down to find out. Drove it home 700 miles and took it to a local shop. Had the pressures checked and they all checked out good. Mechanic could not verify exactly where the noise is coming from. OP gauge reads 25-30 at idle and 40-50 at cruising speeds. I've been told to drive it till something fails. Anyone ever seen one do this disappearing then reappearing act? Thanks

penzfan

I have attached 3 videos for my above post:

Sickness7

hmmmmm. I have had a ticking that I had originally thought was my exhaust on the floorboard. This thread worries me haha. Though I have had the tick for a year and a half and made over 50 hard pulls with it and no loss in power. So I hope it is just the exhaust won't get to find out till next summer when I plan to do something with the car.

TitanZ06

I may try and pull the pushrods in a day or 2 to see if I can identify anything. is there anyway to check on lifters at that point. or do the heads have to completely come off.

Jimbo1367

There has been instances where the roller axle has gone bad. I'd just change the lifters with new ones. Check how freely the new lifters roll prior to installation. Exchange any that don't roll freely.

TitanZ06

late update, had someone message me. it turned out to be a bent pushrod, was splitting the rocker apart too. got everything all fixed when i did had my cam install done.