Hey guys, I have a cluster of symptoms that may or may not be related. I have a 2001 Trans Am that is essentially stock; the engine is bone stock. It has 116,000 miles on it. I don't race it and drive conservatively most of the time but do get on it a little from time to time.

It's had a tick which I thought was an exhaust leak for about the last year. I have been extremely busy with grad school this past year and haven't had time to investigate it but was almost sure it was an exhaust leak or something possibly something wacky with the stupid *** AIR system. It would only "tick" for like the first 5 minutes upon starting the car and then go away. The tick does not away now. It had the following characteristics: audible only around 1,400-2,000 rpm, only noticeable under load, it sounds like it's right under the dashboard, it increases with RPM. The car still runs very strong and I have not noticed any decrease in power.

About a month ago my low oil light came on. I've had a mystery leak kinda around the oil pressure sending unit/driver's side valve cover and attributed it to this. I drove home (about 15 miles), added a quart and was good. My oil pressure was good the entire time throughout the whole ordeal. Oil pressure is still fine.

Today I changed the oil. I change it around 3,000-4,000 miles and use Mobil 1 high mileage 5w-30. I didn't noticed any metal on the magnetic drain plug. I have an oil catch can and a LS6 valley cover and there wasn't any more/less oil in it than normal. However upon emptying the drain pan into a kitty litter jug, I noticed what I thought was dirt. It turns out there where shavings/specks of metal that had settled to the bottom of the pan. It was gray/silver specks. I cut open the oil filter (K&N) and really didn't notice a lot more of the shavings. In fact there was a ton of shavings from the filter itself cutting it open with the Sawzall. Basically nothing jumped out at me after inspecting the filter.

So I was wondering what you guys think. Lifter? Bearings? Or are these separate problems like an exhaust plus internal engine issues? Any help is much appreciated!

 

The ticking is very likely a lifter. It could be just the oil pump o ring, which is a $2 part that requires 7 hours worth of work to fix. When you add oil, add about 3 oz of transX to the oil. If the ticking goes away it is almost certainly that o ring. If it doesn't go away, it's likely a collapsed lifter on cylinder 7. In which case you'll need to pull the heads.

 

Ok cool, thanks! I think I'll try the TransX trick before pulling the heads. Granted getting to the oil pump is not fun either. #7 would explain it though since it sounds like it's under the dash on the driver's side. I thought it could've possibly been that AIR valve, but that doesn't make much sense. Only time I've removed the exhaust manifolds was at 90k for a blown head gasket at #7 ironically and the ticking came on a couple of years after around 105,000 miles.

Hopefully I'm just paranoid about the shavings. I did let it drain like 20-30 minutes today with the car tilted a little to the driver's side on the jack stands to get all the oil out. The noise doesn't sound like a bottom end problem thankfully.

My oil pressure is around 60 on cold starts and goes down to 50-55 as the car warms up. This is on the stock gauge though and I've heard their accuracy isn't exactly spot on. So could the pressure still be fine and it still be that o-ring?

 

silver material is ok...when its gold then you have problems.

 

It definitely wasn't gold... More silver/grey. I'm gonna pull the valve covers tomorrow and check the tightness of the rocker arms and see if for some reason the pushrods are bent. I drove it about 30 minutes this morning and checked the oil on the dipstick. No bubbles which is usually a sign of the O-ring from what I've gathered. I'm still gonna do the transx thing and see if that helps. I'll keep you guys updated.

 

If you're truly at 55 psi idle, I'd lean towards a lifter. Sounds like you're running some pretty thick oil?

 

Not really, just Mobil 1 5w-30 high mileage. The high mileage stuff is supposedly a tad bit thicker I think, but by much. It also is supposed to seal up any leaks, so if that's true (coupled with the fact the engine itself is bone stock minus MLS head gaskets and ARP head bolts) I don't think it's the O-ring. But I'll check it anyways with a couple ounces of transx.

 

What does adding the "transX" do?

 

If the oil pump o-ring is failing thus allowing air in, the car can "tick." The transx swells up the o-ring which is a good indicator it's the o-ring causing the noise.

 

So before I did anything like transx, valve covers, etc, I decided to check the exhaust manifold bolts. The back 2 were really loose. The car sounds awesome now. I think I was just paranoid (hopefully) about the oil. Pressure is great, it still pulls strong, and it's actually quiet now other than some piston slap until it get up to temp then it sounds like a dream. Should I put blue loctite on those bolts or just retorque and forget about it?

 

Don't feel bad. When i put heads and new lifters on my truck i had a tick that wasn't there before. I thought for sure it was a lifter tick. Ended up being a header gasket leak on the passenger side on the underside. I put the gasket in backwards. I tried to figure it out for a couple of weeks.

 

Inste of blue Loctite, try using start washers. They'll bite just a bit into the head of the bolt and the header flange, which will prevent back-turning. No gunk to clean out of holes. if it doesn't work, then try Loctite.

 

Well I went to retorque them. 11 lb first middle to outside then repeat at 18 lb. The damn bolt at the very front/cylinder 1 (thankfully) broke the head off flush with the manifold Good news is it doesn't leak so it doesn't drive me crazy with that god awful ticking. I ordered ARP 12 point exhaust manifold bolts. They came with washers too. I'll use some ARP assembly lube and replace all the bolts when I get some time this week. Hopefully this won't occur again.

I'll also be tracking down a persistent oil leak I've had since I've had the car it seems. I'm gonna make a post in gen III external if anyone wants to help some