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ahh I jus changed it. Thx for letting me kno

 

Bunch of bent push rods

 

That’s normal. The lifters bleed down when not running. On the valves that are closed, you can slide the rocker back and forth.

 

this!
get ready to pull the heads and cam

 

for sure. So I’m thinkin drain oil at this point n then take off the heads if I don’t see anything in the oil? Could my problem be found under the heads?

 

That's normal and FYI some will not have any play at all when under spring pressure due to the valve being opened. You should at least inspect the PR's and rocker arms looking for signs of wear. Sometimes these things can be noticeable to the naked eye and you could very well have a worn out rocker, PR or valve stem. The problem could be somewhere else but its best to rule out the things that are easy to ascertain first. That start up was awful sounding but then it quieted down some so hopefully its just up top.

 

I drained the oil, I ain’t a mechanic but it looks clean if u ask me?? What y’all think? I’ll remove heads by the weekend hopefully, both sides of valve covers looked fine. I saw sum bubbles or sum on top but nothing attached to a magnet

 

Oil looks fine from what I can see (not much tho lol), mine looked like I could pan for gold also there were chunks of the roller tip in there. Pull the heads and look at the lifters. That sound isn't normal. Might as well order a set of replacement ones. That is still my bet. Lifters are known to do this in LS1s, that is why GM now recommends the LS7 lifters as replacement. I've never heard of a stock spring breaking from a cold rev.

 

an ls buddy of mine thinks I should drop the motor and start replacing ****. Assuming my problem is jus the lifters what y’all think? Remove heads n replace lifters or drop engine n get to work? If I drop the engine what should I start replacing? Prolly fuel filter for starters but like what else? Headgasket, valve gaskets, uhhh that’s all I can think of lol. Probably gonna do the thermostat too but like idk

 

You don't need to drop the motor to replace that stuff. Just pull the heads off and look at the lifters. You'll need to replace the head gaskets, they are a one time use. The fuel filter is underneath the car and not even in the vicinity of the engine. The valve cover gaskets are probably ok. Sure, T-stat if you want.

 

Have you even taken the pushrods out and rolled them on a glass table to verify their straightness? A camshaft can be inspected without pulling the heads if you know what your doing.

 

I’ve never gotten past the intake manifold, I remove the heads by the weekend and check the lifters, idk how to check push rods thooo don’t u gotta drop the motor for that lol

 

Not to sound critical but if you don't know the differences between connecting rods and push rods... you may be over your head. Do you have any friends with mechanical skills that can point you in the right direction?

 

xD I do have a friend who’s gonna help me with The build. Maybe I am in over my head but my car has no where to go and I definitely don’t have the money to pay someone else to do it. I’ve done knock sensor and radiator and suspension so what’s stopping me from learning this stuff 🤣. Worst case I ruin something but hopefully I’ll be able to put it Together. I also have a v6 camaro that I’m about to drop the motor and fix the headgasket which I’ll do first to get some more uh experience. I’ll take apart my heads and look inside. I think the rollers are under the heads and assuming I just need to change those and maybe my cam, I think I’ll be okkkayyy. My goal is to fix my z28 into running and when I actually have the money to rebuild the motor I want to do it properly.

 

I would purchase yourself a Hanes LS1 manual. Good luck.

 

I admire a man with confidence... that said if you go forward my advice is to zip lock bag & tag everything, I mean everything! Group all bolts, nuts and small parts into baggies from sections of the engine that makes sense to you. They make trays to keep the valvetrain parts that wear in together separated to each camshaft lobe/cylinder. You don't need to buy one of these but figure out a way to do this step yourself. It's a good practice to keep these parts together for reassembly or troubleshooting wear or part failure issues.

 

Exactly what RedXray said. Go to the store and buy a sharpie and ziploc bags. I label everything and take pictures of everything as I disassemble and reassemble. I label even individually what cylinder things come from.

Best of luck... having no experience, I was able to do a motor swap and trans replacement, it wasn't easy. I had to buy a lot of tools and I got stuck a few times but the car runs and drives great. The joy I got from building it successfully has not gone away yet!.

 

Muffin pans work good to help organize hardware.

 

What is that metal needle bearing looking thing in the bottom left of this picture thats inside the pan?

A bad rocker arm could defiantly make the sound your hearing