Alright, I fired the engine without the radiator or waterpump on, and it cranked right up. Its full of oil and everything...but here is the problem.

I here this "ti ti ti ti ti ti" sound that is quite pronounced for about 20 seconds and then I shut it off b/c as expected it was spitting tranny fluid out. Also, its idling kinda high. I never got a chance to pinpoint the sound, but I need help on it b/c it worries me. Oil pressure is good though, thank god!


Thanks guys!!!
-Derek

 

You fired it up with out the rad and no coolant in the block?

 

There is water sitting in the block, but not pump on.... I just intended to run if for like 10 secs, but I got side tracked by the tapping.
I let it run for another 40 seconds and the tapping continued. Its coming from under the passenger side valve covers...... what is the problem?

Please help.... am I hitting a piston with a valve, or what is going on. It is rythamatic, and seems to be isolated to only one cylinder.

 

oh... I guess I should add for those that haven't seen my other posts.... this is on an ls6 cam swap into a 5.3L

 

ok..... I'm really asking for the board's help here.... This is not cool at all, I need to know how in the world to fix this.

The board has helped me all the way through this swap, and I really need it one last time.

Thanks,
Derek

 

your lifters seated correctly?

 

How can I know, I never even touched them man?

I just spun the old cam a few times, slid some brake line in, and pulled the cam and put the new one in. I thought they just fell back down on the cam and thats all there was to it?

Thanks for the reply!

-Derek

 

How did you put the rockers back on? I assume you put the pedestal back in place, put the rockers back on, tightened to 22 ft lb with some loctite and turned the engine 1 revolution and retightened to 22 ft lb? You could have a rocker loose. Pull the valve covers and re-tighten them. If they are all tight, recheck your dot to dot on the cam to crank gear.

Also, I wouldn't let the engine run without the coolant or the water pump turning, just not worth the risk.

 

What exactly is the risk - warping heads?

Also, I checked the dot to dot thing at least.... at least 12 times, so I'm confident on that.

I used a torque wrench set "somewhere below 30" and torqued until it clicked and rotated and did the other ones like that.... by the book, but I'm not sure on how much torque they each got.

I looked with the valve covers off and they are all tight, but some1 said they can be too tight and cause tapping....?

 

well um since the water pump circulates coolant....and um the radiator helps cool it down....and um the coolant keeps the block from overheating and having the whole thing crap out on you...like glenn said its not worth the risk. hook that **** up and see if you still get the noise. then come back and post. don't worry, we're not gonna let ya down man.

 

Did you have oil pressure when you fired it up?

 

No coolant in the block is not gonna cause a problem for a 40 second run.

 

I haven't heard you can tighten the rockers too much. Only problem would be if you snapped off a bolt, otherwise, too tight shouldn't be a problem. Mine made a clacking sound for about 3 to 4 seconds after start-up. Still is not as quiet as it was stock, sounds like a sewing machine, but that's normal for a Comp 224XER cam. When you say you checked the dot to dot, what kind of timing chain do you have? The Rollmaster has another dot that people get confused with and use it. It's like 30 degrees off. So you could look at it a dozen times and think you are fine when you actually are always looking at the wrong dot on the crank pulley. Do you have a friend that can give you a "new" set of eyes to look at it? Hang in there.

 

My motor tapped like HELL for about 30 seconds on startup... then it got "kinda" quiet.

I have the sewing machine noise, and a slight but noticeable "tap-tap-tap" at just about all RPM's. Everything I've read in here seems to indicate that it's normal.

 

The A.I.R. pump will cycle on at first startup and make that noise.

 

Derek,
We have to know; Get her running yet???

 

Mine sounded like that for the first couple of seconds, then quieted down. Did you only install the cam or did you also replace the springs? Maybe one or more is not happy with the extra lift. Also could be a rocker. The stock ones are notorious for losing needle bearings out of the fulcrum. If this happened you would find them in the oil pan eventually.
Good luck, update us on the happs when time.