Problem with my LS7 lifters
Thread Starter
TECH Fanatic
Joined: Feb 2004
Posts: 1,259
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From: Lexington, KY
Problem with my LS7 lifters From a cold start, they pump up right away and everything sounds fine. I let it warm up for a just couple of minutes, then take off and keep my foot out of it till warmed up. But typically a few miles from the house I hear a loud ticking that lasts for 2 or 3 minutes then goes away. It sounds to me like a lifter not staying pumped up. It will do it while sitting still at a stop light or running down the road; doesn't seem to matter. Does this sound like a lifter? Seems odd to me that it only does it for a few minutes while coming up to temp. If it is a lifter, is it going to hurt anything or can I just live with it? I really don't have time to take the heads back off anytime soon and I really want to keep driving it. I'm running mobil 1 5w30. Would switching to a thicker viscocity help?
I wouldn't add anything to the oil. I had this issue with my Morel lifters running the German Castrol 0W-30. I then switched to Amsoil 5W-30 and the problem went away since the Amsoil had a lower viscosity at 40 degrees C. However, last start was cold (34 degrees) and I noticed after I pulled it out of the garage after about two minutes it started ticking and then went away. I would suggest trying a different oil on next change just to see if the issue goes away. Also, if you know its going to do this don't get on it until after everything stabilizes. Check the viscosity at 40 degrees C on the Mobil 1 and some other oils, see if you can find one that is a little lower. You have to pull the tech information on the oil to get this value. The "30" of 5W-30 is measured at 100 degrees C.
Thread Starter
TECH Fanatic
Joined: Feb 2004
Posts: 1,259
Likes: 0
From: Lexington, KY
Thanks for the responses. I'm aware of the noisy valvetrains on the LS1's. But this is not the problem. It only lasts for a few minutes while coming up to temp and then goes away. The rest of the time it is actually very quiet for an LS1 with a good size cam.
Exactly what mine was doing.
