i have a 2001 ls1 with only 57k on the clock that has a noisy valvetrain and it is driving me nuts.
i have installed an ls6 ported oil pump,new comp lifters, new hardened stock length pushrods,new stock cam,new arp head studs stock gaskets, new arp rod bolts(so i have checked rod bearings also),i have tried different oils and filters . but nothing fixes the problem. i have not driven the car much or hard since the install. the engine has had this noise since i put it in the car.
it is in a 1991 rx-7 btw. the 2001 camaro donor car had a few bolt on mods but it did not look like the engine had been touched.

here is a video i took today of the car:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=tT4dm3sVniM

any help would be greatly appreciated.
thank you
-robert

 

anyone got any ideas?

 

Check the O-ring on the oil pump. If pinched it will do that.

 

that noise is considered by many to be "normal" for the LS1 of that year. I have quieted mine down some using quality valve springs.
Good luck,
Todd

 

My car sounds about the same and it drives me nuts, I never replaced the lifters when I did my h/c swap though and wish I would've now...

 

I was having the same issue on mine. Oddly enough, if I added a half a quart of Bardahl's Oil stop Leak it'll keep it quiet on my car. I suspected a lifter that wasn't keeping up vs the double springs I was using.

Mine would get pretty annoying on a long drive. After 1 hour, it'd tap really loud, only a good rev to bring up pressure and then let idle to settle it would "pump" itself back up and be gone.

Check the oil pump o-ring and get a new one and see if that solves it.

 

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i installed a new o-ring with the ls6 oil pump and double checked it to make sure it wasnt pinched.

thanks for the input.

anyone else?

 

Check it again.

 

If the o-ring was pinched, would the oil pressure be low too?

 

if you look in the video my oil pressure is fine.

 

Check preload of the pushrods, did you use a pushrod length checker on it?

Another theory I've been passing around on mine is that the double springs I'm using may be strong enough to force a lifter to collapse a bit and not under load not allow it to get up. I've noticed that if I let it idle (or coast for a good min or 2) the tick will go away.

Though my more semi-permanent solution of adding half a quart of stop leak seems to be working great now for over a month.

 

I was saying theoretically wouldn't the pressure be low if the ring was pinched. I'm trying to figure mine out at the same time as you.

 

Just got a longblock put in my car and it acted fine for a few weeks of driving it on the weekend and now it is making the same noise. I pulled off the valve covers and everything looks to be ok. Sounds like it is coming from the lifters but i have no idea.