The Dragon

iTrader: (6)

Only 160 miles. Been all part-throttle, easy driving and I haven't taken it past 3300 rpm's at part-throttle.

Fuel pump went 70 miles ago (3 1/2 year old Racetronix with ~55K miles; I thought I got the pump before that).

Had a tapping/ticking noise come and go since I originally picked the car up. I was told it was most likely the LS7 lifters seating. I've also had ~20 psi oil pressure at warm idle from day 1.

Earlier tonight the car threw a misfire SES (running NGK TR6's) and the ticking/tapping noise got fairly audible accompanied by a NOTICEABLE increase in vibration from the motor The clutch is a brand new OZ 700 BTW.

I don't know WTF is going on now. I'm probably gonna order another oil pump even though the pump I have now is a TSP ported LS6.


Would a bad lifter cause the noise/vibration? I was afraid to drive it after that (it was vibrating pretty hard and idleing quite rough).

I'm about at the end of my patience with this whole thing.

Thanks for any help.

LS6427

iTrader: (2)

JUst curious, was it a TSP short block and someone else finished it off and installed it?

Why change the oil pump?

Are all the pulleys tight especially the crank pulley? See if that serpentine looks like its not moving at all when its running, as in going around everything perfectly straight, no wobble.

The ticking/tapping......I wouldn't drive it anymore until I pulled the valve covers and checked everything.

-Joseph-

iTrader: (12)

That pump should deliver about 30-40psi or more at idle. One of the first things I would do after checking rocker bolt torque is checking/replacing the oil pump o-ring. I recently had a customer buy a similar engine to install at a shop a few hours away, it had low oil pressure about 15psi! We told them to replace the o-ring, and after 4 failed attempts at that the car ended up in my shop. I replace the o-ring (and coated with assembly lube) as the first thing, then fire it up and it immediately goes to 67psi.

Anyway I brought that story up as it also had a loud valvetrain due to the o-ring pulling in crankcase vapors/air along with whatever oil it could grab, the air bubbles travel through the oil galleries and into the lifters. With the oil dispersed from the lifters and replaced with an oil and air mixture the lifters cannot do their job correctly, hence the lifter noise.

You would not believe how many calls I get on low oil pressure being that o-ring, sometimes several each week... Chris, PM me if you need a walkthrough or any tips.

The Dragon

iTrader: (6)

I had a local shop in Miami do it. The short block is from TSP; the Miami shop installed the motor while swapping in my H/C, new lifters, new clutch etc.

I'm gonna tell them about the o-ring possibility. They are the guys recommending that I buy a new pump. My current pump IS ~3 years old but I NEVER had ANY issues with it on the old motor (always had perfect pressure).

Am I misplacing my trust in their competence to do the work? I'm just past frustrated with this never-ending dilemma.

TheBlurLS1

iTrader: (8)

Many people screw up that pick-up tube o-ring even if they know how delicate it is. A shop that doesn't build LS1's every day would probably take it for granted if they installed it at all. You have to slide it over the tube, lube it up (I use motor oil), then slide it into the pump with the pickup tube going straight in. Go in at an angle, and it's screwed.

Since they had to space out your windage tray for the 4" crank (hopefully they did it), you have to bend/extend the hole in the pickup tube to make it line up right in the front. You also have to make sure the tube is the correct distance away from the bottom of the oil pan. You can put the o-ring on, mount the tube, then force it into the pump without modifying it, but you are ASKING for trouble from the o-ring. If that o-ring leaks, it sucks in air along with your oil, which compresses and drops your pressure.

Your pump is probably fine, but I would be putting a new pump on anyway depending on the mileage. They are cheap. I would BE THERE when they pull that tube out. If they screwed it up, they are going to say it's the pump.

duff70

i had noise like you did. with low oil pressure turned out to be the o-ring

firefighting1101

iTrader: (48)

what shop in miami did the work?

LS6427

iTrader: (2)

Who?

If a shop misses an o-ring, thats pretty bad. If thats what it is of course.

The Dragon

iTrader: (6)

They said the Tsp ported ls6 was bad. They said the o-ring was good yada yada.

It's just odd that I had 45 psi at 185 but 20 at 205.

They told me the lifters were noisy because of the oil pressure. Shop is in my sig.

LS6427

iTrader: (2)

I know you're aware that oil pressure drops with rising temps, but 20 psi at 205* when at idle should be just fine. Shouldn't have a noisy valvetrain.

It would suck to put a new pump in and nothing changes.

-Joseph-

iTrader: (12)

The oil pump is one of the simplest components on the engine and the only 2 ways it will fail is if the gears shatter apart (rare) or if debris holds the pressure regulator valve open too far (common on older pumps). The important parts of the oil pump have a healthy oil source at all times, as long as the previous engine did not blow up and scatter metal debris through the engine it should be fine. Although if I reuse a pump myself; I will take it apart and clean it before installing it just to be sure.

I have no doubt that the o-ring is where your problems are at. I've done many of those engines and I always have about 15-20psi more than what you are seeing, with no lifter noise...

If it was me I probably would just do the o-ring myself and forget about the shop so that you can see firsthand where the issue is. Take some pics, I promise not to say "Told ya so" when it's fixed!

The Dragon

iTrader: (6)

Damn right it would suck. I was told my lifters are fine . . . We'll see. My pressure was 40-45 cruising part-throttle; don't know why they told me I had lifter noise/rattle with that amount of pressure.

I'll wait to get it back and see if the problem is gone; if not I'll deal with everything at that time.

The Dragon

iTrader: (6)

I would GLADLY welcome an "I told you so" but I neither possess the tools, nor the skills to do the oil pump (not to mention the time).

If I had the tools and time I'd try it myself even if I took me all day. This company has built LOTS of LS-based motors and cars . . . As I said . . . I'll just have to wait and see what transpires

Sales2@Texas-speed

iTrader: (5)

I wouldn't be too fast to blame/bash GM Express. Ray and crew know how to work on these cars....sometimes the o-ring is just taken for granted and rolls when installed. We saw a C6 that a certified tech blah blah blah from a big GM dealership had worked on...they swore it couldn't be the o-ring and blah blah blah. The car was trailered to us, and within a couple hours we'd found the issue: the o-ring. It happens. All you can do is fix it and move on IMO!

Side note: UPS already tried to deliver your overnight parts and it says nobody was available to accept the package.

LS6427

iTrader: (2)

Hell, you'll be a happy *** just to get it back running perfectly to really worry about what-if's and who you can yell at or blame.........just hope they aren't charging ya anything to do it right the second time around.

Hope that fixes the issues for ya.

The Dragon

iTrader: (6)

I'm gonna call you when you're back at the shop and bring you up to speed with what's happened with my **** so far Matt.

It's crazy that I spent ~$50 extra to overnight it from Texas to Fl and nobodys gonna work on my car today anyway.

Sales2@Texas-speed

iTrader: (5)

Looks like they tried again and someone at the front desk signed for it

The Dragon

iTrader: (6)

Doesn't matter. I was told that it is not gonna be worked on today. I'm still gonna call you about this Matt so you have a better understanding about the timeline over the past 3 months up to the current situation.

camarorat

iTrader: (8)

You might want to check out this product. Seem like it would fix the O ring problem if that's what you have. https://ls1tech.com/forums/new-produ...p-hotrods.html

JayplaySS

iTrader: (15)

Ouch man, tell then to just change the oring anyway. Same thing happened to Khris's car.

PM me if you need any help. Hell, we could do it ourselves, just yank the balance and the cover and loosen all the oil pan bolts. Pretty easy.