xhifer

I'll give it a listen with a stethoscope anyways.

xhifer

Ok here's an update. I still haven't found a z I want, so couple days ago I went to check the car out again, but this time with a stethoscope. I listened to almost all the areas of the top of the motor and cannot hear the tick. However, I can kind of hear it when I listen to the rear of the motor (under dash), still, it's very faint. I can hear the tick the most underneath the car without the scope.


He gave me a 8 mile ride around the city and it feels good. Because I wasn't driving the car, I heard some grinding noise when it takes off slowly in first gear under 1k RPM. Is this normal? Input shaft bearing? Throw out bearing? Normal?

I apologize for the many questions. I want a car that'll last me a while lol

CHADsterss

Like everyone says, could be a lifter, bent push rod, or just a loud valve train(like a lot of our cars), an exhaust leak... or in my case I had the same exact sound as in that video it was a loose spark plug. just my $0.02

xhifer

Yeah... F it, I'm going for it!

Latch

iTrader: (8)

My car makes horrible noises, on cold starts the piston slap makes it sound like an old Cummins, and the rest of the time it sounds like a sewing machine. But the car has made these noises ever since I bought it when it had 48k miles, it's got 68k miles on it now and it's always run great. I'm glad I didn't pay attention to the noises when I was test driving it because I would have missed buying a really fun and reliable car.

BOBS99SS

iTrader: (2)

op its your call, imo i would pass, listen now is a very good time to buy a car, 8 grand can get you something pretty well put together, i would save up a few more grand and look for something better,just mo though

jaxcam02

iTrader: (1)

First off I wanna say good luck with w.e. u do. I'll admit when I switched from the 3.8 to the SS, the first couple of weeks were hell because I would hear things I wasn't use to. IMO these engines are really loud and make alot of "strange" noises. I bought mine for 10k with 80K miles on it last march and it still runs like a champ (expect another good decade on this motor). Just something to put your mind at rest. Look into getting a powertrain warranty if your that worried about it. Mine came with one from the dealership for two years which made me feel better about potential issues. Just make sure you dont get one of those rip off warranties.

xhifer

I bought it. It needs a wash and wax. Maybe I'll post some pictures. Is warranty even worth it in the long run? Wouldn't fixing the motor cost less?

Here's some pictures after a good wash. Thank you for those who chimed in!

Probably wrong section to post but oh well haha

MT0911

Looks very clean man. I see you decided to just buy it. As for the tick, I wouldn't just dismiss it even if the car runs good. Definitely put that stethoscope to work and locate where the tick is coming from. Hopefully it's just a bent pushrod like most are saying - That would be a simple fix.

Good luck man! Have fun with your new ride

jaxcam02

iTrader: (1)

Eh I dont know how much its worth yet. ill let u know if something big breaks in the next 15-16 months. If nothing happens then no it wasnt worth it lol.
BTW it looks really good and I personally wouldnt worry to much about it just check it out and keep an eye on it. You should take a birds eye of the hood, I cant exactly make out how it looks but it looks pretty mean from what I can see.

xhifer

I'll definitely look more into it. I actually don't really like hood. It looks to aggressive for the simple body lines. I'm actually looking to sell it for $600obo . It's a mecham 4 port heat extractor hood. It's out of production and was $700+ new unpainted. I don't have 50 posts so I can't post in classified lol.

jaxcam02

iTrader: (1)

Oh its one of those, yea if the ports werent so deep i think it would look much better.

Nick V.

iTrader: (1)

how easy was it to replace the lifters? if i findout thats whats wrong with mine when im in NC i might try and do it myself instead of finding a shop

RedRocketZ28

iTrader: (19)

You have to pull the heads.

OP, it looks like a nice car. Congrats.

xhifer

Well, I just changed the fluid in the diff and was underneath the car so I took a couple videos of the tick. The car was warmed up pretty good. I hear the noise on the passenger side the most. I did not see any signs of an exhaust leak. Maybe this is more distinct for you guys to tell what it is?

It almost sound like a damn diesel I know it may be impossible to tell but hey, its worth a try for me Thank you guys.

http://youtu.be/5bpxQ9UaQwU

http://youtu.be/23rNwzc29xA

I'm going to check spark plugs next

xhifer

Finally found the problem. For anyone in the future. It's the two spark plugs on the passenger side towards the rear that was loose as f. Tighten it down and the tick was gone.

MT0911

Lucky for you that was such a simple fix.

For reference - Spark plugs should be 11-16 ft-lbs (don't over torque because stripping the thread would be a bit*h to fix) and make sure you put a little anti seize on them (but don't get any near the electrode).

Now have fun with the ride man! If that was the source of ticking then you made it out with a great deal

jaxcam02

iTrader: (1)

thats awesome, nice diagnosis