Piston Slap
Thread Starter
Intermediate
Joined: May 2009
Posts: 43
Likes: 1
From: Parker Colorado
Piston Slap
Hi All,
I'm on my way to pick up my 98 at the dealer. They replaced the rocker arm which quieted down the tapping noise but they say they are hearing piston noise from one side. I thought I read where this was fairly common? Do you all think it's safe for me to drive it from Arizona back to Denver? Apparently it's only 'pinging' under load. Car has about 73k miles.
Any thoughts?
Thanks
Tom
I'm on my way to pick up my 98 at the dealer. They replaced the rocker arm which quieted down the tapping noise but they say they are hearing piston noise from one side. I thought I read where this was fairly common? Do you all think it's safe for me to drive it from Arizona back to Denver? Apparently it's only 'pinging' under load. Car has about 73k miles.
Any thoughts?
Thanks
Tom
Team Owner
Joined: May 2006
Posts: 21,473
Likes: 356
From: Palmdale, Ca----- 2009 Cyber Gray 4LT A6 F55 452 RWHP 422 RWTQ- RIP 1998 C5 734 RWHP & 585 RWTQ-----
Tom you should be alright!
I had piston slap in my '98 for a long time until the B@@ST at 8 PSI on 11 to 1 compression it finally gave out!
So if you're NA and not FI you will be fine!
You might think of one day doing a rebuild on the motor and keep it for a long time like I am with mine - it is now @ 701 RWHP on the '98 block (Forged) and SuperCharged as well as a A4 tranny
Enjoy and let us know you made it safely
Thanks,Matt
I had piston slap in my '98 for a long time until the B@@ST at 8 PSI on 11 to 1 compression it finally gave out!
So if you're NA and not FI you will be fine!
You might think of one day doing a rebuild on the motor and keep it for a long time like I am with mine - it is now @ 701 RWHP on the '98 block (Forged) and SuperCharged as well as a A4 tranny
Enjoy and let us know you made it safely
Thanks,Matt
Drifting
Joined: Dec 2007
Posts: 1,309
Likes: 24
From: Coastal Georgia
C2 of the Year Finalist - Modified 2020
I've owned a couple of LS1 cars now, and both of them have slapped when cold. Usually goes away within 30 seconds or so. I'd be more concerned if it continued to slap while warm.
Pinging is another deal altogether. I'm dealing with that myself as well. You can try the seafoam treatment through the intake...that has worked for some. You may need a tune as well.
Pinging is another deal altogether. I'm dealing with that myself as well. You can try the seafoam treatment through the intake...that has worked for some. You may need a tune as well.
Le Mans Master
Joined: Sep 2007
Posts: 7,604
Likes: 8
From: Belleville Il
For a point of reference,,,My slap starts going away when the OIL temp reaches about 80*! If it fades out with oil temps 80*-100* I wouldn't worry!! For the pinging it should not be a problem on the highway. If you hit a hill and the load gets to be too much,,drop down a gear to lighten the load. A long highway trip would be a great opportunity to run a good fuel system cleaner along with top tier gas. Carbon build up is often a prime suspect for pinging!! A long run with a good cleaner should help(Can't hurt)!!
Thread Starter
Intermediate
Joined: May 2009
Posts: 43
Likes: 1
From: Parker Colorado
Piston Slap Issue
Thanks for the input everyone! I made it back just fine, Man I love this car! As I increased in altitude from Sierra Vista AZ to Denver, the pinging stopped! Right around Albuqueque NM it went away.
I'm going to post another inquiry shortly to see what you all think the mod's to this car might have been. I've gotten a few clues from comments the dealer made in passing.
Today I'm going to have the exhaust leak sealed so it will be easier to hear it pinging, if it still is.
Thanks Again everyone!
Tom
I'm going to post another inquiry shortly to see what you all think the mod's to this car might have been. I've gotten a few clues from comments the dealer made in passing.
Today I'm going to have the exhaust leak sealed so it will be easier to hear it pinging, if it still is.
Thanks Again everyone!
Tom
Race Director
Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 19,802
Likes: 0
From: San Antonio Texas
St. Jude Donor '05-'06-'08
Piston slap on a cold engine is pretty common not just on the LS1 engines but on many higher performance engines. It usually goes away as the engine warms up. Pinging is somewhat a problem on the earlier C5's where the factory apparently had a much more aggressive timeing layout. If you can get to a tuner that knows these cars they can make adjustments to the tune to make it go away but you do NOT need to do that before your return trip home. If you had access to 93 octane fuel (most people in the west don't) that would also help. Don't bother with the typical octane booster additives as they cannot increase the octane much above 91.5 and that would be with adding several cans per tank. Most early C5 owners have lived with the "underload" ping and not had any major engine issues unless they were tracking the car regularly.
Don't let the dealer try to sell you more than they have already done. They see your out of state plate and will try to instill some "major break down" fears into you so they can fatten their coffers at the expense of yours.
Don't let the dealer try to sell you more than they have already done. They see your out of state plate and will try to instill some "major break down" fears into you so they can fatten their coffers at the expense of yours.
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Thread Starter
Intermediate
Joined: May 2009
Posts: 43
Likes: 1
From: Parker Colorado
Back in the Shop!
As I was heading out to get the exhaust leak fixed, I got an error displayed about the Traction Control Unit, Reducing Engine Power! and the check engine light came on. Back to the dealer . . .
