About2Bite

Hey guys,

I have a 99 c5 with about 120k miles. There is a loud ticking noise coming from the passengers side head. I'm looking for input on what this could be. Lifter possibly?

It increases (in speed) with rpm and is very noticeable around 2100rpm

Mods:
Long tube headers
Cam
Patriot Extreme Valve Springs
Ti Retainers
Tune
Ls6 intake
Melling high volume oil pump

I also found oil on my throttle body, I put in a catch can today, I figured that was a common issue unrelated.

Oil pressure was around 40 (at operating temp) now it's at around 20. I noticed this today after installing new pcv valve and pcv catch can.

Oil level is full

Any advice is appreciated

Thanks



http://vid249.photobucket.com/albums...6_201720_1.mp4
Video (between 15-20 seconds it's the loudest)




















I didn't want to let it heat up too much, but once it's about 200 degrees the oil pressure is around 20

dadaroo

I guess you never considered actually pulling the valve cover to take a look?

4DRUSH

Can we get a vid @ 6500rpm, just to make sure something is wrong

4DRUSH

^ just kidding



Pull the valve cover

About2Bite

Yeah, I'll pull the cover. I it was getting dark so I wasn't able to.

(Don't have the luxury of a garage)

About2Bite

Uploading more pics....

About2Bite

About2Bite

No pieces of metal. All springs and rockers look fine. A little bit of wear on the retainers but it may have been from the install.

Nothing looks to cause a concern.

Next I will drain the oil and see how that looks.

Any suggestions/ideas let me know.

Thanks

ZZ06

I had the EXACT same sound 3 years ago after a quick high speed run merging onto the high in the hot summer heat. This was the result......



After many discussions, not on this forum, I believe oil was the culprit. That cam and lifters(although stock lifers) had been in my car for 3 years no problems. After a 3rd gear 6k rpm in 95* Florida weather, I had the exact "tick, tack, and clack" your hearing. A few lobes and lifters.

Bill Curlee

Obtain a MECHANICS STEPHOSCOPE and put the metal rod on top of the valve cover at each valve location. You WILL be able to PIN POINT the exact valve in question.

http://www.harborfreight.com/mechani...ope-69913.html


From there you can concentrate on what that exact valve train is doing. Make sure that the rocker roller bearings are not or have not puked out the side of the trunions and the rocker has excessive slop.

If you want to take a quick look at the cam, you can remove the intake manifold and valve valley cover. That will allow you to most of the lobes.

LateBreak

If your oil pressure is still low, my guess is that you've knocked a bearing out on the bottom end. There's nothing in the valvetrain (except maybe a cam bearing or damaged lifter bore, but unlikely) that would cause a drop in oil pressure. Noises have a way of transmitting through other components on a car, so what sounds like a top end noise could very easily be coming from the bottom end. I'd drain the oil through a paint filter into a bucket, also pull the oil filter off and cut it apart to inspect for bearing material.

Sorry dood

ZZ06

THIS. Shouldve mentioned this in my first post. My pressure did NOT drop.

racebum

going dry for a second can create excessive wear in the bottom end fast, change your oil to cheap chevron 20-50w and see if the pressure returns and ticking goes away. if you have a spun bearing it will still clank even if pressure builds a bit.

20 psi is actually a bit higher than i've ever seen a spun bearing at operating temp

if it's 20 psi cold you have problems. bearings, oil pump etc.

unless something is jammed in your new oil pump a teardown is likely. were you spinning this engine up? like over the factory redline?

About2Bite

Has not seen over redline. I don't even get on it often and if I do I'll typically shift at 5k or so.

A few pics I took. I'm hoping to get to draining the oil in the next few days. I'll update with the status of that.

Video at bottom but quality is horrible.







I didn't want to let it heat up too much, but once it's about 200 degrees the oil pressure is around 20



Will do

racebum

plugs look great

if you haven't been spinning the engine hard i'd almost be inclined to suspect that new oil pump...again...this is a guess.

moving to 20-50 is an inexpensive way to see if you can up the pressure and the effect that has on sound. if pressure comes up and it's still knocking that would not be a good sign

if the crank is not scorn and the rod is alright. in some engines you can just plastigauge a new bearing and file it to fit. older bmw guys who race often often see main bearings as annual maintenance.

worst thing you can do is run the engine hard or long term until you figure this out. might not have any substantial damage yet and if it's just one bearing it shouldn't be anything too crazy to replace

About2Bite

Thanks, I think once I change/look at the oil and pull the intake/valley cover I will have a better idea what things look like. I also plan on looking at it with the stethoscope mentioned above

The pressure increases with rpm. At 2800 rpm and 125 degree oil temp I see about 50 psi oil pressure right now.

I don't think my oil pressure is dangerously low it's just about half what it was. Which is strange. All I did was replace the PCV valve and add a catch can and then the oil pressure dropped in half. I changed nothing else.

The knock has been going on for a few weeks, the oil pressure issue just started this weekend.

racebum

are you sure the sensor is accurate? 50psi around 3000rpm is solid pressure is not even possible with a spun bearing...at least i don't see how it could be unless that pump just flows like gangbusters

did anything at all happen, change, feel different with how the car operates when this 20psi business popped up?

Bill Curlee

hAfter a heads cam install on the 02Z,, I registered ZERO oil pressure! .. So,,,,,,,,,, I didnt have any abnormal noises and was optimistic that it was a sensor issue.

I put a mechanical gage in the FRONT sensor port (on the block near the Temp sensor) and found out I did have normal oil pressure. Try that,


BC

racebum

agree for sure, easy troubleshooting that would verify if you do indeed have 20psi or if the sensor is on its way out

About2Bite

Is this the front input to check oil pressure? Or is that a ground point?



Guess I'll pick this up while at harbor freight getting that stethoscope:
http://www.harborfreight.com/engine-oil-pressure-test-kit-98949.html?utm_referrer=direct%2Fnot%20p rovided