In short,my 06 LS2 @ 16K did and my 07 LS7 @ 32K does not. The word on here is normal injector pulse characteristic to LS motors.

 

1st off, I'm lazy. Haven't read past the 1st page but I'd like to suggest the following. A very good tune up shop where I had Kooks headers and catted X-pipe installed pointed out that now with the thin walled stainless headers I will hear a ticking sound. It's coming from hearing the exhaust valve hitting the exhaust valve seat when it closes. You don't hear it with the thick stock exhaust manifolds, but when headers replace the thick, cast stock exhaust manifolds you hear it.

Just my .02 cents.

 

Ah nothing better than the sound of an L72 with a solid flat tappet cam. Back in the day some of my races ended before they even started. You were serious if you ran solids and headers. Ticking is normal but if it gets louder get it looked at.

 

OK ... my story. I got my '07 last July. It was stored from December to March. Picked it up and within 2 weeks I had a "ticking sound". I started rather faint, but then if I was driving at slow speeds next to a building I could really hear it

That was enough for me ... I wasn't having this beautiful car and have it sound like a 1995 Impala that needed oil every 2 days.

So I'm on my way to my Chevy dealer (GREAT Dealer !) when suddenly the SAH code shows up on my DIC. I was actually happy because the code would be on as I drove into the service bay. 10 minutes later - they told me it was the Harmonic Balancer .... AND IT WAS STILL COVERED UNDER WARRANTY

Bottom line here is that the ticking is totally gone ...

This may not be the case with your "ticking" ... but wouldn't hurt to have someone look at it. And you really can't tell by just looking at the belt ... it needs to be on a lift.

 

One side is usually a little louder than the other, so no worries there (tolerances). And remember you're likely to hear the driver's side more, for obvious reasons.
I had to sell my LS1 and LS2 for being embarrassingly loud when hot. And both had piston slap too. My 2012 is silent by comparison, so I can tell you by experience it's the nature of the beast. And your '08 40K+ mile Vette sounds as quiet as my dry-sump, 'hand-built' '12 GS with 700 miles, so I wouldn't worry one bit . This engine is almost as quiet (or as noisy? ) as the Germans I'm used to. They make different noises, however. I actually expected the Germans to be quieter . The quietest engines are Ferraris, with very subdued but clear tappet sound only. With the others, I don't know exactly what's making the noise. And yes, the weirdest sound is the one between 1,500 and 2K rpm, when very easy on the throttle. Have no freaking idea what it is. But again, all other Corvettes I've heard sound like our car, so I'm absolutely convinced it's normal for these engines to make those sounds . Just like this guy put it:

 

My 08 ticks. I brought it up to salesman when I bought it. We went over to brand new one, and it ticked too. Figured it was normal

 

Rolex ?

 

Both vids sound like normal aging LS motor noise. My current LS7 sounds like that, old LS3 sounded like that; brother and brother-in-law's LS3s both sound like that.

I think it's actually an illness that all corvette owners suffer from. HTD, hyperreactive tick disorder. We're all OCD about that damn noise!

 

The LS engines are known for oddball noises, usually harmless but not always.

You can pull an oil sample and send to Blackstone labs, see if they find anything unusual.

When does your 5/100 powertrain warranty run out? I'd be inclined to keep runing it hard (after proper warmup) while still under warranty, and see if anything changes. If it blows up, get a new engine. If it doesn't change, probably ok.

 

12/17/12

 

Have fun for the next 6 months!
(Leaving a bit of extra time just to be sure it gets under the wire).

 

I've got an 07', LS2, and it has sounded like a quiet typewriter since I bought it. I brought it back to the dealer for the first oil change and mentioned the noise. They said it was normal. We even went out and started another one on the lot, just to prove his point. And, that one sounded the same. So, after 34,000 miles, it still sounds like that and runs as strong as ever. It doesn't make any where near the sound of my old bored out 327 ( 30 over / solids ) or my 409- 425HP monsters of the 60's. But, I'm sure this engine will last longer.

 

No ticks here.

 

My suggestion is for the o/p to contact Dennis Fichtner @ Fichtner Chevrolet, our extended warranty person on the forum. Iirc, Dennis has an extended warranty that will eliminate the date issue.

 

My '08 has ticked since brand new. I only notice it when I pull into the garage or am idling next to a wall (drive thru). I don't hear it driving - exhaust too loud, radio blaring, and too much fun driving to listen for a tick at that point. I've never noticed it on the ZR1.

 

My 05 ticks when it is cold for the first couple of miles and then it goes away. I believe it is the air conditioner, because I hear it on that side of the car and it sounds like it is coming from down there. As far as the ticking on your car goes, could it just be the valve train? If you take the valve covers off of an older car, you can really hear the valves ticking. So, maybe you can hear the valves ticking on the newer C6s because of the covers on the engine just don't block out the noise as much as the older ones did. If you were the only person who had this problem, you should be concerned. But since so many people have the same thing it sounds like it is a normal thing to me.

 

My 05 has a tick on the driver's side. The tick got louder when I put the headers on. It is louder near the ground and very faint under the hood.

 

Sounds normal to me, here is mine:

Through the fender, hood open


Close up to engine, driver side, hood open

 

I experienced something similar...

In my case it was a leak or crack in the exhuast manifold or header gasket causing the exhaust gas to leak causing the ticking noise..

To locate the leak, you can use a length of hose or tubing (like 1/2" or 1/4") and put one end to your ear and the other around each gasket to locate the leak. You may need a lift up the car either on a lift or ramps to get to the bottom of the gaskets - just don't get burned...

 

Noisy valves is what my dealer told me. My Z06 does the same.