Lifter going out ?
Thread Starter
Le Mans Master
Joined: Oct 2008
Posts: 8,887
Likes: 981
From: Whitby Ont.
Lifter going out ?
just asking, not sure what to make of this yet, drove my ls3 on a little cruise yesterday, cpl of us stopped by to visit a buddy, car is running great, start it up, and driver down the street and make my turn onto another street and yikes, a loud ticking can be heard with windows up and radio on, stop, listen and very loud, shut it off, check oil, nose around, all seems ok, start it up, and all quiet again, cept for the usual ticking, get home, stop off at a store, start moving again and it comes back, this time i keep driveing to the house, and it disappears. never heard it anymore for the day. is this possibly a lifter on its way out ? not sure what to think. recently put a cam, springs and pushrods in, not sure if one of them is the culprit, but it comes and goes, is what gets me.
any ideas would be welcome.
tia Al
any ideas would be welcome.
tia Al
Pro
Joined: Jan 2014
Posts: 706
Likes: 56
From: Houston TX
In case it is a lifter, stop driving the car. Does the ticking go up with revs? When i lost a lifter you could hear the ticking increase with RPM. You could take the valve covers off and check the valve springs pretty easily.
If you dont hear it again, i would imagine the lifters are fine.
good luck
If you dont hear it again, i would imagine the lifters are fine.
good luck
Thread Starter
Le Mans Master
Joined: Oct 2008
Posts: 8,887
Likes: 981
From: Whitby Ont.
In case it is a lifter, stop driving the car. Does the ticking go up with revs? When i lost a lifter you could hear the ticking increase with RPM. You could take the valve covers off and check the valve springs pretty easily.
If you dont hear it again, i would imagine the lifters are fine.
good luck
If you dont hear it again, i would imagine the lifters are fine.
good luck
Le Mans Master
Joined: Aug 2007
Posts: 8,735
Likes: 412
From: WV
It could be as simple as a piece of dirt got stuck in the oil hole in the lifter, or as serious as a lifter going bad...I did have an LS lifter go bad in a 383 motor in my 89 Corvette a few years ago.. When I started checking around I found there were quite a few that had problems with the LS lifters, so I installed a set of Cranes and had no more problems...WW
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Last edited by WW7; Mar 1, 2016 at 05:50 AM.
Former Vendor
Joined: Aug 2005
Posts: 16,897
Likes: 412
From: Lewisville TX
St. Jude Donor '03-'04-'05-'06-'07-'08-'09-'10-'11-'12-'13
Could be a rocker arm, could be a valve spring, or could be a lifter. While it is not a normal thing, it would not be the first time we have seen a stock lifter start to turn in the block and cut into the cam.
Try and not drive it to much. Get it home, pull the covers and see if any of the rockers are loose when the valve is closed. This would mean the cam or lifter has been damaged causing lash. Then I would pull the oil filter off and cut it apart and check for metal debris. If something is going bad, try not to drive it to much and hope to save the bearings in the engine before it scatters metal all through it.
Try and not drive it to much. Get it home, pull the covers and see if any of the rockers are loose when the valve is closed. This would mean the cam or lifter has been damaged causing lash. Then I would pull the oil filter off and cut it apart and check for metal debris. If something is going bad, try not to drive it to much and hope to save the bearings in the engine before it scatters metal all through it.
Thread Starter
Le Mans Master
Joined: Oct 2008
Posts: 8,887
Likes: 981
From: Whitby Ont.
Could be a rocker arm, could be a valve spring, or could be a lifter. While it is not a normal thing, it would not be the first time we have seen a stock lifter start to turn in the block and cut into the cam.
Try and not drive it to much. Get it home, pull the covers and see if any of the rockers are loose when the valve is closed. This would mean the cam or lifter has been damaged causing lash. Then I would pull the oil filter off and cut it apart and check for metal debris. If something is going bad, try not to drive it to much and hope to save the bearings in the engine before it scatters metal all through it.
Try and not drive it to much. Get it home, pull the covers and see if any of the rockers are loose when the valve is closed. This would mean the cam or lifter has been damaged causing lash. Then I would pull the oil filter off and cut it apart and check for metal debris. If something is going bad, try not to drive it to much and hope to save the bearings in the engine before it scatters metal all through it.
thank you.
Melting Slicks
Joined: Nov 2010
Posts: 2,625
Likes: 195
From: On the east coast we drive until we die
Could be a rocker arm, could be a valve spring, or could be a lifter. While it is not a normal thing, it would not be the first time we have seen a stock lifter start to turn in the block and cut into the cam.
Try and not drive it to much. Get it home, pull the covers and see if any of the rockers are loose when the valve is closed. This would mean the cam or lifter has been damaged causing lash. Then I would pull the oil filter off and cut it apart and check for metal debris. If something is going bad, try not to drive it to much and hope to save the bearings in the engine before it scatters metal all through it.
Try and not drive it to much. Get it home, pull the covers and see if any of the rockers are loose when the valve is closed. This would mean the cam or lifter has been damaged causing lash. Then I would pull the oil filter off and cut it apart and check for metal debris. If something is going bad, try not to drive it to much and hope to save the bearings in the engine before it scatters metal all through it.
Last edited by 5knives; Feb 29, 2016 at 08:55 PM.
Thread Starter
Le Mans Master
Joined: Oct 2008
Posts: 8,887
Likes: 981
From: Whitby Ont.
Happened to me but mine were not stock and I didn't have a loud tapping sound. Mine sounded more like an exhaust leak. After ruling that out, along with a bad injector, plug, etc., I had a shop do a more in-depth diagnosis. The lifter was slammed against the cam and continuously eating away at it. Lots of metal shavings throughout the engine. I'm in the final tuning stage of my rebuild.
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Melting Slicks
Joined: Nov 2010
Posts: 2,625
Likes: 195
From: On the east coast we drive until we die
Thanks. In hindsight I should have stopped driving it immediately but I was trying to diagnose it with each potential "fix". Mine did not sound like a bad lifter at all so I tried everything I thought it could be before going to a professional. Fingers crossed yours is nowhere near as bad as mine was.
Melting Slicks
Joined: Nov 2010
Posts: 2,625
Likes: 195
From: On the east coast we drive until we die
Pull your plugs on the side you think the noise is coming from. See if they're wet with any oil/fuel build up.
After that, I'd have a leakdown and compression check done.
After that, I'd have a leakdown and compression check done.
Pro
Joined: Aug 2009
Posts: 517
Likes: 25
From: Westchester NY
See if you can determine if it's coming from the front of the motor. I had a tapping sound and thought it was a lifter, replaced all of them and it turned out the my stock cam gear bolts backed out and were hitting the timing cover. The engine had 20k miles on it and was bone stock when it happened. Thankfully I caught it before any damage occurred to the engine. I'm not sure if you have the 1 or 3 bolt cam gear though. Mine was the 3 bolt.
Last edited by SPIN20; Mar 2, 2016 at 08:47 AM.
Thread Starter
Le Mans Master
Joined: Oct 2008
Posts: 8,887
Likes: 981
From: Whitby Ont.
See if you can determine if it's coming from the front of the motor. I had a tapping sound and thought it was a lifter, replaced all of them and it turned out the my stock cam gear bolts backed out and were hitting the timing cover. The engine had 20k miles on it and was bone stock when it happened. Thankfully I caught it before any damage occurred to the engine. I'm not sure if you have the 1 or 3 bolt cam gear though. Mine was the 3 bolt.
It is not out of the ordinary for a stock lifter to bleed down and not be able to pump up quickly enough when the valve goes to open. This can cause a ticking sound especially at lower RPM's where oil pressure is lower." i guess this is possible. i bumped the oil from 5 / 30 to 0 / 40 when i changed everything up, may be a slight problem, but i highly doubt it.
thank you.