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Lifter Tick?

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Old Feb 28, 2023 | 04:21 PM
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Default Lifter Tick?

New cam and lifters installed, hearing this noise on first startup. I have 65psi oil pressure on startup and I have un bolted the rocker arms and re torqued them in the correct gm specs. Noise is 5x louder in person. Any help would be appreciated!

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Last edited by Alex Noell; Feb 28, 2023 at 05:28 PM.
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Old Feb 28, 2023 | 07:29 PM
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Did you measure pushrod length or just use stock length?
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Old Feb 28, 2023 | 07:33 PM
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Originally Posted by farmington
Did you measure pushrod length or just use stock length?
I used 7.4in pushrods and called btr and they said these are the correct pushrods to use with the cam and lifters I have. I currently have no play in the rockers.
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Old Feb 28, 2023 | 09:06 PM
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Which BTR cam did you install?
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Old Feb 28, 2023 | 09:08 PM
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Originally Posted by Spaceme1117
Which BTR cam did you install?
BTR Red Hot Cam
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Old Feb 28, 2023 | 09:34 PM
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So cam is 221/24X, .619/.617, 113 LSA. Assuming your car is an LS3, you are going from .551/.525 lift to .619/.617. Aftermarket cams increase lift by reducing the base circle size which means you usually need to use a longer push rod. And your lift is increased by 0.068 intake and 0.92 exhaust. Stock push rods are 7.4 and you likely need ones that are at least .050 to .075 longer for proper lifter pre-load.

I just do not understand these shops (even BTR who should know better). YOU ALWAYS NEED TO MEASURE FOR PROPER PUSHROD LENGTH. ALWAYS. It is the ONLY way to know exactly what you need.
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Old Feb 28, 2023 | 09:42 PM
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Originally Posted by Spaceme1117
So cam is 221/24X, .619/.617, 113 LSA. Assuming your car is an LS3, you are going from .551/.525 lift to .619/.617. Aftermarket cams increase lift by reducing the base circle size which means you usually need to use a longer push rod. And your lift is increased by 0.068 intake and 0.92 exhaust. Stock push rods are 7.4 and you likely need ones that are at least .050 to .075 longer for proper lifter pre-load.

I just do not understand these shops (even BTR who should know better). YOU ALWAYS NEED TO MEASURE FOR PROPER PUSHROD LENGTH. ALWAYS. It is the ONLY way to know exactly what you need.
I have a ls2 and I am running stock ls7 performance lifters part #12499225. I will be purchasing a pushrod measuring tool this week and will measure for proper clearance. Thank you for the insight!
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Old Feb 28, 2023 | 09:56 PM
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Originally Posted by Alex Noell
I have a ls2 and I am running stock ls7 performance lifters part #12499225. I will be purchasing a pushrod measuring tool this week and will measure for proper clearance. Thank you for the insight!
Okay so you are going from 0.525/0.525 lift to the 0.619/0.617. That is 0.094 and 0.92 increase. And just thinking about it, that lift increase is a consequence of the 1.7 ratio so you need to divide the increased lift by 1.7 which is a difference of .055 on the lifter side of the rocker. So I would bet a 7.450 push rod is what you need. But again, you need to measure so its good that you are getting the pushrod measuring tool.

If you have the money, not a bad idea to order some push rods of different length, say 7.425, 7.450, and 7.475. Just send the ones back that aren't needed and get refunded.
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Old Feb 28, 2023 | 10:31 PM
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Originally Posted by Spaceme1117
Okay so you are going from 0.525/0.525 lift to the 0.619/0.617. That is 0.094 and 0.92 increase. And just thinking about it, that lift increase is a consequence of the 1.7 ratio so you need to divide the increased lift by 1.7 which is a difference of .055 on the lifter side of the rocker. So I would bet a 7.450 push rod is what you need. But again, you need to measure so its good that you are getting the pushrod measuring tool.

If you have the money, not a bad idea to order some push rods of different length, say 7.425, 7.450, and 7.475. Just send the ones back that aren't needed and get refunded.
Should I also account for hydraulic lifter preload? Some say they add on .04-.07 for that.
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Old Feb 28, 2023 | 11:35 PM
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Old Mar 1, 2023 | 10:48 AM
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Nice write up
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Old Mar 11, 2023 | 07:13 PM
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So I had went ahead and purchase a pushrod measuring tool and it measured out to be a 7.45in pushrod. I had gotten those in today and installed them. Same noise so I am thinking that the lifters may be the cause of this problem any more insight would be appreciated.
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Old Mar 11, 2023 | 07:35 PM
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Originally Posted by Alex Noell
So I had went ahead and purchase a pushrod measuring tool and it measured out to be a 7.45in pushrod. I had gotten those in today and installed them. Same noise so I am thinking that the lifters may be the cause of this problem any more insight would be appreciated.
Maybe the lifter bores rather than the lifters themselves.
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Old Mar 11, 2023 | 07:57 PM
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Originally Posted by ClothSeats
Maybe the lifter bores rather than the lifters themselves.
I will keep you updated on that but I do remember the lifters sliding in with no friction and fitting snug in the bore.
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Old Mar 11, 2023 | 09:10 PM
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Originally Posted by ClothSeats
Maybe the lifter bores rather than the lifters themselves.

Exhaust valves hitting pistons 🤦‍♂️
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Old Mar 11, 2023 | 09:29 PM
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So with it just being only the exhaust valve hitting the piston would that mean that my timing chain may be off a tooth or two?
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Old Mar 12, 2023 | 09:08 AM
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Looks like you are on the right track now. Cam timing may be off, or it just may be that it is caused by your new cam having too much lift for those pistons.
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Old Mar 12, 2023 | 09:21 AM
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Originally Posted by Alex Noell
So with it just being only the exhaust valve hitting the piston would that mean that my timing chain may be off a tooth or two?
That is possible but pretty hard to screw that up. I mean you literally line up the dots.

The other possibility is that the cam was improperly ground. If the advance is off by a few degrees, it can cause what you are seeing. To check that, you will need to degree the cam. And this does happen from time to time. Seems to happens more commonly with cams ground by Comp Cams. Not sure who BTR uses for their grinds or if they do it themselves.

Another option you could pursue would be to notch the pistons. But I would check the cam first and if it is wrong, I'd get a new one. And obviously check it as well.
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