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13,104 Posts
Sounds like a lifter tapping to me.
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Annoying new valvetrain noise
Went to crank Jane up on Friday, and got a fun new noise. Sounds like it is in the valvetrain somewhere.
Car was fine when I pulled into the garage on Wednesday. Oil pressure good, usually it's 55-60psi and it's reading 55 now. Because I have a thicker oil in there (15w-50), cold starts in winter usually have some lifter ticking noise for the first two seconds until it pumps up. But this time, the noise just didn't go away! Lol.
She was due for a valve adjustment this weekend anyways so I had planned on doing that. But now I am wondering - if a lifter has gotten stuck compressed (hence the noise), will adjusting it actually hurt the cam? Bad idea to adjust the lifters? Or will it be very obvious if there's one that's stuck (nut needs a lot more cranking down to pick up the slack, resulting in a lot more stud showing)?
Relevant Specs: 289 last rebuilt 2016, about 40000 miles on it. Biggish Lunati hydraulic flat tappet cam with springs and lifters to match, stock ported iron heads, screw in studs, stock rockers and adjustment nuts.
Video (ignore the belt squeal lol):
youtube.com
Car was fine when I pulled into the garage on Wednesday. Oil pressure good, usually it's 55-60psi and it's reading 55 now. Because I have a thicker oil in there (15w-50), cold starts in winter usually have some lifter ticking noise for the first two seconds until it pumps up. But this time, the noise just didn't go away! Lol.
She was due for a valve adjustment this weekend anyways so I had planned on doing that. But now I am wondering - if a lifter has gotten stuck compressed (hence the noise), will adjusting it actually hurt the cam? Bad idea to adjust the lifters? Or will it be very obvious if there's one that's stuck (nut needs a lot more cranking down to pick up the slack, resulting in a lot more stud showing)?
Relevant Specs: 289 last rebuilt 2016, about 40000 miles on it. Biggish Lunati hydraulic flat tappet cam with springs and lifters to match, stock ported iron heads, screw in studs, stock rockers and adjustment nuts.
Video (ignore the belt squeal lol):
Annoying valvetrain noise
youtube.com
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I'd "dose it" with a can of Marvel Mystery Oil first, and drive it a hundred miles or so to see if it's "goop". If it clears up, great. Do an oil and filter change and put another MMO in with the oil. If not, isolate the lifter, if possible, pull it and disassemble it to see what gives.
Typically, my first guess is a noisy fuel pump, but your noise, from the video, sounds like it's coming more from the back.
Typically, my first guess is a noisy fuel pump, but your noise, from the video, sounds like it's coming more from the back.
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4,397 Posts
Well that certainly sounds like potentially a bigger bummer than my Ignitor that just crapped out.
I'm going to also say it does sound like a lifter. What does it sound like when it warms up a little or if the rpm is raised slightly? Or have you just shut it down and not run it much since hearing the noise?
From what the camera's mic pics up, it sounds like the passenger rear is the most noisy. Did you ever get a stethoscope. If not I think Kurt actually has an extra one now.
The Mystery Oil might help. Seen it do a lot of good things.
No mechanical fuel pump to rattle on that car.
I'm going to also say it does sound like a lifter. What does it sound like when it warms up a little or if the rpm is raised slightly? Or have you just shut it down and not run it much since hearing the noise?
From what the camera's mic pics up, it sounds like the passenger rear is the most noisy. Did you ever get a stethoscope. If not I think Kurt actually has an extra one now.
The Mystery Oil might help. Seen it do a lot of good things.
No mechanical fuel pump to rattle on that car.
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1,424 Posts
probably not but a bad cam lobe or bent push rod would. A cylinder shorting gauge will isolate a miss or low power ( cylinder not contributing as much as the others)
ken
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7,091 Posts
Lifter got a piece of trash in it. Get a bottle of stuff that frees up lifters. Smells like kerosene and change oil after a few hundred miles or so. I had an S10 truck way back in the day that would happen too. Bottle took care of it. Easy fix, don't do valve adjustment until it is freed up.
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Try 10w30 oil.
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Yes it will.
I’m with Woodchuck on the marvel mystery oil. I had a sticky lifter and I threw some sea foam in it and after a couple hundred miles it quieted down.
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Okay, well from all of the responses telling me to "drive it a couple hundred miles", I guess a stuck lifter ain't gonna do **** to affect the car other than drive me crazy. I'm still going to pull the valve covers to make sure all looks well from that end - as some did recall, those nuts have backed off in the past (which is why I make a point of checking them every few years or so). I really need to swap to a different lock nut type, or just get new stock versions. But I guess I can't do that until the stuck lifter decides what it's doing.
Anyways, I'll chuck a bottle of MMO in there and see if it wants to sort itself out. Fingers crossed.
Arghhhhh I just put new oil in a month ago! There's barely a hundred miles on it, if that! New oil AND filter?? Do you all know how much that costs these days??? 🤪
LOL, if that's what you think, then you have undoubtedly never met me in person! Jane has a very solid policy of squeaky belt on startup, but only in the following instances: (1) there are people nearby looking; (2) we're at the local hot rod hangout; (3) I'm videoing. It doesn't squeal on startup normally so I just leave it alone and deal with the vague embarrassment in the other scenarios.
Anyways, I'll chuck a bottle of MMO in there and see if it wants to sort itself out. Fingers crossed.
I would pull the valve cover in the side the noise are and start the engine, makes it much easier to locate exactly which rocker/lifter the sound is coming from. Don't rew it with the cover off, if you haven't prepaired with cardboard, towels or similar stuff to catch airborn oil drops.
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