Is this the sound of a stuck lifter? - *** UPDATE 4/8/15****

[Cornflakes'Camaro]

Ahh that makes more sense. Would that cause any change to the oil pressure?

[1sick_eg]

Originally Posted by Cornflakes'Camaro

Ahh that makes more sense. Would that cause any change to the oil pressure?

Generally, I'd say no. Loss of oil pressure is usually a pump/relief/oring or bearing issue.

[Cornflakes'Camaro]

Roger that. OP, I don't mean to jack your thread, but I feel like we are in the same boat and have the same questions. Therefore, back to the original question, if the lifter is stuck, as long as the roller is still operating correctly, no harm should be done to the camshaft, correct?

[1sick_eg]

Originally Posted by Cornflakes'Camaro

Roger that. OP, I don't mean to jack your thread, but I feel like we are in the same boat and have the same questions. Therefore, back to the original question, if the lifter is stuck, as long as the roller is still operating correctly, no harm should be done to the camshaft, correct?

Actually, if the lifter isn't staying preloaded on cam like it should, it will eventually take out the lobe or lifter or both.

[SeaCompiler]

Originally Posted by 1sick_eg

Actually, if the lifter isn't staying preloaded on cam like it should, it will eventually take out the lobe or lifter or both.

Exactly what 1sick_eg said. It was starting to work on mine already a little bit, and I only drove about 100 miles on it to get it home. Mine came on suddenly.

When I say stuck, I really mean it is indeed a collapsed lifter - not stuck in the bore. You could press it down very easily with a finger. You won't do this with a new one.

CornFlake'sCamaro, If yours is tapping and they are new, and Morel, which I believe these are hydraulic also, then I would only guess your pushrods are too short or there is not enough pre-load on the lifter, or your rocker arm is loose - not an expert, only guessing here. I would say yours should sound like this below (video below). I took this video of the engine right after my cam was installed, and it sounded this good up until the lifter collapsed 40K miles later. That's just the way the dice fall sometimes with hydraulic lifters and high lift cams and a lot of high rpms - not much you can do about it unless you baby it, but where is the fun in that!

I went and listened to your video and the valvetrain seems pretty noisy to me for hydraulic lifters, but doesn't sound like a collapsed one though. The good news is that measuring for the correct pushrod length and calculating pre-load is pretty easy from a labor perspective and corrected easily if needed . You just have to remove the valve covers. Make sure the piston is at TDC on the one you want to check. Excellent instructions are here if you are interested - there is a video near the end which shows in great detail how to do it: http://www.camaro5.com/forums/showthread.php?t=125123 if this is something you want to tackle yourself.

[Cornflakes'Camaro]

Everyone who is reading this...make sure you're ready for a good laugh...

First and foremost, thank you SeaCompiler and 1sick_EG for the plentiful information that you have provided me while I was trying to solve the issue that I have had.

I unbolted the dipstick bracket from the engine head the other day while I was replacing my header gasket on the passenger side bank of the motor. While it was unbolted, I tugged on it and accidentally pulled it out of the engine block. No biggie, I pushed the tubing and the dipstick itself back into the crankcase...so I thought...

I went to change my oil today and saw the tubing and the dipstick itself were sitting outside the block, basically having a small hole in my crankcase. After changing the oil and catch can, I reinstalled the tube/dipstick into the hole then started up the motor.

I noticed the tapping was immediately reduced. Which makes sense because it was only coming from the passenger (dipstick side) of the motor. There still is a slight "tap", but it is a soft tap. Nothing harsh or popping like it was prior.


So, instead of it being a lifter/rocker arm, I believe it was my dumb @$$ not realizing I had accidentally removed the dipstick tube from the crankcase, which was causing most of the noise of a "pop" or "tap" to happen.

You can laugh now.

[SeaCompiler]

Glad it worked out. Its amazing what sounds are made when something is loose or leaking!

[Cornflakes'Camaro]

Edit: I spoke too soon. Upon still hearing a very faint tick, I found a partially collapsed lifter on cylinder 4 intake portion of the valve train.


Martin from Tick Performance sent me a pair of Morel 5315 lifters and pushrods overnight (extra pushrods incase any were bent). Tuesday evening, I pulled the passenger bank head, replaced the pair of lifters on cylinder 4, inspected all the pushrods on the left bank. Everything checked out, and Wednesday I drove up to Tick Performance for the dyno appointment. Jonathan dyno'd the car at 470 WHP after 5 pulls and everything worked fine. We drove around, he worked on the idle and continued working his magic. After he was finished with all aspects of the tune, I drove back home (4 hr drive) after Jonathan worked his magic, and the car is running amazing.

[1sick_eg]

Good to hear cornflakes. A lot of times, especially if you don't work on cars often, you tend to miss small things like that in the rush of things. I'd say 99% of us have done it at one time, if not multiple times. It's a learning experience.

Anytime I work on a new car or motor I haven't worked on, or worked on enough, I seperate the bolts and parts and label them. Majority of bolts will work in various areas, but I've seen people make the mistake of putting a bolt that was the same diameter but different length in the wrong spot, and cracking some very important parts. Not a good day for that guy.

Glad you caught the dipstick and the lifter before it was too late. Those Morels should serve you well.

[vroomapunk]

I have a similar sound, do yall think I have the same problem?

[1sick_eg]

Almost 100% that's a lifter. Looks like you'll need a new cam as well.

[Cornflakes'Camaro]

Sounds similar to the OP's original video. I say lifter as well.

[SeaCompiler]

VROOMAPUNK, I remember following your cam build. Your video sounds just like mine unfortunately. I remember you did it yourself - so should be a walk in the park for ya now - right? It doesn't look like the stock lifters hold up too well. I hope these LS7 lifters go a little further - if not, I will go Morel next time. I have a high lift cam custom grind.

I should get mine started back up this weekend. My goal was to be down 1 month or less. I would have taken it back to Spartan but they are busy this time of year and I can't go without my only outlet for too long and he is the only one I trust other than myself. I have really enjoyed working on it - taking my time just a few hours here and there between working full time and family. It will be good to hear it again.

If you do it yourself, just be careful when you pull out the lifters to be grabbing it while you ever-so-gently pull the dowel rod out to release pressure on the lifter so it slides up as you pull. Do one at a time and as soon as it feels like it is loose, pull it up. One slip up here and you will be pulling the engine if you don't get lucky enough and the lifter lands on the pushrods and you can grab it in the cam guide with a magnet before it falls to your doom. I labeled everything in ziploc bags and boy what a difference it made going back together.

Pulling the heads is just one step more past the cam install, so do it right and your down time will be minimal. Get some ARP bolts to put it back together and maybe some LS9 gaskets made in Germany.

I will post a video once I get it going again.

[JCunningham]

if your going to do lifters. pull the old lifters 1st then the cam. Then you dont have to worry about dropping a lifter. install new cam then new lifters