[Homestar1217]

I am well aware of the "ticking" noise the V6 seems to produce. Apparently it's most likely a result of the direct injection. However my engine ticks quite annoyingly, and while at school in our shop I pulled out a stethoscope and tried to pinpoint my ticking noise. I found it loudest when I had the scope on the engine head, and at first my instructor and I thought it might be a valve noise. However as we kept trying to pinpoint it we figured out that it doesn't happen on both sides, and that it was awfully near where the spark plug wire plugs in. (technical terms those :-) Anyways judging by the sound we heard my tick seems electrical, and it's only on the one cylinder. Driver's side closest to the cabin. And it gets faster with the revs obviously. I was just curious to see if anyone else had noticed this, or if I'm just paranoid (I know I am actually, but it does worry me).

Also, I just did an oil change at the same time I had it in the shop and I noticed that even though Classic Chevy, and the DIC told me I had life left in the oil after 5k, the stuff I took out was nearly black. It changed the color of my fingers... How long do I wait between the oil swaps? I mean I know the dealer will say to just follow the DIC, but I just can't do it, can't wait THAT long. My instructor said he didn't think the oil looked like it was synthetic either, which I thought you were supposed to use in these engines (the dealer did the oil change at 1k), so that's another question. Is synthetic required, or is the Castrol GTX I put in it going to be fine?