Dry Start (oil) ?

[Carmine SS]

Originally Posted by TriGun

Is it L99 or LS3?

Anyway you can use some heavier oil and see if it continues to tick.

I'm not sure, I will check the VIN and see. If it's the L99, I would be surprised. But that could be something worth looking into.

I will consider heavier oil as well, thank you.

[hunter1660]

The L99 is the automatic trans...If its the lifters ...all the oil changes in the world won't fix it....a mechanical failure won't fix it's self.....some of the L99s have faulty lifters....I know....I had all mine replaced....I too hoped an oil change. Or a few more miles would help....it didn't....because its random and so stated in the tsb...and because my dealer was 2 hours away....I made a video...it took a couple start ups to catch it....then there was no denying it....it wasn't a ticking sound as much as it was a tapping sound...like you were hitting the engine with a hammer...tap. Tap tap..just as you mentioned....the lifters leak down...if that's what it is. There's only one cure....good luck...I hate it forya....once repaired mine sounds like a new engine should...

[Carmine SS]

Hunter, that's what I'm afraid of, but it's under warranty so if it has to be done, it will be done. The car is an automatic. It's a very obvious lifter, and it clacks loudly for a few seconds, and then once the oil gets up into the heads it quiets down. I had hoped it might have been the cheap bulk oil the dealership used to change it before I got it, but its been a couple weeks now and it hasn't improved, in fact it seems to have gotten worse, as a couple times recently though it has ticked very lightly for a few minutes before it goes away. I too have video, and the writer acknowledged when he heard it that it was unusually loud. They of course have to duplicate the problem before intiating any RO on it. I plan on dropping it off this weekend and letting them try it throughout the week until they get a good, i.e. loud, start. The car has just over 47k miles.

[nyrfan]

Originally Posted by Carmine SS

Hunter, that's what I'm afraid of, but it's under warranty so if it has to be done, it will be done. The car is an automatic. It's a very obvious lifter, and it clacks loudly for a few seconds, and then once the oil gets up into the heads it quiets down. I had hoped it might have been the cheap bulk oil the dealership used to change it before I got it, but its been a couple weeks now and it hasn't improved, in fact it seems to have gotten worse, as a couple times recently though it has ticked very lightly for a few minutes before it goes away. I too have video, and the writer acknowledged when he heard it that it was unusually loud. They of course have to duplicate the problem before intiating any RO on it. I plan on dropping it off this weekend and letting them try it throughout the week until they get a good, i.e. loud, start. The car has just over 47k miles.

It it were a lifter it would not likely quite down.


Sent from my 2SS/RS

[hunter1660]

Once it pumps up it quietens right off...only last until it pumps up....warranty fixed mine....William R. With GM customer serv. can help you get it done....talk with him..it's been 30000 miles since mine was done and no issues.....once the serv. manager watched my video he put me in a loaner and about a week later it was like new....the tsb says its random so you can't make it duplicate the issue...thus the video....I could duplicate all day long and there was no denying it was the lifters....good luck

[Carmine SS]

Originally Posted by hunter1660

Once it pumps up it quietens right off...only last until it pumps up....warranty fixed mine....William R. With GM customer serv. can help you get it done....talk with him..it's been 30000 miles since mine was done and no issues.....once the serv. manager watched my video he put me in a loaner and about a week later it was like new....the tsb says its random so you can't make it duplicate the issue...thus the video....I could duplicate all day long and there was no denying it was the lifters....good luck

Yes, one must have some excessive bleed down, and after a few seconds it does quiet down ... although twice now, it has had a quieter residual tick for about two minutes after the initial clacking. It's loud ... when I started it via remote start the other day I could hear it from inside my house! I have a few separate videos, but as I've been driving it for a few consecutive days now, I am realizing it isn't every start.

Thanks for the name, I will see if I can get ahold of him and see what can be done. Again, the car is under warranty, so I'm not worried about that, but I'd rather just get it taken care of.

[hunter1660]

Let s know how it works out forya.

[Carmine SS]

An update on my curious situation....

I had planned to drop the car off again and let it sit for a few days before instructing them to start it again. But then I decided to drive it daily for 1 week, and to my surprise, the ticking all but disappeared after a few days of being driven. I barely heard a sound upon startup, and no prolonged soft ticking either. Until I let it sit for 2 days again. At this point, I'm not super worried about it. I will probably take it to them at the end of the "season" and let them do what they will with it, before storing it for the winter.

[Carmine SS]

Two month update.

Ticking is regular upon start, despite daily driving. I'm switching to a heavier weight oil in the spring to see if that makes a difference. A mechanic, who worked at the GM Tech Center, said all the ticking is coming from the left head. The car went into storage 10/1 and has been sitting since; I started it today, and it's very loud. I think when it comes out of storage in April, it will needs warranty work. Actually, I know it needs warranty suspension work, but I'm going to initiate the process and see if I can't get someone from GM onboard with repairing this. It should not be ticking like this. I have a few different videos taken on random mornings.

[vroomapunk]

Keep bringing it in and complaining. Whatever you do, keep on the dealer about fixing it, dont wait like 6 months or something. I had a rear end noise from day one, took it in like 5 times, then waited about 8 months, and in that time I got headers and a tune.

So I brought it in again and the finally heard it, but now they sent it in to GM to approve. Im sure ill still be able to get the repair done, but i may have to jump through some hoops because of the tune.

So, just get it all fixed before you decided to get a tune or anything further.

[FanDamNCSU]

I am going through the same issue. I asked to speak with the mechanic directly and showed him the videos. I also took the time to explain to him the symptoms and information I had researched. The first time I took it in, he had looked at the TSB but never knew the L99 had AFM and ignored the TSB.

Anyways, once I talked to him about the issue and showed him the videos, he was more than happy to perform the TSB. My car goes in tomorrow for a few days, hopefully all goes well.

Here is one of the many videos that I recorded that I showed him:

[FanDamNCSU]

Update on my issue.

I had the mechanic replace the lifters and my cars engine sounds much more healthy. I really had no idea how bad the ticking was on my engine - I'm very glad I was able to convince them to perform this repair.