help with engine noise

[2kSSnTX]

hi guys i have a 2000 camaro ss ls1 and I'm noticing the engine becoming more noisy. Someone told me it was my hydraulic lifters..? I'm sure its in the top of the engine but I'm not a mechanic. When i first crank from cold it sounds fine for the first 20-30 seconds then the "tapping" starts.. Its really starting to worry me, oh btw the car has 67k miles. after the tapping start i can idle it up to maybe 1.3k rpm and the tapping subsides temporarily.

Basically i need some advice here, this car is my baby. I've never rebuilt an engine by myself but I'm an intelligent person and i believe i can do whatever it takes with the right tools and knowledge. What should i do ?

I don't want to get into a big conversation about upgrading with a whole bunch of high performance parts but while I'm fixing it and its simple enough i wouldn't mind adding some high performance stuff to it.

Any and all help is greatly appreciated. thanks

[2kSSnTX]

bump.....

maybe a set of lifters and pushrods? do they make some sort of "kit" maybe?

Feedback would be great.

[zdude]

I have the same problem with my ride (Black Z28 conv. 2000.). It only happens when the engine is cold, once it warms up it stops tapping. :think: If idle to 15rs it subsides, but tapping returns at idle. Car has 54k miles on it. Never over rev the engine. I'm still learning the ins & outs of my LS1. I hope it's not the valve train. One thing bad about my camaro, no room to work. Just about everything is in the way.

[2kSSnTX]

surely there are some experienced people out there that can shed some light on this subject for us......... :)

[Not stock&4smokin barrels]

mines kinda made a noise since my header swap! but i've been told it's nothin to worry about! i did have a tickin noise in the engine found out the oil level was real low! topped it up & it went! check plug & leads other than that :dunno:

[MNR-0]

Try a different oil. I had same problem until I changed my oil to 10W40 semi-syn. I used to run 20W50 and I think it was too thick. Also, make sure its an oil that maintains its viscosity. Mobil SuperS 10W40 Ive heard is good.

[zdude]

The oil is at operating levels. Type of oil I used is 5w30, recomended oil. Brand is mobil 1 syn.

[CamaroSSx1999]

either piston slap or ur fuel injector's

[Rabbit]

Wasn't there a Gm service bulletin a while back about this. Something about a o ring in the oil pump breaking and causing a problem that sounds a lot like that. I could be way off. The link to the site was on the old forum. Maybe someone else will rember what I am talking about or have a link to it.

[Sarge]

Piston slap ....
http://www.pistonslap.com/

[Rabbit]

Hey thats where the link to that TSB was. You'd think I could have rembered something as obvious as pistonslap.com Heh argh. Your the man Sarge. :usa:

[CamaroSSx1999]

Tsb=?

[2kSSnTX]

so what would u guys do with a car thats developing piston slap? it has almost 70k miles on it, and i'm still paying for it (got about $10k left to pay). Has anyone ever overcome this problem?

Thanks for all the responses.

[zdude]

All info u dudes have given are helpful. U rodders are a great help. :worship:
For me I going to keep my Z-ride. Can't get it new. For me, time to prepair for a rebuild. :cry:
Well see what it will lead to. I'll keep checking to see if anyone has temp. fix. I hope there is one.
Thanks again. :yourock:

[Demon_Speeding]

mines kinda made a noise since my header swap! but i've been told it's nothin to worry about! i did have a tickin noise in the engine found out the oil level was real low! topped it up & it went! check plug & leads other than that :dunno:
If you installed SMOG legal headers then it may be the air tubes. I can't remember the specifics of it. There used to be a ton of threads on here about it. It had something to do with the fact that the AIR tube gaskets were too big. I think it was something like make a new gasket and drill a specific size hole, smaller than stock. If I remember right the larger stock size gasket was letting exhaust "pop" back up into the AIR tube. You might want to do a search on another LS1 forum and see if you can dig up the specifics. I had a tick after my header install....turned out it was the AIR tubes. I wound up just blocking mine off after the tune, since I had my AIR disabled.

[CamaroSSx1999]

thatound like piston slap?

[mustanggt35th]

Piston slap ....
http://www.pistonslap.com/
No worky. But yeah no doubt its piston slap. I have had 5 GM vehicles that had it. The bigger the displacement LS motor the louder the slap. My Denali does it now

[CamaroSSx1999]

sell or keep a car that has piston slap?????

[gnomee]

Well I got 160,000 miles on my 98 LS1 no noise or problems. Guess I got lucky. I know its kinda lame but I don't change my oil anymore since I can get it done and get my car vaccumed and my fluids topped for the same price it takes to buy that damn Mobil 1. My point is when I first started paying someone to do it they didn't know the car took 5.5 quarts. They underfilled it twice but even then I didn't hear any noise. You got enough oil?

[CamaroSSx1999]

my dad;s 5.3 is WAY louder then mine... 5.3's r horrible with slap, they ALL do it almost.

[STONELS1]

I was told it was the nature of the beast and this was from my friend who has 87,000 plus miles on his 98 Formula and the tapping when cold started around 11,000 miles!

[ksg32198]

Yep, its pistonslap. I bought my SS new and at 13k it started tapping but it would continue for 30 minutes. The problem is that on certain LS1 engines, the back 2 cylinders were bored larger than the other cylinders and the piston rocks back and forth in the cylinder untill it gets hot. Some engine quieten down, some dont. Mine didnt and I had to get legal help to solve the issue. Gm says that it does not cause premature wear of the engines. If you have a LS1 engine doing this, you can ask your local dealer for a free componant Letter to extended warranty to 100k. Just my opinion and what I had to go through to get my engine replaced by GM.

[Sarge]

No worky. But yeah no doubt its piston slap. I have had 5 GM vehicles that had it. The bigger the displacement LS motor the louder the slap. My Denali does it now
I just clicked on it and went right to it....?????Link works fine from here....I dunno....

[Liquifire]

Tsb=?
technical service bulletin

[jd2002ss]

I have a 2002 ss vert and it has had this ticking sound since new. :cry: Once it is warmed up it goes away. I never took it back in fear that a dealership would only screw it up even more. It does run strong and burns no oil (22,000 miles). I guess I'll just live with it. :blah:

[ksg32198]

My suggestion is to take it back to report the engine problem. It has to be documented 3 times within the 36k if you want GM to do anything about it later on. It is piston slap and from what I understand, alot of engines have alot of wear on the back 2 cylinders and could cause more issues after 36k. Mine is really strong also, but it had started using oil and the knock was making it sound like should be in a 1978 impala with 200k miles. GM replaced the LS1 engines in the vettes, but if you play your cards right, they will pay you off for the noise and give you a componant letter that will extend your engine warranty to 100k. Just my opinion, but I had to get a lawyer to handle this for me and these are some of the things I had to go through.