name that sound.... new guy

**lipsasaurus** · 04-03-2012, 04:02 PM

so i have an 01 trans am, 94k miles good oil pressure, plenty of power, does not burn any oil either. Does have the piston slap and possibly a lifter tick. using a long screwdriver i can find the sound comes strongest from the front center of the engine, but its hard to tell... i have a video, this video is of the car warm just drove home.

**pajeff02** · 04-03-2012, 04:10 PM

Welcome to the site!

Manual trans? Could be a bent push rod although it sounds a bit deeper in pitch than what I would anticipate.

**lipsasaurus** · 04-03-2012, 04:22 PM

i forgot to add this information. its M6 trans, it seems to be gone above 1.5k or when driving

**pajeff02** · 04-03-2012, 04:39 PM

M6 -- if you missed a shift and over-revved, there is a good possibility that a push rod or two ended up bent. Common issue on our cars. Other members will chime in eventually so you'll get some other opinions.

**lipsasaurus** · 04-03-2012, 04:43 PM

i can say that i have not over reved it, before i bought it i took it to my local mechanic and he said it sounded normal because of the aluminum block, just wanted another opinion

**pajeff02** · 04-03-2012, 04:54 PM

That does not sound normal.

**lipsasaurus** · 04-03-2012, 06:38 PM

assuming the push rod is bent, how do i go about changing them, what cost should i expect

**pajeff02** · 04-04-2012, 03:52 AM

Pull coil pack assembly and the rocker cover, unbolt the rockers and lift the push rods out of the engine. Best way to check them is to roll them on a piece of glass. If any of them are bent, you'll easily see this and those are the ones to replace. Best bet would be to drop in an aftermarket set anyway and avoid a repeat. Of course, not sure if this is your issue yet so let's get some more opinions in here.

**lipsasaurus** · 04-04-2012, 05:21 AM

My concern is getting the coils off, and getting the rockers back on correctly. What brand and legntg is proper? I hear its easier then spark plug change wouldn't hurt to just do it. But the sound is gone when driving just idle or N

***SMWS6TA*** · 04-04-2012, 09:45 AM

I hate to say this, but that was the same sound my wife's jeep made when it spun a bearing. Started out only at idle and a little while later it got progressively much worse.

I hear it much clearer when you put the camera underneath, and when you increase the idle it also increases the taping.

I hope I'm wrong. But I thought I would throw that out as a possibility.

**Knight** · 04-04-2012, 10:47 AM

I'm with Scott, although it can be tough to pinpoint sounds by video. The ticking sound is much clearer under the engine though.

**lipsasaurus** · 04-04-2012, 10:55 AM

It is louder under the car only on the passenger side, I hope your wrong, its starting to sound more like an exhaust leak to m

**Knight** · 04-04-2012, 11:56 AM

As I said, it's always hard to tell by video. But the sound I'm hearing seems to be more mechanical.

**pajeff02** · 04-04-2012, 12:38 PM

Exhaust leak is generally a sharp "tick" sound and is usually easy to locate. You can either feel it puffing out or see a carbon track that points right to the leak.

**lipsasaurus** · 04-04-2012, 12:59 PM

I know, I am just not sure, if its true that would require a large sum of cash. Complete teardown

***SMWS6TA*** · 04-04-2012, 01:25 PM

Yes it will, but better to know then ignore it and have a blown engine on the side of the road.

**lipsasaurus** · 04-04-2012, 01:40 PM

i wont even lie, i have had this car 9 days i think... it drives 1000% fine, was medically discharged out of the army back in college i could probably sell my motorcycle to replace the engine but before i start looking into that shoot out some more options. Also shoot me some numbers in total cost and time, doing it myself not at a shop. easier to just buy a new engine?

**lipsasaurus** · 04-04-2012, 02:01 PM

this is pretty close to mine... a follow up post says he has driven it 40k miles sense posting and still fine.... i guess i will keep on trucking.

**Knight** · 04-04-2012, 02:04 PM

Good luck. Hopefully it doesn't leave you stranded, or lock up and cause other damage, if it is a bearing.

**lipsasaurus** · 04-04-2012, 04:30 PM

well tomorrow is the local street fights night at Bristol motor speedway. Its like local and pro 1/4 mile racing anyone can run anything. Im going to run because i want to join the 100 mph club. I dont know if this means anything but i found a letter in the car about cats going bad in 01, it was from GM, not a recall just saying they could be bad, and on the letter was written possible cat converter problem.... mean anything? the bolts to the cats, y pipe and collector are rusted sooooo bad.