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  1. #1
    Member camaroluvr447's Avatar
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    2000 Pewter Z28 M6

    HELP! ls1 engine tap. WHATS WRONG?!

    OK, so i just bought a 2000 z28 m6 and when I bought it there was no abnormal noise, my auto experienced friend said it was very mechanically sound. The oil was very clean, and it had all kinds of recent maintenance. The car has 98,000 on it. I drove it kinda hard ( to about 6000 rpm ) for the second day I owned it and then later in the day it suddenly has a taping noise coming from the engine. I sounds like one valve is tapping or something. Could a lifter be broke? I dont know what to do, any advice would be great!! Thanks.

  2. #2
    LSwut tep98ws6's Avatar
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    have you gotten it pretty far up in RPMs? it's a pushrod engine and you can bend them very easy in higher RPMs, esp if you bounce the rev limiter. it's a pretty easy fix but i've noticed 9/10 times any LS application has the cool push rod tap/death rattle in higher RPMs

  3. #3
    Senior Member Z28_Driver's Avatar
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    Why did they put such cheap pushrods in these cars?
    Everybody bends them eventually.

  4. #4
    LSwut tep98ws6's Avatar
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    beats me! they're a pretty easy upgrade, you can get all new, stronger push rods for like $95-$100. i think that's my next project, i don't want the death rattle.

  5. #5
    Member camaroluvr447's Avatar
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    i never hit the rev limiter, if thats what you mean by higher rpms. i dont have a ton of money to put into the car right now but how much would it cost to replace the valves, lifters,springs, pushrods, rockers, basicallly the whole valve train ( parts only) ? Also how bad is a bent pushrod, can i still drive the car? will it heavily impact peromance?

  6. #6
    LSwut tep98ws6's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by camaroluvr447 View Post
    i never hit the rev limiter, if thats what you mean by higher rpms. i dont have a ton of money to put into the car right now but how much would it cost to replace the valves, lifters,springs, pushrods, rockers, basicallly the whole valve train ( parts only) ? Also how bad is a bent pushrod, can i still drive the car? will it heavily impact peromance?
    you can drive the car but it's going to be extremely noisy. i wouldn't recommend it ... a bent push rod can lead to other damage so it's probably best that you replace them. easiest way to check is take a screwdriver and put your ear to the handle and listen along the valve cover where your pushrods are, it'll be a very distinct tapping noise if it's bent. i believe texas speed offers the 7.4" chromoly pushrods and they're an affordable upgrade and should at least diminish your tapping noise. i would check first though to make sure that is the problem.
    Last edited by tep98ws6; 09-29-2009 at 07:59 AM. Reason: oops

  7. #7
    Member camaroluvr447's Avatar
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    how to i make sure they are pushrods? the screwdirver trick would aslo work for tapping valves, a lifter, and piston slap.

  8. #8
    LSwut tep98ws6's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by camaroluvr447 View Post
    how to i make sure they are pushrods? the screwdirver trick would aslo work for tapping valves, a lifter, and piston slap.
    well looks like you're diving in son
    jk. seriously, probably best to pop the valve covers off, pull the rods and see if they're bent. they bend so f-ing easy, you'll probably be happy you did it. i'll hafta show you some i pulled out a z two weeks ago. so bad!

  9. #9
    Member camaroluvr447's Avatar
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    it is only one tapping, but im worried if i drive it i might damage the engine.... is that possible?

  10. #10
    LSwut tep98ws6's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by camaroluvr447 View Post
    it is only one tapping, but im worried if i drive it i might damage the engine.... is that possible?
    well it's not good! if it's just one, you can get one from Autozone probably for like $5-$15 ... i'm guessing, i don't know for sure, but i would most definitely try!

  11. #11
    Member camaroluvr447's Avatar
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    do I have to replace all the pushrods or just the bent one? is it ok to replace the bent one with a higher strength one as long as it is the same length?

  12. #12
    LSwut tep98ws6's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by camaroluvr447 View Post
    do I have to replace all the pushrods or just the bent one? is it ok to replace the bent one with a higher strength one as long as it is the same length?
    if you're not wanting to replace all of them for any reason, just get an OEM push rod. they'll be same length, same strength. it was probably bent by some jackass revving it real high. that's how the Z bent it's rods. if one is bent, you can do just the one.

  13. #13
    Senior Member Z28_Driver's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by camaroluvr447 View Post
    i never hit the rev limiter, if thats what you mean by higher rpms. i dont have a ton of money to put into the car right now but how much would it cost to replace the valves, lifters,springs, pushrods, rockers, basicallly the whole valve train ( parts only) ? Also how bad is a bent pushrod, can i still drive the car? will it heavily impact peromance?
    Your really not going to hurt the engine or likely to bend a rod from one trip to 6000rpm. So don't think you ruined your engine. If its just a bent rod, replace it or the whole set.
    If you want to do all the parts mentioned above you should just do heads, cam and lifters while you have it all ripped apart. Between $2500 and 3000 for decent stuff. You can spend alot here.
    Do like suggested and pull the valve covers and rods. I would replace the whole set if I were you. One less thing to break and not that expensive.
    Good Luck with it either way!

  14. #14
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    Camaroluvr447, speaking from experience...and if money is a little tight I would go ahead and replace the push rods on the side that the ticking noise is coming from. I just got my car back last night and though I was lucky not to have extensive damage....it could have been real bad. I let the tick go until the rod broke (was on the way to have the engine looked at when it finally gave out). Turns out the hole in the aluminun head that the rod goes through turned into a slot and the rod kept bending until it finally broke.

    If you know someone that gets a discount at a parts store the price per rod could be as low as $2.50 ea. that's what I ended up paying. It's a small investment that could potentially save you a tremendous amount of money if the rod were to break and a valve hits a piston.

  15. #15
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    Quote Originally Posted by tep98ws6 View Post
    i'll hafta show you some i pulled out a z two weeks ago. so bad!
    waiting for this post !!

  16. #16
    Member camaroluvr447's Avatar
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    hey just thought i would give an update on this little project. fixed it months ago last year, was a bent pushrod, bent bad too. went quickly and easily nice little hands on intro to the the ls1. Thanks for the input it helped alot.

  17. #17
    Senior Member Z28_Driver's Avatar
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    Glad to hear it worked out for you.

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