"Morning Tick" ...

[cryptnix]

thinking about taking the initiative to fixing that problem ...

 

can someone explain to me whats happening? in lamens terms please?

 

or should I take it like a man and just leave it be ... and wait for my swap? cause I doubt no one would want this car if it had that. let alone my constant abuse of over reving it ... ahhh K&N filters :-D

 

It sounds like my car is a damn diesel and it gets annoying ... I noticed it started happening after I blew my mani gasket ...

[digitaloutsider]

Are you referring to the tapping sound when you start the engine on some cooler mornings/days?

[cryptnix]

it does it every day ... even when its warm outside.

 

but disappears when the car has sat and ran for a while

[DiscoStudd]

That's just a characteristic of the GM pushrod motors. I know a guy who used to work for a Chevy dealership, and he said that there's no cure for it, but it's not doing any damage either. You could try to switch your oil filter over to a Purolator PurOne, as they say that will cut down on the "ticking" a bit...

[SigEpCutlass]

it's okay...it's normal...you can stop freaking out now

[cryptnix]

Purolator PurOne?

 

i'll give her a shot when i change my babies oil then :-D

[1badtgp]

My engine did this even after a reqbuild. Even the old SBC's that I've had have don it. Welcome to pushrods bud!

[digitaloutsider]

Yep. My 3.1 really doesn't do it very much.. The 3400 in the Montana on the other hand..

[cryptnix]

:-D Figures!

 

Its so annoying, what causes it in the first place?

[93GTP]

It is valve lifter noise and every 3.1/3100/3400 I've ever heard has it (to different degrees). When the engine warms up the parts expand to proper tolerances and the noise disappears. This usually takes a few minutes. If it stays when fully warm you have a problem.

 

I found switching to an AC Delco filter on my mom's 3100 helped a lot for the noise on startup. Her car has gotten no worse at all over the last 100,000 kms either (has 292,000 now).

[z34_nut]

err what about on DOHC's, does the same rule apply?

[THe_DeTAiL3R]

I remember our old '85 T-bird w/ 3.8... that thing ticked like a MOFO. My 2.8 ticks (always) but its not very loud (only really heard it with the hood open).

[god910]

Alot of it was piston slap too. GM released TSB's about it. Don't remember what all engines were covered, but piston slap was the problem. No cure. Anyone remember the engines?

[cutlassdude96]

3100 have the pistion slap problems, mines prety quite used to louder, little noise at cold startup

[93CutlassSupreme]

our fuel injectors are loud too, that's a big part of the problem

[Dannymik]

My 3100 has that wonderful noise every morning or after it sits for several hours. I dont think the 3.4's make that annoying noise or am I crazy?

[godofthunder]

its not as common...never heard one to be sure.

 

Does the piston slap sound go away too? After my car warms up, its actually quite quiet.

 

But, the best thing is, if it goes away after it warms up, its fine. If it doesnt, then yeah, get it checked out, and it may be piston slap. I know mine doesnt do that though. I brought this up to my dad, whos a GM Master Tech, and he said this. Its all fine (well, not sure about piston slap, but if it goes away, its fine).

 

jon

[god910]

Yeah, it comes down to tolerances in assembly. Yet get a big cylinder w/ a small piston, and you'll get slap until it heats up. It goes away, but if not, then yeah, get it looked at.

[cryptnix]

after she sits for a few ... she's so quiet i can't even hear her running.

 

like sometimes i'll just forget that its even running like at a bank and crank it and hear the grinding noise of the starter ... ohhhh how embarassing that is but ... :-D at least for 130,000 miles on the clock she's running probably better then she was when she first came out off the assembly line (psshhhttt)