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-   -   [Z06] How to solve the problem of a ticking LS7... (https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums/c6-corvette-zr1-and-z06/2833524-how-to-solve-the-problem-of-a-ticking-ls7.html)

BSSN 05-10-2011 03:53 PM

How to solve the problem of a ticking LS7...
 
http://www.ecoautoninja.com/wp-conte...yota-prius.jpg

What? You don't want a Prius? To a starving child in Africa, that thing is EPIC!

So you're not a starving African child? Ok...

What we just did there was determine that in your mindset, the Prius is unacceptable. You probably already have it in your head that this is a gag post or a trolling attempt or that you wasted your click, so offended at the thought of trading your LS7 for a Prius.

Before you get out the tar and feathers though, step back and look at what you did. Your perception of the Prius is negative. Yet the African child's we presume to be positive in that they are impressed with its comfort,speed, etc. (compared to foot/donkey).

I doubt I can swindle you out of your corvette and into a Prius, but allow me the opportunity to try to change your mind about something very minor--the ticking going on under your hood.

A lot of you view this ticking as a serious issue, and this is understandable!

I do not, and here is why:

Piston-slap...I don't have it to a noticeable degree, but I am sure someone out there does when the car is cold. My LS1 sure had it, though. A lot of my friends through college had LS1 cars. Theirs all slapped to various degrees. Mine did, too. One friend was tearing his down and I asked him how it looked, as his was a rather loud slapping engine. He sent me pictures of the shortblock after the heads were off. Sadly, this was years ago and on my other PC, but what I saw in his close-ups were perfect, un-scratched bores with easily visible crosshash. My car slapped, too. I finally sold it with 149,XXX miles on the odometer. During that time, oil-usage (about 3/4 quart every 4500 miles) had not changed one bit. Neither had power to my detection, as at the 100K mile mark I ran a 14.0@102 with a 2.35 60' bogging like crazy scared of blowing ANOTHER rear-end.

So what causes piston slap? A lot of you already know, it's the piston being cold in the bore. When it heats up, it expands, and the slap by and large goes away or lessens. All pistons slap. Some just do it more than others due to expansion coefficients, and oil used and sensetivity of the owner's ears. I have bad hearing but sensitive ears...if that makes sense. I can hear a noise if it's being made. My Father on the other hand, could not hear any slapping or anything of the sort. If he had an LS1, it wouldn't slap :D .

So you see, some do it more than others, yes, but the owner's PERCEPTION plays a role as well. Either way, the slapping never hurt anything.

Lifter rattle...this is the sound you get from 1200-2200 rpm under low load like a slight rev, etc. This is very similar to piston slap. Lifters need a bit of space because they move rather fast and you don't want them galling. My LS1 did this, too. Oddly, it did it worse with heavier oils than lighter oils. Also, I did not have any shavings on my magnetic drain-plug besides the expected "powder" smear from the 72 to nearly 150K miles I owned my car.

Tapping...It's a pushrod motor, and the valvetrain has some heft to it. It's just going to make noise. My mustang 5.0 did it, my LT1 did it, my LS1 did it. The LT1 and 5.0 weren't "as bad" because they were not aluminum. A lot of you are comparing the LS series to previous iron-block engines you have owned and saying "My LT1 never had lifter rattle, or any of this other nonsense!"

Well...
http://www.engineeringtoolbox.com/so...ids-d_713.html

The speed of sound relates to how well a material conducts sound (obviously). The faster it is transmitted, the more efficient the material is in transmitting it.

Compare your Aluminum block to your Cast Iron block. These sounds you are hearing in your LS series engine? I am willing to bet many were present in your cast iron engines as well. You either could not hear them as they were just below your personal threshold or they were muted to the point where you considered it "normal".

So when DO you have a problem?

If the sound changes suddenly or significantly.
If you find metal in your oil.
If you cannot come to grips that for your car, the amount of mechanics you hear is normal, even though your car did it from day 1 and has done it for the last 50K miles and has run like a scalded dog.

In short, it is my belief that barring the first 2 of those 3, the only incurable noise the LS7 makes is a product of the third issue I listed above.

160KTS 05-10-2011 06:11 PM

I like you. Why? Because valvetrain noise IS acceptable and within a certain degree it's normal. On a stock catback noises are even easier to hear. When my LS7 is cold it definitely ticks a little. I don't remember my LS2 GTO doing it, but then again there was a lot more between me and the engine than in this.

erichg1000 05-10-2011 06:33 PM

These are all lies. Do not believe him. Definitely some sort of agent placed here by the government or GM or both. That website is an expert fake.

andy82 05-10-2011 06:44 PM


Originally Posted by erichg1000 (Post 1577579806)
These are all lies. Do not believe him. Definitely some sort of agent placed here by the government or GM or both. That website is an expert fake.

LMAO :rofl: :D

427PWRD 05-10-2011 07:53 PM


Originally Posted by Z06_Mir (Post 1577579615)
Because valvetrain noise IS acceptable and within a certain degree it's normal. On a stock catback noises are even easier to hear. When my LS7 is cold it definitely ticks a little. I don't remember my LS2 GTO doing it, but then again there was a lot more between me and the engine than in this.

I agree. It's a sports car. Actually, it's a factory built race car with a warranty. And my LS2 GTO was louder than a stampede when it was cold. The tick and click was ridiculously loud, but when it warmed up, it went away. Or, didn't go away, but you could faintly hear it.

OnPoint 05-10-2011 09:11 PM

I put louder than stock exhaust on my car. Ticking sounds magically disappeared.

forg0tmypen 05-10-2011 09:45 PM


Originally Posted by OnPoint (Post 1577581246)
I put louder than stock exhaust on my car. Ticking sounds magically disappeared.

This! As soon as I took off my GHL system, I could suddenly hear every little damn sound this car makes. I don't mind the ticking...don't know why everyone makes such a big deal about it, what I hate is the damn "marbles in a can" sound. I feel like I'm scraping the internals of my transmission as I'm driving. I'm now looking for a B&B Fusion system to "alleviate" this issue. And that really seems to be the way to solve a lot of these noise issues. Either put a sub in the back and crank some music, or get a louder (aka non-stock exhaust) exhaust. I have an amp/sub combo but I prefer to hear my car while in the Z, without actually hearing my car...you get the point. Another great thread from bssn! Keep em coming!

snappy28 05-11-2011 07:30 PM

I am not sure what the point of this thread was. Something about a Prius and a piston slap. You lost me on the opening comments.

erichg1000 05-11-2011 07:38 PM

IMO a starving African child would not care about a Prius except as a domicile. Of they cant afford food that child cannot afford gas

SlayerRX8 05-11-2011 08:05 PM

BSSN, since you got your Z06, you've had some great contributions. This is one of them. I laughed, and I'm sure some noobs learned their "problems" are just the nature of the beast.

Blackdevil77 05-11-2011 08:06 PM

Ummm.... :crazy2:


I get the whole, the tick isn't a big deal thing, but what does african children with an unsatisfied appetite and a toyota prius have to do with anything?

Bud Meyer 05-11-2011 09:03 PM

Valve noise
 

Originally Posted by BSSN (Post 1577578265)
http://www.ecoautoninja.com/wp-conte...yota-prius.jpg

What? You don't want a Prius? To a starving child in Africa, that thing is EPIC!

So you're not a starving African child? Ok...

What we just did there was determine that in your mindset, the Prius is unacceptable. You probably already have it in your head that this is a gag post or a trolling attempt or that you wasted your click, so offended at the thought of trading your LS7 for a Prius.

Before you get out the tar and feathers though, step back and look at what you did. Your perception of the Prius is negative. Yet the African child's we presume to be positive in that they are impressed with its comfort,speed, etc. (compared to foot/donkey).

I doubt I can swindle you out of your corvette and into a Prius, but allow me the opportunity to try to change your mind about something very minor--the ticking going on under your hood.

A lot of you view this ticking as a serious issue, and this is understandable!

I do not, and here is why:

Piston-slap...I don't have it to a noticeable degree, but I am sure someone out there does when the car is cold. My LS1 sure had it, though. A lot of my friends through college had LS1 cars. Theirs all slapped to various degrees. Mine did, too. One friend was tearing his down and I asked him how it looked, as his was a rather loud slapping engine. He sent me pictures of the shortblock after the heads were off. Sadly, this was years ago and on my other PC, but what I saw in his close-ups were perfect, un-scratched bores with easily visible crosshash. My car slapped, too. I finally sold it with 149,XXX miles on the odometer. During that time, oil-usage (about 3/4 quart every 4500 miles) had not changed one bit. Neither had power to my detection, as at the 100K mile mark I ran a 14.0@102 with a 2.35 60' bogging like crazy scared of blowing ANOTHER rear-end.

So what causes piston slap? A lot of you already know, it's the piston being cold in the bore. When it heats up, it expands, and the slap by and large goes away or lessens. All pistons slap. Some just do it more than others due to expansion coefficients, and oil used and sensetivity of the owner's ears. I have bad hearing but sensitive ears...if that makes sense. I can hear a noise if it's being made. My Father on the other hand, could not hear any slapping or anything of the sort. If he had an LS1, it wouldn't slap :D .

So you see, some do it more than others, yes, but the owner's PERCEPTION plays a role as well. Either way, the slapping never hurt anything.

Lifter rattle...this is the sound you get from 1200-2200 rpm under low load like a slight rev, etc. This is very similar to piston slap. Lifters need a bit of space because they move rather fast and you don't want them galling. My LS1 did this, too. Oddly, it did it worse with heavier oils than lighter oils. Also, I did not have any shavings on my magnetic drain-plug besides the expected "powder" smear from the 72 to nearly 150K miles I owned my car.

Tapping...It's a pushrod motor, and the valvetrain has some heft to it. It's just going to make noise. My mustang 5.0 did it, my LT1 did it, my LS1 did it. The LT1 and 5.0 weren't "as bad" because they were not aluminum. A lot of you are comparing the LS series to previous iron-block engines you have owned and saying "My LT1 never had lifter rattle, or any of this other nonsense!"

Well...
http://www.engineeringtoolbox.com/so...ids-d_713.html

The speed of sound relates to how well a material conducts sound (obviously). The faster it is transmitted, the more efficient the material is in transmitting it.

Compare your Aluminum block to your Cast Iron block. These sounds you are hearing in your LS series engine? I am willing to bet many were present in your cast iron engines as well. You either could not hear them as they were just below your personal threshold or they were muted to the point where you considered it "normal".

So when DO you have a problem?

If the sound changes suddenly or significantly.
If you find metal in your oil.
If you cannot come to grips that for your car, the amount of mechanics you hear is normal, even though your car did it from day 1 and has done it for the last 50K miles and has run like a scalded dog.

In short, it is my belief that barring the first 2 of those 3, the only incurable noise the LS7 makes is a product of the third issue I listed above.

The last time I pulled up along the side of a prius....I rolle my window down and said " Hey...put a muffler on it":cheers:

sprinter 05-11-2011 09:05 PM

I finally got it... He was trying to say that an African child eating a meal in a Prius still has ears.

FrankTank 05-11-2011 09:40 PM

all this just to talk about a ticking noise.. all the LSx motors do it to a degree so many factors at play though

BSSN 05-11-2011 10:36 PM


Originally Posted by Blackdevil77 (Post 1577590399)
Ummm.... :crazy2:


I get the whole, the tick isn't a big deal thing, but what does african children with an unsatisfied appetite and a toyota prius have to do with anything?

I noticed that you did not capitalize "African" in your above post. I am not sure, but I think this might be hinting at some sort of egocentric attitude, or perhaps racism. Am I to take offense to...


...wait a minute! It probably doesn't mean a darn thing. I'm sorry for taking one minor aspect of your post, dwelling on it, and losing the entire meaning of what you were trying to convey.

:thumbs:

BSSN 05-11-2011 10:41 PM


Originally Posted by SlayerRX8 (Post 1577590380)
BSSN, since you got your Z06, you've had some great contributions. This is one of them. I laughed, and I'm sure some noobs learned their "problems" are just the nature of the beast.

Thanks. I am a very technical minded person, and before I bought a Z06, I beat the snot out of it intellectually from every technical angle. I knew EXACTLY what I was getting. I ruffled many feathers. However, all these little "quirks", they are normal, I bought the car knowing it would have them, and I love it. I think a lot of people would have been happier had they scrutinized their Z06 BEFORE the purchase instead of after. Just trying to assist :flag:

LS6-M22 05-12-2011 12:31 AM

The sound of my LS6 454 forged 11:25 to one solid lifter Chevelle makes is pure music to my ears.The hardly noticeable ticking noise my Z06 makes is of no concern.

scootguy58 05-12-2011 10:47 AM

My WIFE had the car out all day for her Birthday. When she got home from a day on the road, all she wanted to talk about was all of the great and different sounds that "our" Z makes. Of course she always drives with the Mild to Wild on "Wild", which hurts not a bit.
She even enjoys the creaks and goans of the Coil overs, saying that all of the aural mechanics is what adds to the value of this automobile. I tend to agree. The more "noise" the merrier...just my (and her) 2cents.

eagle0001 05-12-2011 02:08 PM

Huh? I thought for sure the ticking was from my Z's digital clock. :willy: Isn't it? :rofl:


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