valve train tick...

[jayn]

so i just bought this gtp, and its the first moded one ive had.. there is a fairly loud tick that sounds like its coming from the front head... its a 98 gtp, 05 block,top swaped, 98 heads (10k on the heads), s1x cam, ls7 valve springs, speed daddy's, 3.5, 180 tstat... it has the moded retainers and all, but the p/o couldent remeber if he used stock pushrods or not, so im assuming he did.. in that case could it be the pushrods causing the tick? or is this normal with the ls7 springs, and im freaking out over nothin?

[taman86]

heavier pound springs will cause more valvetrain clatter then stock, plus of the cam also. does it sound all around or is it in a central location? does it sound like it is coming from uner the valve cover or more inside.

all around front and back some noise- normal
central location top of head- possible bad rocker or something else
central more inside the head- pushrod, lifter

[BillBoost37]

Stock pushrods would have been fine on that setup. Can you get a vid of this tick?

[jayn]

ill get a vid of it up... pulled out the stethascope and it sounds like its coming through the valve cover, front head, right side.... if i pull the cover will it be something obviously bad, or can you not really tell by looking/feeling the rockers and such? i have to tear it apart next weekend to do the Lim gaskets anyway so what should i check? and how do i check for a bad lifter? i can spot a bent/ bad pushrod.. again ill work on getting a vid of it up today.

[BillBoost37]

Sounds like you've narrowed it down to the area of the #5 cylinder.

Will the issue be obvious? You say tick, we ask for more info, I don't think we are in a position to tell you if it'll be obvious visually. Sometimes the internet diagnosis can be tougher than others.

Certainly you can pull the pushrods and roll them on a flat surface to check them. You can look at the springs to look for breaks etc. I've seen some crazy stuff and cars still ran good. Hop in and look it over, probably the best we can suggest.

[jayn]

bill, i wasent asking you guys to diagnose the problem... really i just wanted to make sure it wasent common to have a loud tick like this.. and maybe some insight into the right direction to look, wich you have done and i appreciate that very much... now i know i may have a problem, and its not just new car jitters, and i need to look further into it... thank you for your help sir. im still going to try and get a vid up of this though

[taman86]

All I can suggest is with the rockers try and turn the motor till there is pressure on the valve spring and rocker and just kinda wiggle it to see if it clatters or is loose in some way, maybe the bearins are bad in it. Good luck with your hunt

[jayn]

alright, so now ive also noticed a miss at WOT, and it sometimes feels like it is going to cut out for a second when stoped at a light.. when it does that the tach just drops for a second to about 6 hundred and goes right back up.. what kind of plugs should this setup be running? im gonna pull them and check em out...