Exhaust Manifold Gaskets/Lifter Tick

[Marky Dissod]

At idle, it's not as messy as you imagine, and that's before you make some temporary roofless valvecovers
out of cardboard to minimize spillage before running the engine. Make them taller, but not too tall.

 

[JPVortex]

At idle, it's not as messy as you imagine, and that's before you make some temporary roofless valvecovers
out of cardboard to minimize spillage before running the engine. Make them taller, but not too tall.

Alright here it is, pulled it off real quick. Oil IS getting up to the valvetrain. But it looks disgusting for sure, lot darker than what's on the dipstick. But, yeah the tick can be very easily heard with the cover off, and it's pretty loud. Sounds like it may be coming from cylinder 2, will confirm with a stethoscope. No real play on the rocker arms, little side to side before I started it, but that's normal. So not sure what's going on here. I assume lifter, maybe rocker or pushrod?

Here's a video of the whole mess:

 

[JPVortex]

Update, got the stethoscope on it, not cylinder number 2. Drum rolllllll, the noise is coming from the intake valve on cylinder number 4. I go to the exhaust valve on cylinder 4 right next to it and the intake valve on cylinder 6 and the tick gets much quieter. Put it right on top of the bolt on the rocker for the intake valve on cylinder 4, it makes a racket. Very very loud especially with revs.

So now it's narrowed down even further. It's probably a lifter(most likely in my opinion, a rocker arm or a pushrod. I guess it could be a valve spring too but I highly doubt that)

 

[JPVortex]

Update, got the stethoscope on it, not cylinder number 2. Drum rolllllll, the noise is coming from the intake valve on cylinder number 4. I go to the exhaust valve on cylinder 4 right next to it and the intake valve on cylinder 6 and the tick gets much quieter. Put it right on top of the bolt on the rocker for the intake valve on cylinder 4, it makes a racket. Very very loud especially with revs.

So now it's narrowed down even further. It's probably a lifter(most likely in my opinion, a rocker arm or a pushrod. I guess it could be a valve spring too but I highly doubt that)

The lifer DOES seem to still be working though. Valve opens and closes exactly like it should when it should. I am suspecting rocker arm or pushrod *slightly*, as everything does seem to be working "fine".

 

[JPVortex]

Sorry for spam, keep diving deeper. Seems I have found something. It's very hard to tell even for myself, but it seems like the pushrod on intake cylinder 4 may be slightlyyy bent. Also, the trunnion bearing on the rocker arm seems to have some up and down slop/play, Just enough to be felt.

Think a lifter could've done this or the rocker arm?

Think I need at minimum to replace the rocker arm and pushrod.

Video:

 

[JPVortex]

So I pulled another rocker arm off. It does have a slight amount of up and down movement of the trunnion bearing aswell, but the cylinder 4 one has a bit more and also clicks more than the 2nd one I pulled off.

 

[JPVortex]

Ok, here’s the test. Got new pushrod, well 4. I ordered 1 pushrod and the autozone guy gave me 1 box lol. They’re melling, so a decent brand. New rocker arm will be here tomorrow.

Did a rolling test on my table with a new pushrod vs an old one. The new one easily rolls down the table and stops when it runs out of momentum. However the old one seems like it wants to hang, doesn’t want to roll with almost no effort like the new one. And when it is rolling it sounds like it’s rolling, then sound stops for a split second then it continues. Think it is bent!


And yet another video for you folks.

 

[Marky Dissod]

You may also want to replace the corresponding lifter.

 

[rockola1971]

You may also want to replace the corresponding lifter.

He likely dont want to have to pull the heads. But since pushrods and rocker arms are cheap I would atleast replace all of them. If there is any real problems with the lifters its because their rollers are hosed and the cam is likely done too.

 

[JPVortex]

He likely dont want to have to pull the heads. But since pushrods and rocker arms are cheap I would atleast replace all of them. If there is any real problems with the rockers its because their rollers are hosed and the cam is likely done too.

Yeah exactly, don’t want to pull the heads. I just need the truck to run and drive. If I had to the time I’d do it, but I don’t.

May replace all the rockers and pushrods, wouldn’t hurt. I’ll see what results I get from the known bad one first before I spend the money.

Seems like the top end of this engine is really going out the on me, it’s unfortunate for sure.

 

[JPVortex]

He likely dont want to have to pull the heads. But since pushrods and rocker arms are cheap I would atleast replace all of them. If there is any real problems with the rockers it’s because their rollers are hosed and the cam is likely done too.

Reread this and can you clarify a little please? Do you think that because the roller in the rocker is going bad, it’s taking out the cam? Just a little confused lol.

 

[Scottydoggs]

Reread this and can you clarify a little please? Do you think that because the roller in the rocker is going bad, it’s taking out the cam? Just a little confused lol.

you have a roller lifter, they can fail, and do squeak when going bad. once its gone bad the cam lobe is also killed, then you need a new cam, new lifters.

 

[rockola1971]

Reread this and can you clarify a little please? Do you think that because the roller in the rocker is going bad, it’s taking out the cam? Just a little confused lol.

meant lifter. Corrected. If you have to have the truck up and running, I would run it with new rockers and pushrods. If noise is still there then you will have to plan on pulling the heads and since you are already in there, replace lifters but I bet you will find that you have a roller lifter hosed and then will need to yank cam and replace it also. If you have a hosed lifter it just gets worse from here until fixed. When the roller goes sideways then you have a hell of a mess and it that mess ends up imbedded in all of your bearings.

 

[JPVortex]

you have a roller lifter, they can fail, and do squeak when going bad. once its gone bad the cam lobe is also killed, then you need a new cam, new lifters.

Ah gotcha, it does kind of sound like it has a bit of a squeak with the tick. Not a good sign that’s for sure.

 

[JPVortex]

meant lifter. Corrected. If you have to have the truck up and running, I would run it with new rockers and pushrods. If noise is still there then you will have to plan on pulling the heads and since you are already in there, replace lifters but I bet you will find that you have a roller lifter hosed and then will need to yank cam and replace it also. If you have a hosed lifter it just gets worse from here until fixed. When the roller goes sideways then you have a hell of a mess and it that mess ends up imbedded in all of your bearings.

Thanks for the clarification. Sounds like massive engine disassembly to me, not ideal. Definitely something I’d be confident doing but for a truck with 200k miles, rotted rocker panels etc not sure it’d be worth it at that point. And if I’m tearing down to the block I may as well pull the engine, and at that point I as well just put a lower mileage engine in. It’s a total rabbit hole. There’s also the question of if the heads and the deck would need machine work. Just something I can’t be bothered to do on my only vehicle.

 

[JPVortex]

Yeah totally not worth it to tear this engine down and replace everything.

Priced out CHEAP engine tech rockauto parts that I’d need, and the total is almost $700, and I forgot to add an oil pump to the list.

The list includes

Cam and lifters

Head gaskets

Head bolts

Timing set

Timing gaskets

Push rods

Rocker arms

And a good oil pump is +$100 at least


So, it’s not going to be worth it at all. First result for a 5.3 on marketplace is 65 miles away there’s an LM7 with 140k miles for $600 complete. I have an L59 in my suburban but can swap fuel rails, etc.

This is probably the part where I replace rockers and push rods and ride the hell out of it till it dies. Then I either get rid of the suburban or put a used engine in it.

It’s a damn shame really, picked the thing up with zero ticks, perfect oil pressure and everything. About a month after I bought it the tick started(around October 2024) and it’s been driving me crazy since.

 

[JPVortex]

Just something I'm now noticing while rewatching my own videos, it kind of seems like cylinder 2's exhaust rocker isn't getting nearly as much oil as the rest of the rockers. Kind of looks like it isn't getting much oil at all.

Hopefully I diagnosed the right cylinder as making all the noise, because the lack of oil is kind of suspect to me. You can see oil flowing down the surrounding rocker arms, but not a whole lot on cylinder 2 exhaust. May end up pulling that rocker too and making sure the hole in the pushrod isn't blocked up.

 

[JPVortex]

So new rocker and pushrod are installed on intake cylinder 4 the one ticking, and not good news. The thing still ticks and it’s getting ZERO oil up to the rocker, I ran it for about 30 seconds and no oil to it at all.

This lifter might not be pumping up at all.

 

[Scottydoggs]

well on the bright side of things, no better time than now to do a performance cam, other then needing a tune parts dont cost any more then stock stuff. stay with a smaller cam or you'll need a higher stall torque converter.

 

[JPVortex]

well on the bright side of things, no better time than now to do a performance cam, other then needing a tune parts dont cost any more then stock stuff. stay with a smaller cam or you'll need a higher stall torque converter.

Well goodish news, after a couple minutes of running and me slightly loosening the torque on the rocker arm bolt, oil has arrived! So the lifter is still doing something, maybe my torque wrench isn’t accurate, think there was too much preload. Still ticks just like it did before though, so yeah…