Valve tick or normal sound?

[Dustin Jackson]

@jdwood1111 Don't worry about changing the oil. Just get the tune and enjoy it until a problem comes up. I think you are seeing an engine getting a little old but it sounds to be working fine so don't waste your money yet. When the problem is serious enough there will be no question about it. Although it is good to educate yourself and put a game plan in place for when the day comes, because it will come one day.

 

[Geotrash]

So I installed an oil catch can this weekend based on info both here on the site and others and upon completing it and take it for a ride, I feel like the valve tick is getting louder but wanted to see if others agree. If anyone has time to compare this video to the first one, it sounds like the lower noise I was concerned about is less but the valve tick on the passenger side is much more noticeable. I am hoping the half quart of ATF and new synthetic oil didn't clean things out too much and got something stuck.

Here is my question. I have been prioritizing things and since the truck was due to inspection this month, I was going to have a local guy turn off the AFM so I did not have to worry about removing the Range device. However, he said for $400 more he could do a full tune and trans tune like black bear. He gets really good reviews and does tons of LS vehicles so I said screw it, and scheduled an appointment this saturday. Should I now be concerned with the way this sounds? Should I change the oil before hand? I just changed it a couple of months ago and have maybe only like 500-600 miles on it. I am also chasing down a mild oil leak that I was going to mess with in the spring time but the oil pressure has been fine and the truck seems to run great.

OR, am I just looking for a problem that is not there?? Say screw it and do the tune?

The only things I have not done yet maintenance wise that I wanted to potentially before the tune was the coolant and hoses. Otherwise, all other fluids and trans service was completed.

You have a fair amount of valve train noise but nothing that I would personally be worried about. At all. Clatter like that usually stems from slightly excess valve lash. Our engines use hydraulic lifters to eliminate any gaps in the mechanical links between the tip of the valve stem and the cam, but there are several things that can cause excess valve lash. Among them:

1/ Valvetrain not set up exactly right by whoever was in there last
2/ Aftermarket lifters that require less preload than stock but with stock pushrod lengths
3/ A cam with a fast ramp

Lots of other things. I still suspect that your engine is not stock. Just out of curiosity, is the valley cover flat or does it have passages and bumps cast into it?

 

[petethepug]

On next oil change, if you don’t already do it, fill the oil filter before you screw it on. It’ll help those first few seconds during oil change start ups.

 

[jdwood1111]

Thanks for the replies all. I checked in with the tuner and we are still a go for this weekend!

@petethepug - I absolutely do that did that on the past oil change as well!

I am starting a little emergency fund for any of these little issues that may creep up that I feel I cannot tackle. If my oil leak is not the oil cooler gasket or pan gasket and its the RMS, then I am not taking that on and need to pay, etc.