well, i admit defeat. i can't get the motor to do right. i built it. installed it. swapped head gaskets on it and i throw in the towel. i get this constant tick noise that speeds up as you give it gas. i pulled the valve cover and ran the motor. tick went away for the most part. installed valve cover and as soon as i backed out of the driveway it was back. motor runs strong. feels good. no missing or anything. but that damn tick.

 

So it ticks with the cover on and not as much with it off? Is it hitting the valve cover?

 

have you tried some thicker oil? 10w40? or stronger lifters. longer pushrods. set it on fire and get the marshmellows out man, ill meet you there and we can do it with both of our trucks

 

i don't think so cause there are no marks or indentions to show that it is hitting. only thing i can think of is a lifter isn't primed up. or a bad header gasket but damn, do the GM MLS gaskets go bad on a header?

 

10w40 is whats in it now. put it this way, it's the chevy tick just louder. you will hear it coming before you hear the exhaust

 

Sounds like an oil starvation issue. Could it be a clogged pushrod? A PCV issue? Throwing ideas out there. You are almost there, dont give up just yet.

 

time to come to the darkside and get a DURAMAX

 

What's the oil pressure like at idle? I has the same thing happen to me on the Wood Hauler's and it turned out to be that I pinched the freaking oil pump o-ring. Also there is a barbell restrictor at the back of the block and a plug at the front of the block on the same oil galley and if one is missing, it will have low pressure which will cause the lifters to be starved and they be noisy.

 

if we went by noise i WOULD have a duramax.

hey beau, compared to this noise john is talkin about, do you imagine it sounds like mine? just going from what he said about hearing it before the exhaust.....



john, if you drove next to some other vehicles, would this noise echo back into your window? can you hear it over the exhaust with the radio playing pretty loud? is it more of a metallic tapping or just an extra loud sewing machine

 

Had the same issue! Drop the pan and giver a try! It only costs 5.99.

BRICK:as always, take it to pms. We are gonna break you of this postwhoring habbit yet.