Ticking sound. Sometimes there, sometimes not

[Jworks]

2 hours ago, customboss said:

Thanks, I see.   Its not gonna be particles from my experience, it might be shellac or varnish formed on the valvetrain components and sticking the lifter from rotating in bore OR affecting stick- slip, traction coefficients enough to talk out loud.  Or just plain interrupting the lubricant chemistry from doing its job.   Usually fuel dilution caused.  An oil change might help but making sure you are sucking clean un inhibited air, sparking, fueling, firing clean will do more to help. 

Thanks customboss.  I'm 3k miles on this oil now.  I'll change it probably another 1k miles.  I was thinking about running some Seafoam in the oil and let it stay there for this next 1k miles.  Then change oil/filter.  Have you any experience doing that?. If so, which Seafoam product?  I have not heard the ticking the last two days; so its spasmodic.

Edited July 7, 2022 by Jworks

[Jworks]

Customboss, by the way, a couple months back I had oil pressure drop to 22 at hwy speed, 1600 rpms.  This is a long story made short:  Engine light came on later coded oil sensor.  I had it replaced, mechanic said the screen below it was very clean.  Though psi was better at hwy speed it was still just 30 at 1600 rpm.  22 idling.  Another member here said change oil/filter.  It made no sense to me, but I did that.  Bingo > psi at hwy speed now is 40.  Idling is sometimes 30; sometimes 22.  But the scare over the hwy speed psi is over.  So, I’ve had some psi issues lately but was improved with an oil/filter change – this time with a higher grade filter

[customboss]

3 hours ago, Jworks said:

Thanks customboss.  I'm 3k miles on this oil now.  I'll change it probably another 1k miles.  I was thinking about running some Seafoam in the oil and let it stay there for this next 1k miles.  Then change oil/filter.  Have you any experience doing that?. If so, which Seafoam product?  I have not heard the ticking the last two days; so its spasmodic.

Seafoam works great as a napthenic solvent in fuel and oil side  but be careful expecting too much at upper areas of engine in high heat zones as it tends to cook off being lighter ends of hydrocarbons.  In other words all the activity you desire from teh product can cook out and leave you with naphthenic mineral oil that may or may not clean the clear fuel deposits. 

[customboss]

3 hours ago, Jworks said:

Customboss, by the way, a couple months back I had oil pressure drop to 22 at hwy speed, 1600 rpms.  This is a long story made short:  Engine light came on later coded oil sensor.  I had it replaced, mechanic said the screen below it was very clean.  Though psi was better at hwy speed it was still just 30 at 1600 rpm.  22 idling.  Another member here said change oil/filter.  It made no sense to me, but I did that.  Bingo > psi at hwy speed now is 40.  Idling is sometimes 30; sometimes 22.  But the scare over the hwy speed psi is over.  So, I’ve had some psi issues lately but was improved with an oil/filter change – this time with a higher grade filter

Sounds like fuel dilution of your engine oil.  Too much fuel in oil will lower viscosity and affect lubrication where you need it. Not to mention affecting the hydraulic functions the engine oil is required to do. 

 

 When is the last time in the 144000 miles you changed the air filter, pcv if it has one can't remember for 2011, plugs, boots or wires and checked coils for ideal function? If you ain't burning fuel optimally in our high rate EGR PCV engines you will get fuels collected in the engine oil over time. 

[stu_pidasso]

Personally, I wouldn't worry too much about the ticks these engines can make. It can tick from loud injectors. It can tick from leaky exhaust manifolds from broken bolts (and go away when the engine is warm). It can tick from lifters for a few minutes and then go away when the engine warms up. Unless it's loud and sounds like a tractor, I don't pay attention to it. I also don't care about the oil that goes in to these things. I buy whatever is on sale. I am an operator of an oil refinery and, well, everything we make is to a spec. If Shell, Mobil, or Total wants to go above and beyond that spec with additives, good for them but I am not paying for it unless its competitive with regular ol' DEXOS, API, ILSAC, and whatever other spec standard made cheap oil.  

 

I know that sounds careless and sacrilegious but, come on, it's an LS, one of the most robust and reliable V8s ever made. It's not a Ford Triton V8.

[dna9656]

I don't KNOW but it seems to me that a roller lifter would have a hard time rotating in the bore because it would tend to stay aligned with the cam lobe....

[richard wysong]

correct, roller lifters don't rotate

[customboss]

3 hours ago, dna9656 said:

I don't KNOW but it seems to me that a roller lifter would have a hard time rotating in the bore because it would tend to stay aligned with the cam lobe....

Correct why I said,  OR affecting stick- slip, traction coefficients enough to talk out loud

[stu_pidasso]

3 hours ago, richard wysong said:

correct, roller lifters don't rotate

 

Unless its a Chrysler made V8 lol. That was one of the speculations on why their Hemi V8s were chewing through cam shafts at one point. Pre COVID, Chrysler had about an eight week backorder on cam shafts for the 5.7. 

[Jworks]

On 7/7/2022 at 5:26 PM, customboss said:

Sounds like fuel dilution of your engine oil.  Too much fuel in oil will lower viscosity and affect lubrication where you need it. Not to mention affecting the hydraulic functions the engine oil is required to do. 

 

 When is the last time in the 144000 miles you changed the air filter, pcv if it has one can't remember for 2011, plugs, boots or wires and checked coils for ideal function? If you ain't burning fuel optimally in our high rate EGR PCV engines you will get fuels collected in the engine oil over time. 

customboss, I did the "tuneup" thing maybe 10k miles ago.....about a year I'd say.  Changed plugs and wires.  That didn't make diddly mpg difference.  I was getting good mpg before; 20-21 highway, 17 locally.  Just money wasted.  As for pvc, air filter, I don't think I've changed it.  I may have though, to be honest I just don't remember.  I'll check that filter myself.  All my driving is highway, non-dusty driving which is limited as I'm 75.  I doubt the air filter is dirty at all.  Oil change is done at the dealer and they usually check that anyway. 

[txab]

On 7/5/2022 at 3:00 PM, dna9656 said:

I had lifter noise in my 06 5.3, I tried all the old school remedies for stuck lifters, tranny fluid in the oil, BG stuff, new rockers (because I read somewhere the needle bearings were falling out of the rockers) other snake oils. What finally fixed it was a new O ring on the oil pick up tube. The original O ring shrinks with age/heat and allows air into the oil pump (cavitation) and oil starvation.

The fix is to replace the O ring.

What I did because I

was in there anyway: Replaced oil pick up tube.

                                    Added 2nd collar that holds the pick up tube to the oil pump.

                                    Replaced oil pump with High Volume pump from Melling.

                                    Replaced timing chain and sprockets (you supposed to

                                    remove the T chain cover anyway because it has a

                                    common sealing surface with the oil pan.

                                    Cleaned everything; even removed casting splatter from inside

                                    surface of the oil pan!

                                    RESULTS: No lifter noise, 40 PSI oil pressure at idle (fully

                                    warmed up engine)

                                    20 + MPG on the highway.

                                    Smoother idle.

 

What was your Melling pump part #?

[customboss]

2 hours ago, Jworks said:

customboss, I did the "tuneup" thing maybe 10k miles ago.....about a year I'd say.  Changed plugs and wires.  That didn't make diddly mpg difference.  I was getting good mpg before; 20-21 highway, 17 locally.  Just money wasted.  As for pvc, air filter, I don't think I've changed it.  I may have though, to be honest I just don't remember.  I'll check that filter myself.  All my driving is highway, non-dusty driving which is limited as I'm 75.  I doubt the air filter is dirty at all.  Oil change is done at the dealer and they usually check that anyway. 

Again coil partial failures are notorious for dropping efficiency. 
If you have a pcv valve that’s original change it with OEM one. 
Having a tune done by someone else bears checking on.
Understand getting older and not able to do own work. 
Trust but verify. 

[dna9656]

3 hours ago, txab said:

What was your Melling pump part #?

https://www.amazon.com/High-Oil-Pump-Replacement-Trailblazer/dp/B08FQT9FPX/ref=sr_1_4?crid=PWHEBT6LIDEK&keywords=hi+volume+oil+pump&qid=1658183271&sprefix=hi+volume+oil+pump%2Caps%2C180&sr=1-4&vehicle=2006-47-416-434-28-53-6-8-21314-444-4-2-145-88-1&vehicleName=2006+Chevrolet+Avalanche+1500

[Jworks]

On 7/18/2022 at 1:38 PM, txab said:

What was your Melling pump part #?

txab, thanks for that input.  The ticking sound has for the most part gone away.  Since you mentioned the O ring, I'll say this.  I had an extensive post about oil pressure on another post.  After all was said and done I changed oil & filter and went with an upper grade Fram filter.  My pressure went back up to 40, but at idle it was still sometimes 22 and sometimes 30.  Its still that way.  In that discussion someone mentioned changing out the O ring, as you did above.  I haven't done that.  That surely seems to have solved your oil pressure issue.  I'm told removing that oil pan isn't as easy as just unbolting the pan and changing it.  Mine's a 4x4 if that makes any difference.  I don't have the know how to do that and 'm too old to try to tackle that myself.  My mechanic said even the times that my idle pressure is at 22 thats still well within GM specs, so he recommend to just leave it alone since its 40 at driving speeds and he said it was nothing to be alarmed about, but that if it went below 20 to let him know.  Most of the time idle is at about 30, but sometimes its 22.  I think the job to replace that O ring would probably be $2-300.

[stu_pidasso]

On 7/25/2022 at 6:58 PM, Jworks said:

he recommend to just leave it alone

 

I do not want to sound rude or dismissive but I agree whole heartedly. Leave it alone. I do not place too much effort on thinking about what these gauges do. I glance, and move on. I take what they tell me in advisement. Focusing too much on these gauges can lead to a wild goose chase, multiple page threads, and lighten your wallet by $500 or more, for nothing. I've had multiple GM trucks across three different generations and they all do this, bounce all over the GD place. 

 

There sure is a possibility of a weak O ring, or clogged pick up strainer, etc, but you'd see more concrete, blatantly wrong readings. 

 

If your mechanic is telling you not to worry about it, which when you think about it hes turning business away from himself, listen to him. It's not worth it. 

Edited July 27, 2022 by stu_pidasso