Ecotec noise

[ab56452001]

Hi , my vs has a pretty loud lifter noise , at least i reckon lifters , when driving past a wall or parked close to car one can easily hear it. the noise increases with rpm , hardly audible in car though ! , its done 300th-k + , ive had it for over 3 years and change oil regularly , engine itself uses no oil or water nor does it get hot . i thought with increasing rpm noise would abate somewhat !, hope its not a spun bearing or something like that , wondering should i try thicker or thinner oil , ta.

[Matty o]

does it have extractors????? this can cause it apparently

[delcowizzid]

typical V6 worn timing chain and snapped off tensioner or pulley bearings or balance shaft bearings its a horrible noise my buicks done 50000km or more with no tensioner it snapped off and got noisey the day i got it

[ab56452001]

Thanks for reply , no extractors , a while ago head gaskets needed doing , water mixed with oil , but was hardly driven in that condition , oil was flushed twice and filter replaced and head gaskets done , ive been paranoid about bearing probs since ! but noise seems definatly to be comming from top of motor car runs great, good idle , good compression , just wondering with increased km should i go to thicker oil , ta..

[hako]

typical V6 worn timing chain and snapped off tensioner or pulley bearings or balance shaft bearings its a horrible noise my buicks done 50000km or more with no tensioner it snapped off and got noisey the day i got it

What the hell have you been smokin lately?

[hako]

Thanks for reply , no extractors , a while ago head gaskets needed doing , water mixed with oil , but was hardly driven in that condition , oil was flushed twice and filter replaced and head gaskets done , ive been paranoid about bearing probs since ! but noise seems definatly to be comming from top of motor car runs great, good idle , good compression , just wondering with increased km should i go to thicker oil , ta..

I wouldn't worry about it....don't drive near a wall!. Wait till you get proper signs like overheating etc as you mention. When I worked in New Guinea the loacls had a good saying: "you worry - you bugger-up" Enjoy the drive.

[Brett_jjj]

You blokes mention this horrible noise,my ecotec makes a terrible noise when driving alongside a concrete wall or whatever where the sound is reflected back,and it sort of sounds like the exhaust manifold has a leak,but Ive been to two different exhaust places and had them go over it because I couldnt find any leaks,and neither could they,the noise is sort of indescribable.Ive got pacemaker extractors ,but its always made this noise since Ive had it,even back when it had the standard exhaust manifolds it did it..The engine was fully reconditioned when I got it,its now done 150,000 km with oil and filter changes done every 5000k's.Ive just fitted new injectors and a few other things,its running better than ever so this noise doesnt seem to worry anything.Ive changed all the serpentine belt pulley bearings and a few other things chasing and trying to get rid of this noise with no luck.

[acarmody]

You blokes mention this horrible noise,my ecotec makes a terrible noise when driving alongside a concrete wall or whatever where the sound is reflected back,and it sort of sounds like the exhaust manifold has a leak,but Ive been to two different exhaust places and had them go over it because I couldnt find any leaks,and neither could they,the noise is sort of indescribable.Ive got pacemaker extractors ,but its always made this noise since Ive had it,even back when it had the standard exhaust manifolds it did it..The engine was fully reconditioned when I got it,its now done 150,000 km with oil and filter changes done every 5000k's.Ive just fitted new injectors and a few other things,its running better than ever so this noise doesnt seem to worry anything.Ive changed all the serpentine belt pulley bearings and a few other things chasing and trying to get rid of this noise with no luck.

Are you my clone? LOL.

Same here, engine rebuilt, pacemakers, not exhaust gasket, can hear next to walls/cars/stuff, mechanics have no idea, and my ear is getting sore from having a screwdriver up against it from trying to find the noise.

[ab56452001]

Thanks again guy's , might get oil pressure checked just to be safe ! , where could i buy an oil presuure gauge at reasonable cost ? wouldnt mind having one around , is there any other tests i can do that might be of help , thanks.

[ab56452001]

Just answering my own question ! , bought one on ebay for 50$ , wanted one for years now i have a reason !

[ab56452001]

Further to my problem , drove car up to wall of house in drive put foot on brake and reved it , noise was not very noticable , same as on idle , only seems to have this vbad clacking noise on excelleration as revs build up , after a second or two it seems as if the lifters or whatever catch up and quiet down somewhat ! , thats if it is the lifters , ta....

[IBLOWN]

Lifters are pretty common. Not a big job to replace them.

I'd be making sure the exhaust manifold isnt cracked as alot of them crack. Does it tick louder when you put more load on the motor?

[ab56452001]

No definatley not exhaust , when i put load on (revs) in nautral yes its worse but as said in drive with brakes not so bad , sorry forgot to mention ! , after flush and oil change oil light came on , stopped car light went off and reflushed and added new oil/filter since then driven around a fair bit , (city/highway) it hasnt come back on , but now im paranoid about the noise ! , ta.

[IBLOWN]

No definatley not exhaust , when i put load on (revs) in nautral yes its worse but as said in drive with brakes not so bad , sorry forgot to mention ! , after flush and oil change oil light came on , stopped car light went off and reflushed and added new oil/filter since then driven around a fair bit , (city/highway) it hasnt come back on , but now im paranoid about the noise ! , ta.

Oil light came on? When? Before or after the ticking?

[ab56452001]

After iirc !

[IBLOWN]

I hope the ticking isnt an oil pressure related problem.

I'd still be inclined to say its just a lifter.

I once had a dead lifter. Started ticking then got worse and worse. Got to the point where it sounded like the rocker arm was hitting the rocker cover and the engine was missing because the valve it was trying to open wasnt opening or closing properly.

That same day i put engine flush through it, changed the oil and added Nulon lifter free. Lifter free'd up after about 5 mins and i never heard a peep out of it again.

[immortality]

yeah, i'd recommend some lifter free as well. worked for me.

the other thing it can be is the rear bearing on the balance shaft. my VN had this from the day i bought it. sounded like it came from the exhaust. got worse a while ago. in the end i removed the balance shaft and the noise went away. problem solved. if you have a screw driver long enough. have a listen at the back of the motor, right in the centre line of the valley just behind the intake manifold

[ab56452001]

Took car round to mate who works at wreckers ,and for what its worth , at first he reckons lifters , then reved it up and then said probably more than that cos its done a lot of km's and prob on the way out ! , but reckons just drive it around normal and might last for a fair while yet !

[shadetreemechanic]

Yeah she'll be right mate. Mine rattles its tits off when I drive it past a wall and get to hear it properly...like ppl said could be lotsa things. Timing chain, balancer bearing, belt tensioner/pulley etc
I reckon for me its all of the above LOL
Stick with 20w-50 oil and if it still has balls when you boot it, then no worries.

[Z2TT]

Well mine is kind of quiet under 3000RPM, anything about that and it makes a very loud noise, it's got a stock exhaust new one.
All the other VS-VT's i've been in are whisper quiet, you could floor it and goto 6000RPM and still sound smooth as.

What's the biggest contributor, timing chain?

[ab56452001]

Thanks to all replies , put the compression tester on today , all plugs good and around 150psi ! they must of shaved the heads aswell when they did the head gaskets etc , i was sorta hoping around 135 , but even if tester is out somewhat thats pretty good i reckon , whats it supposed to be ? , by the wat after i warmed it up to do test i reved it up by linkage , and hardly a noise , couldnt believe it !, got my new oil pressure tester comming latter in week so just have to wait till then to find out more , cheers...

[hako]

Try not to drive by walls in the future....a lot less hassles.

[ab56452001]

Hi ,drove car at 130 kmh (accidentally ) and oil light/chime came on pulled over , lifters took a while to settle car running real ruff , drive home sedatley and all back to normal. Oil pressure tester came today and results were cold idle 64psi 2000 rpm 70 psi , hot 58 psi and 66 psi respectivly , go figure , seems o'k' to me ???????.

[Z2TT]

Bad oil pressure switch Maybe?

I guess you could hook up an oil pressure gauge and constantly monitor while driving.

[vsl67]

Are you my clone? LOL.

Same here, engine rebuilt, pacemakers, not exhaust gasket, can hear next to walls/cars/stuff, mechanics have no idea, and my ear is getting sore from having a screwdriver up against it from trying to find the noise.

Yep I have the same thing and our l67 has pacemaker extractors too and its near imposible to find the noise and I heared so many other v6 's with it too Series2 and ecotech or l67