6 Litre rattler/piston slapper !

Well. It seems it's either hit or miss, or i'm just being paranoid but no noise this morning :S
I do however, have a rougher then usual idle, but i filled up last night so i'm guessing shitful fuel.
Not that any of this relates to the topic at hand...

 

It's been my experiance, that in the early stages of this issue the noise comes and goes. Over time (say a couple of months - especially as the 5w30 oil contaminates) the clunking/knocking noise becomes more consistant (every cold startup) the duration of the noise changes also. It may start off only lasting 20 - 30 seconds to eventually lasting several minutes...

Monitor it and see how it goes over time.

Cheers
Phil

 

Sorry if you've already posted this info, but theres that much that it's probably easier to just ask.
When did yours begin? I'm almost due for the 15,000k service. About 1500k to go.

 

I have been dealing with poor engine quality since 2008 (over 3 years) 1st engine did it from 30,000klm, 2nd engine (rebuilt - block, pistons, blah, blah, blah) 3,000klm after the rebuild, 3rd engine (complete crate engine) did it from 8,000klm. Now on my 4th engine 3,000klm now and no cold start clunking yet... however I have constant valvetrain ticking (like in dmacey's post).

 

its very annoying that it only happens now and then lol

 

I'm not sure that I would even notice the different noises you describe Phil. To my "untrained ear" it would probably just sound like an engine running.

Are any of these noises actually detrimental to the engine? Or are they just annoying?

 

I am not sure. One thing I do know is that the knocking got worse (volume, duration, frequency) over time. My opinion is that whatever the exact issue is it can't be good and would eventually need repairing. One other thing I noticed was a drop off in engine responsivness and torque. The engine became very sluggish and idled rough (like and intermittent misfire).

 

That noise in the posted video definitely sounds like the lifters and not the piston slap/clunking that Hexem is referring to. I've found that these types of lifter noises can be significantly improved/disappear if you use a slightly thicker grade of oil. And I'm not talking about going out and buying Castrol 10w60 either. I'm referring to a good quality 5w40 or similar; such as Shell Helix Ultra 5w40, Valvoline Synpower 5w40 or Castrol Edge Titanuim 5w40. All these oils are slightly heavier than the factory 5w30 they run in these engines. Just my opinion but have found this to be accurate for my engine.

 

Holden changed my oil to 5-40 at service because of the noise. Still makes it though.

 

though guys like phil have been experiancing different problems with their engines, lifter rattle is not a major problem as such. its VERY rare for a lifter to collapse or in the case of these roller lifters to spin or turn in its lifter valley BUT it does happen as evidenced by one of the other posts on this thread. ive seen LS1's (excactly the same design lifter but not as many oil galleries in the block as the 6lt) with over 300th km on them that have had lifter rattle more or less from day one, my mates WH has 260th km and does it,that sort of mileage should speak for itself. a/market lifters - comp cams,sealed power,or if you want to spend $-morel tiebars,lunati's,howards cams etc.. are the only true fix for these engines. GM lifters are rubbish at best,allways have been. everybody has their own view/tolerance towards this type of thing (and so they should) but there are guys like myself who could'nt care less about lifter rattle because we know its doing very little if any actual harm,just has that annoying rattle until they get sufficient oil pressure.mine rattles every now and then -afm engine- but i'm turfing the afm rubbish soon anyway.

 

Another knocking 6ltr.......

I’ve got an April 2011 SSV redline Wagon Auto. It has a Feb 2011 L77 engine which has only done 8500kms. For the past few months it’s had a noise which was only happening when cold and between 2500 – 3000 rpm under light load. I can make it happen when locking it in 2nd gear and making it float between 2500 – 3000rpm. To me it sounds like piston slap.

I changed the oil at 4000 kms but the noise has gotten slowly worse. I went to the local Holden “experts” and took him for a drive. He acknowledged that there was a noise so I have booked it in next week to get them to have a look. I’m not real keen on them ripping it apart, stripping bolts and cross threading ****, when they don’t really have an idea of what they are looking for. I’m not having a go at Holden mechanics here, I’m just stating a fact about the local guys.

Last week I did another oil and filter change using Castrol Edge Titanium 5W-30, at 8000kms and was a bit shocked with what I found. There was a fair amount of metal in the bottom of the drain container..... Not happy Jan. I haven’t pulled the filter apart yet to see how much **** is inside. I’m not looking forward to that.....

 

Go back to the dealer. Tell the tech to start up a new SSV and see if it makes the same noise. If it does then fair enough. If it doesn't then they have something to answer for.

 

What brand and viscosity did you use?

How did the noise sound after using the edge titanium?

 

Did that, went to two dealers, got them to start two brand new 2011 SS in the show room each. No noise at all. I even asked they sales person if these engine were noisy on cold start, they were more than happy to start them to prove they dont do it.

They still say its normal, well if it was they would all do it from day one. YES ?

 

Yes that's because they don't do it off the showroom floor!! Mine was silent! I was so happy to start a Holden V8 that doesn't cold knock but I was wrong mine makes the same dreaded VT Series 2 cold knock NO LIFTER NOISE AT ALL!!!!!!! So I'm going to Holden on Monday to have a big winge I'm bloody over it normal? Pigs fu**ing ass!!!

 

Took mine prob 5,000km to develop the noise. They replaced a idler pulley last time lmao what incompetent idiots!

 

Well guys the knock knock VE SS knock Knock knock series 2 is going to Holden tomoz afternoon for a Wednesday cold start... Will be interesting I'll push hard for a 2011 built L77 what's odd is that agressive lifter noise old dog has isn't present in my engine just my piston bashing against my cylinder wall when cold they must the old 5.7 liters that were thrown in the scrap heap with a stroker kit to make them a "6 liter" and happy days... Not really im being a smart ass but that's what it seems like.

 

Hi mate, i brought a OCT 2010 My11 SS VE11 March last year, and ive got more issues than i know what to do with, regarding the lifter issues you mentioned, if there was a recall regarding this shouldnt have the dealer advised me of this? Or are they just reefing my beef with all the other crap there trying to feed me?

 

Mate mine piston slaps and lifter clacks when it's cold. Doesn't use oil though... Holden are dicking me around they spastic service manager rekons he can't hear the knock when the engine is cold, well I'm sorry he's a full blown spastic brain dead idiot! No offenses intended to disabled people my brother is disabled. anyway I've had a harmonic balancer replaced an idler pulley replaced for zero gain!! Booked in next time the DSM is in town but I can't see myself winning. My engine sounds like a tractor on cold mornings I love the car to bits but the engine goes hard however they are they most under engineered piece of **** I've come across! People who don't have piston slap in there 6 liters aren't listening hard enough lol. They all do it a little bit from my experience not much has changed since VT 5.7,s the lifter issue isn't a recall in Australia only in the united states at this stage as far as I know. I refuse to have my engine pulled down I either get a new engine or I learn to deal with it. Pulling it down wastes time and introduces more problems.

Sent from my GT-I9210T using Tapatalk 2

 

Did you have to replace the harmonic balancer because it had a wobble?