6 Litre rattler/piston slapper !

[BumbleBeeSSVR]

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...

 

[HEXEM]

Well. It seems it's either hit or miss, or i'm just being paranoid but no noise this morning :S

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

 

[BumbleBeeSSVR]

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.

 

[HEXEM]

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).

 

[alan_blue]

its very annoying that it only happens now and then lol

 

[davey g-force]

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).

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?

 

[HEXEM]

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).

 

[bluessv]

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.

 

[dmacey]

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

 

[bladerunner]

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?

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.