Start up noise LS1

[hobbsy4]

Hi all

My VZ Calais is going strong with 280k on the clock, driving around 500 highway kilometres a week.

In the past few months, when the engine is cold (weather isn't cold up in Central Queensland) and parked on the flat, there is a noise for the first few seconds on start up. The noise usually isn't present is the car is parked with the nose pointing slightly down hill. The noise doesn't occur if the car was driven in the past few hours. Sometimes the car stalls when the noise occurs but unsure if it is related. It lasts around 2 seconds.

I've started running 20w50 to try and stop it but it hasn't change anything. Previously I was running 10w40 synthetic nulon. The oil filter is a ryco. It's serviced every 7.5 to 10k depending on if I've been towing.

Any feedback on the noise and if I should do anything about it is appreciated.

Thanks
Hobbsy4

 

[someguy360]

20w50 is too thick for an LS

Go 15w40 max. I'd say the lifters are bleeding out overnight and taking a couple of seconds to pump up on cold start. Or your bearing clearances are getting a bit loose.

I'd hook up an oil pressure gauge and see what your cold and hot idle pressure is and would be a good indication of whats going on.

If oil pressure is good you could try and new set of lifters, or just live with it.

 

[vr304]

As above 20w50 golden syrup is too thick for your engine, I'd be dumping that oil pronto and going back to your regular oil, lifter tick on startup is pretty common in LS engines my L98 with 134k on the clock does it too although not every time and my old LS1 with 150k also used to do it as well.... As annoying as it is I wouldn't worry about it too much if it's ticking all the time even when warm then u have a problem if it bothers u that much then u could replace the lifters but other than that change your oil back to your regular and keep driving it

 

[RiCeY]

Pretty common to run oil that thick, I run HPR15 (15W60)

 

[RiCeY]

Taken from another forum:

This an't rocket science guys, it's nuts and bolts ****!

If you modify your power, you must modify your protection, end of conversation !!!

We modify the engine, it goes faster.

Next we root the tranny, so we get a built Tranny, or in my case after rooting 1 standard Tranny, 3 built Trannys in the first 10,000 klms, enter 4L80e, game over.

We snap axles, so we put big fat fukers in, fixes it.

Back to the motor, the piston, crank etc is built to take a certain loading per squire inch and the oils film strength is designed should cope with that. (with very normal driving)

Whoops, we just doubled the power, now those components weren't designed for that, so we build a race motor (if we're good), the only thing you haven't changed is the film strength of the oil. (even worse if you don't build a race motor)

You just have to see a Filtergram of a 1000 hp engine, even my 10w60 can't stop all the metal from being made, drop it back to a 20w50 (same race oil just lighter viscosity) and 1000 hp immeadiatley doubles the metal being made.

10w60 is only 22 - 25 cSt @100C (around SAE 6) your 10w40 is 14 cSt @ 100C (about SAE 4) so our 10w60 is not much thicker at running temps however, make all the difference to the wear (with any modification)

Over the years so many say, "I ran XXXX and had a great run" which I don't doubt (don't know what you thought you should see without testing) , but this is fine in a normal situation, but if you modify or give her constant stick, the better viscosity will make it last longer.

On the Mainlube web site in the Performance area there are 2 Filtergrams from a Cross8 then ran 2 different manufactures oils of the same viscosity in the same job back to back and there was a difference.

I must put some more up I have Filtergrams from Peter Brock's 05 427 (from the actual 24 hr race) running light viscosities, they are serious ****, also Tuna's R8 TT on my 10w60 so more to come there.

Film strength reduces wear, if you modify your power, you must modify the protection.


----------------------------------------


Now to take the Fluid Friction thing (I posted back in this thread) to the next stage.

I have seen inside engines that have run extreme quality big viscosity oils for 30 to 50,000 klm, the wear faces instead of being a smooth satin finish (like normal) they have an extremely smooth chrome like finish. This is the "water over the stones in the creek" princable (they get bloody slippery don't they).

If you can stop most of the "touch" in a machine by using these greater protection products, the machine just seems to run smoother and more lively. As we smooth out the metal surfaces (with fluid) it lessens the fluid friction which only happens because of drag of the fluid across the metal surface.

So over the past 30 years I've had many people say to me, "it just keeps going better and better" and this happens by smoothing out the inside of the drive faces which can be seen when the machine is apart. (which is another nuts and bolts thing) the smoother it is the less friction there is.

We've been doing this to our inlet and exhaust ports to get the air slide in and out faster for years.

This just take quite a while to happen (it won't happen over night, but it will happen)

We have found that in the long run, the fluid friction disappears and you get the best of both worlds.

And if a heavier viscosity makes your engine nosier, then your motors dirty and possibly restricting flow when cold, I've never seen a 10w60 make a newish motor under 20,000 klms noisy.

Cheers

Steve

 

[gtrboyy]

Doesn't sound that bad as long as it goes away after startup it will just be lifters.

The early vt engines sounded like freight trains when mileage got high or rarely serviced.

 

[hobbsy4]

Thanks for the comments. Turns out when I had the alternator replaced on holidays last year, they kinked the seal at the bottom of the throttle body pipe running from the air filter. It's probably why it started saying 'service vehicle soon' when towing the 1600kg boat and trailer. I fixed it just now and it's running quiet. I think that in summer in qld the 20w50 is probably fine but may try 15w40 next .

 

[Zeke Topanaga]

I would say that you lifters are shot, watch for fine plastic in your oil, that's the lifter buckets shot and then it goes on to destroy the cam then the oil pump and the bearings.

I use 20w50 from new to about 100.00km and never heard a tick ever I used 15w40 from then on and about 180.000km she started a slight click at times on start up if not driven for some days them about 230.000km I heard a death ratal when driving along but it went away but came back again some days later and went away and did this 3 more times and picked it out to be number 1 lifter was the problem.
About 220.000km the plastic was in the oil change and I went around saying what the f is this crap and no one knew, I thought it was maybe carbon, I had no idea that the LS3 had plastic lifter bucket cage or I would of known what it was.

 

[carcollector]

This sounds very familiar - see my recent post on a similar issue. Low oil pressure on startup unless car is parked facing downhill.
/https://forums.justcommodores.com.a...s1-oil-pressure-issues-wierd-symptoms.271141/

Did you ever find the cause?

 

[MiKExAUS]

Thanks for the comments. Turns out when I had the alternator replaced on holidays last year, they kinked the seal at the bottom of the throttle body pipe running from the air filter. It's probably why it started saying 'service vehicle soon' when towing the 1600kg boat and trailer. I fixed it just now and it's running quiet. I think that in summer in qld the 20w50 is probably fine but may try 15w40 next .

Are you saying a vacuum leak was causing the startup rattle?