Piston Slap or Lifter Tick?

[The3lite]

My car (see in sig) has a ticking sound on cold starts that lasts for 2-4 minutes. It almost completely goes away when the car is warm but I can still hear a slight tick even then. The sound is worse and lasts longer when the car has sat for a while. The car has 120k miles on it. Is this just piston slap or is it a lifter? Or is it something else?

Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IzAyvGDI1zU

[NJ Torque]

Piston slap.

[V]

any oil consumption?

[sweetbmxrider]

Probe around with a long screwdriver and your ear.

[The3lite]

I don't think it's burning oil. The oil level stays good and the plugs I just pulled were not fouled. I may try the screw driver trick. It sounds like it comes from the driver side and is loudest right by the oil filter. But if it's piston slap I guess I don't have anything to worry about.

[V]

piston slap is almost always accompanied by oil loss

[DaSkinnyGuy]

From what I understand LS1 engines made before April 2001 had a different piston and ring set ( I hear the slap on my 2000 LS1), its normal to hear the piston slap until the engine warms up. You may also have another problem, just like sweetbmxrider has mentioned, use a screwdriver and or stephoscope to listen around the valve cover area, exhaust manifold area,could be an exhaust leak, egr leak, pulley going bad, ac compressor the work computer doesnt have good audio hard to tell from the video. Also LS1 engines made before april 2001 its normal for oil consumption, caused by ring flutter because they used the wrong ring package.

[The3lite]

Great info DaSkinnyGuy. I think I'm now able to identify piston slap. It's what makes the diesel sort of sound. I hear that sound faintly when it's accelerating. The sound in the video is different though. It never completely goes away but it can only be heard below 1500 rpm and only on the driver's side. I still need to try the screwdriver trick but I'm not sure I'm going to hear anything from the valve covers or intake manifold. It sounds like it's deeper in the motor than that. I suspect a lifter. I want to try motor medic motor flush and probably 10w30 on my next change. Any thoughts on this?

[DaSkinnyGuy]

This first link motor medic didn't fix this guys problem. The second link this guy used b12 Chemtool on his pushrods and some other engine flush and it fixed his problem. Maybe it was simply the B12 that cleaned it. Third link is where I got my previous post proof from.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7wWwtcYiOic

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O0kgFb-nweI

http://www.c5registry.com/2k2z06/page5.htm

http://www.rjsmith.com/gm-894549.html

[The3lite]

This first link motor medic didn't fix this guys problem. The second link this guy used b12 Chemtool on his pushrods and some other engine flush and it fixed his problem. Maybe it was simply the B12 that cleaned it. Third link is where I got my previous post proof from.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7wWwtcYiOic

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O0kgFb-nweI

http://www.c5registry.com/2k2z06/page5.htm

http://www.rjsmith.com/gm-894549.html

I don't trust the appledrains guy in the first link. Using vice grips on the oil pan plug? Get real. Haha. He also has low oil pressure which certainly does not help his problem and probably means the lifter is shot.

The guy in the second link uses b12 straight into the pushrods and he also uses motor medic motor flush as the guy in the first link did. This is probably worth a shot. I was hoping to get away with motor medic motor flush by itself but that's probably a long shot.

My car does not seem to have an issue with oil consumption except maybe a small amount through the crappy PCV setup. I don't think my piston slap/piston rings are that bad but I have to check my oil level and make sure of that.

[V]

My '01 had piston slap, burned 1 qt per 1000 miles and GM said it was normal.
However, around 48k miles, my motor decided to explode(diesel fuel in gas) and a brand new GM ls6 crate engine replaced it, no more piston slap or burning oil.

[The3lite]

That sounds nice V! It would be cool to start fresh with an all new bottom end, aftermarket heads, cam and intake. If only the funds would allow for that. Haha.

I guess I'll just run this motor till it takes a ***** on me.

[Ls1dreamin02]

I have an 02 Z28 with just under 60k miles on it. Its been ticking or slapping (not sure which) since I bought it at 35k miles. Goes away completely after the car is warm. Its always worse in colder weather. Car goes through about a quart of oil every thousand miles like V was experiencing. Haven't really tried to eliminate it yet. I have heard before that some motors ticked almost since new.

[The3lite]

Apparently it's very common for LS1s to be noisy. I've watched several videos of LS1 cars that sound exactly the same as mine on a cold start and many people comment on the these videos saying their cars do the same thing. I think if the sound goes away when the car is warm, you don't have much to worry about. But I think it's important to let it idle until it warms up to operating temperature before you drive if that's the case.

I know that the PCV system can cause oil consumption as well. There is a new design for the PCV valve that is supposed to reduce oil consumption. It has a smaller hole so less oil can get through it. It might be worth a shot if you have oil consumption problems. Don't buy this part from WS6store though. Get is from Advance or NAPA for 3$:

http://www.ws6project.com/user_stor/catalog/98-02-ls1-gm-pcv-valve-new-design-/