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Bunch of questions

Nchristopherson

New member
Hey all. I have a couple of questions that are kind of unrelated, except in the fact that I have noticed all of them with my car. I have checked for solutions online but can't seem to find particular answers to my question so here goes.

1) I did my cam swap with 180k on my motor. I re-used the valves, lifters, and pushrods. Everything else that is valvetrain related has been replaced. Could a rough idle be attributed to the old lifters?
- My idle is a bit strange, in that it has a pretty noticeable hesitation when in drive. It will get as low as 350-400 rpms when I turn the wheel as it misfires. It has never killed, it always catches itself.

2) SD Headers. Is a clicking-hissing noise normal with these? I showed a guy at work what I thought was an exhaust leak and he said it could be the collector being so much bigger than the exhaust pipe that the noise is not a leak, but actually in the design of the pipe. He said it very well could be leaking, but he said that was an option. I am going to be trying the vacuum method to look for leaks this weekend but wanted to ask anyone if they maybe had the same problem with their headers. The flex has been upgraded to ZZPs.

3) Is it a safe bet that lifting the engine via the oil pan (using a wide board and to replace the engine mount) could have caused the gasket to break, causing a very slow oil leak? So slow, I at 4,000 on this synthetic change and I am maybe 1 dot down from the top.

4) This may be a silly question because I am sure I know the answer, but can wheel bearings be bad but have no play when checking them off the ground? I know the typical sound of a failing wheel bearing is growling, but is this the only sound that can be attributed to a failing wheel bearing? I am hearing a noise that goes with the speed of the car coming from the front right wheel, but it's definitely not growling. I think it may be the tire so I am also going to try that this weekend if the time permits.

5) This has occurred twice. The first incident I was at a stop sign. I gave it gas, let off very briefly, then gave it gas again and it killed the car. I turned it back on, which it struggled to start (turned over but bumbled around 300 rpms), revved it up to get it to catch, let it drop, then put it in drive and it killed again. Rolled it into a parking lot, started it, never had the problem again.
The second time, I was at a stop light. This time I was lightly giving the car throttle, then kind of jabbed into more throttle and it didn't stop the engine, but it damn near came close. It ended up catching and the car never killed.
I have no idea what this could be... Something torque converter related?

6) Can an axle fail without getting all that clicky noise like a CV joint is going bad? And if so, is there a way to test it?

7) Power steering related. The answer could be on the internet somewhere but I didn't find it. My power steering whines. So I go to fill it up. I open the cap, it lets out a some air that's under pressure in the reservoir. I check the line where the fluid is, it says it is exactly where it should be; as if I have no leak. Wtf? I don't even know how to explain this one, unless there's some part of the line that has suction and is sucking in air instead of leaking fluid out, but I have no power steering leaks.

8) If anyone can explain this noise. I would forever be indebted to you.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zjro8cC2OUc


Sorry for all the questions, I just had a lot to get off my mind and hopefully I can get some of these answered. I am trying to decide If I want to stick with it for the long haul and turbo my car, or if I should just get a newer one, so depending on how serious some of these answers are, it could be time for a new car.
 
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1. Stock cam or aftermarket? Raising the idle with a aftermarket cam is a good idea.

2. My SD's tick from time to time, I run no cat and a ZZP flex but I know I have a few minor leaks to someday fix. And the cheap thin metal I think makes the noise louder.

4. Yes they can be bad without play, does the noise go away if you happen to be going down a road and turning left or right? It may not be growing, but it can sound like a tire noise or whirling.
 
^this. When I had the first hub go bad I thought it was a bad tire or even possibly wrong angle of cvs(lowered) then it got floppy a few monthes later lol
 
Ok, I'll try raising the idle. It's the VS cam.

That makes sense, I thought the piping for the SD Headers was quite thin. It's kinda frustrating that we are stuck with that noise, because it doesn't sound good at all.

l67ss, did you try to check for play and get no results? I am starting to notice a super quiet growl, but it's nothing like what my friends bearing was, where we could grab the wheel and move it in all directions. I hope it's the bearing, because that's something I can actually fix in a day and isn't hard at all.
 
Clean the throttle body and the IAC aswell, if gummed up they could be a helping cause of the idle dipping lower.

And as for the idle just bump up like 125-150 when in drive, because it's set at like 675-700 I think and that might just be too low with a cam.
 


On the hub, first 6 monthes I found zero play in my hub, then BAM, it was like the wheel wanted to fall off
 
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