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Horrible Startup Sounds......Slap?!?!

Poseidon215

New member
Ok my '05 GT is making some horrendous sounds when she first starts and it's like 20 degrees or less outside and has been sitting overnight. Doesn't sound like lifters. I thought maybe something trans related front pump etc. I have seen a few people talk about piston slap but I could not find a video of a 3.8 with a noise similar to mine. So here is a short video right after starting. The sound gets better after about 3-4 min and eventually goes away depending on how long it takes to warm up and how cold it is outside.





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Sounds like one cylinder is hitting something. Pull your plugs and look for damage.




That's my old motor when I chipped a piston, and it was slapping against the head.
 
It goes away after it warms up a few minutes and she runs great. :-/ only 75,000 on her I would hate to have to bore and rebuild her


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Pull your plus as suggsested. That doesn't sound good to me at all.

Also, if this motor is trashed, there is no "bore and rebuild". These motor have a VERY picky bottom end and in the end it's cheaper/easier to find a low mile 3800 and swap it in whole.
 
Pull your plus as suggsested. That doesn't sound good to me at all.

Also, if this motor is trashed, there is no "bore and rebuild". These motor have a VERY picky bottom end and in the end it's cheaper/easier to find a low mile 3800 and swap it in whole.


I don't understand why the 3800 gets such a bad reputation when it comes to rebuilding it. I am a firm believer that if you take the time and care to properly build ANY engine, and make sure everything is properly in specs then you should have no issue. I feel that the reason issues arise with people's rebuilds is that they just cheap out and slap it all back together with used parts. Personally I would rather spend a few extra bucks on piece of mind and Im in the process of rebuilding the engine for my Daytona. You just don't know what you are getting into with a junkyard motor.
 
I think people just say that it is cheaper to get a used bottom end, considering you can often get a 10-50k miles bottom end for like 200-400$. Way cheaper than a rebuild.
 
I don't understand why the 3800 gets such a bad reputation when it comes to rebuilding it. I am a firm believer that if you take the time and care to properly build ANY engine, and make sure everything is properly in specs then you should have no issue. I feel that the reason issues arise with people's rebuilds is that they just cheap out and slap it all back together with used parts. Personally I would rather spend a few extra bucks on piece of mind and Im in the process of rebuilding the engine for my Daytona. You just don't know what you are getting into with a junkyard motor.

The bad reputation comes from people not assembling the engine correctly. inexperienced people have no business being inside the crankcase of an internal combustion engine, much less a Series II/III 3800.
 
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