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i need help! engine ticking?? 3800

a.caldwell11

a.caldwell11

New member
i have a 97 grand prix gt with the v6 3800..... I was told when i bought it they thought the oil pump was out....... ive looked at it and im pretty sure the oil pump isnt out..... but there is a ticking type noise the sounds like its coming from the top of the engine...... i looked at the rocker arms and they all appear to be lubricated and in good shape..... i have no clue what this could be.... the noise speeds up when you give it gas...... but it has a steady pattern....... i thought maybe it was a spun bearing..... but with the oil pump working im hoping its not that..... i dont know much about engines so im getting into a whole new territory and im trying to go the cheapest route..... if its something major the guy i bought it from said hed give me my money back.... but i dont have a whole lot of time to let him know either way... any help would be appreciated!
 




Yeah, my injectors tick as all do. That's why GM made the engine cover as a sound shield to keep it down.

Reason I asked where you were is I used to live in Memphis a couple years ago and still go back to visit. :)
 
if you have a collapsed lifter...... the lifter would not like to pump up(or bleed off). this would create a gap in the lifter pushrod area, the pushrod would not go up fully to meet the rocker. this would cause one heck of a tick..... a fast tick, not low end knock.

when driving it...do you feel the car miss? I would not drive the car very long...untill replaced.

can you make a recording and load it up?
 


yes there is a miss as well.... im not driving the car at all.... its sitting in my driveway bought it as a second car.... im thinking ill just have the guy giveme my money back.... ill see if i cant upload some sort of recording of it before i do that
 
a.caldwell11 said:
yes there is a miss as well.... im not driving the car at all.... its sitting in my driveway bought it as a second car.... im thinking ill just have the guy giveme my money back.... ill see if i cant upload some sort of recording of it before i do that
Click to expand...

If there is a miss, fix that first. It is going to be hard to tell what is going on with the engine with it missing.

Old rule of thumb. Fix what you know is wrong, then move on.
 
How much did you buy the car for? Depending on whats wrong with it, it might still be worth keeping.

I remember talking to you about this before you got it, and it's good to hear that I was right about the oil pump. That hopefully means that the engine has a better chance for getting more miles on it. My question is, when it misses it it just as consistent as the tick? Knowing the answer to that might lead you to where the miss might be coming from. So I agree with finding out what is making the engine miss.

Here is how to find out which lifter it is if it is a lifter. Unfortunately this involves taking off the valve covers. Get a automotive stethoscope and put the end on the rocker stud, the one that has the collapsed/loose lifter with sound different than the others. When you find out which one it is loosen the nut completely and re-torque it to 18 ft. lbs. (15 NM), then by using a torque angle meter, rotate the an additional 90 degrees (Chilton manual).

I suggest re-torquing because you don't know if someone was already in there and didn't do it correctly. If a lifter is truly collapsed this will not fix it, but at least you will know which one it is so you can just replace it.
 
Hmmmm Ticking + misfire sounds like a lifter to me, too. Of course, you could have the same problem I just finished fixing on my '97 - spun cam bearing being beaten to death by one of the lifters!! I doubt that, though. You would probably have the oil pressure light in the dash coming on. See if you can hook up a gauge and check your pressure. You should have a nice, healthy 50+PSI (I only had 4 with my spun bearing).

If the oil pressure checks out and the rockers are good, I'd say spend $100-200 and get new intake manifold and SC gaskets and lifters and spend an evening replacing them. There's a video in the How-To section on doing it.
 
I've seen collapsed lifters before on 3800s so that's why I mentioned it. Usually owners complain of abnormal loud ticking. I've mostly seen it here lately on 2000-2002 models. Stock motors, as well.
 


good news i only gave him 500 for it.... well i think thats good news lol.... its been rainy here for the past few days is why i havent gotten a recording of the car up.... ill get that sunday..... ill see what i can do about checking out everything else... i appreciate everyones input... ive already gotten the valve covers off.... so thats good.... those were some what of a pain.... anyhow... ill get that video up tomorrow... and like i said.. thanks to everyone ill let you know how it goes
 
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