Lifter noise??

[SloRegal]

I just fired up a freshly built motor. At first I didnt have oil pressure, so I did the oil suction procedure with the top coolant line and now I have pressure but my lifters are not shutting up. Is it because they are not getting oil? If not, What do I do? But both sides are making noise. How noisey should a new motor be? The cam is a 204/214 bought from frankg on this forum along with the lifters....Any help will be appreciated...Thanks Carlos

 

[Turbo1dr]

Is the tapping really loud or does it sound like they are lightly tapping? Have you properly broken in the cam by running it above 2000RPM for about 15-20 minutes? I've found with the cams I've put in that you can rarely have an aftermarket cam be totally quiet. Just my experience.

 

[SloRegal]

Is the tapping really loud or does it sound like they are lightly tapping? Have you properly broken in the cam by running it above 2000RPM for about 15-20 minutes? I've found with the cams I've put in that you can rarely have an aftermarket cam be totally quiet. Just my experience.

From what I remember. It is kinda loud, my first time hands on starting a fresh motor. No the cam has not been broken in yet...I worked on it 2 days straight trying to get everything back together and I got tired when I heard it...But I'll check again in the morning and pulll the valve covers off to see if there is oil coming to top. I didnt do the break in cause the noise scared me and I'm affraid to do any damage...Thanks Carlos

 

[rodman99999]

When you first start a fresh engine: you're advised to run it above a certain RPM range and fluctuate the RPM to properly break in the cam. That's cause the cam HAS to have oil splashed on it by the crank and rods for lubrication. If you don't: you'll have a wiped cam/lifters out of the gate. The lifters will always take time to pump up at start up. Did you prime the pump, and prelube the engine with an oil pump drive tool/hand drill(or something) before start up?

 

[Steve V]

Sounds pretty normal to me. The lifters will tap for a few minutes(maybe as long as 10) during the breakin'. Be sure you are using a SAE30 oil non synthetic for breakin' also.

 

[SloRegal]

When you first start a fresh engine: you're advised to run it above a certain RPM range and fluctuate the RPM to properly break in the cam. That's cause the cam HAS to have oil splashed on it by the crank and rods for lubrication. If you don't: you'll have a wiped cam/lifters out of the gate. The lifters will always take time to pump up at start up. Did you prime the pump, and prelube the engine with an oil pump drive tool/hand drill(or something) before start up?

Yes I did prime the pump but I didnt have the valve cover off to see if the oil came all the way to the top. I just use the drill till it got hot in my hands....It seem that it pump up right away and after I felt it get hard I drilled another minute after that...Should I redo it with the valve cover off? or do yall think its normal? I really appreciat you all helping me out. Thanks Carlos

 

[Steve V]

If you don't have an oil pressure guage you need one. As long as the guage reads about 50 psi with the drill,it will get up top. Open the oil fill cap and look in there with a light. I usually prime mine on the stand before I put the covers on.

 

[TURBOELKY]

Wow

as long as the gauge reads 50psi.,,, man, I wish mine did. your lucky to get 15-20 with these engines. unless you have all kinds of mods to the oil system, then all it does is bring up the psi, not the volume my engine made all kinds of noise the first few minutes of break in. But you should prime it with the covers off to make sure oil is coming over the rocker arms. my engine took a while to prime, but it finally did. :wink:

 

[SloRegal]

Thanks guys, I gotter done. They are now quit she sounds beautiful BUT while the break in my radiator fan is not coming on and the temp is getting high..So now I'm here to search about that before I ask questions...Thanks guys Carlos

 

[Steve V]

I meant #50 pressure with the drill and cold oil,priming the engine. 50 at idle is way too much for a warm engine. When I start mine when it cold it will idle about 70ish then thinout to about 20.

 

[TURBOELKY]

hum

mine starts cold at about 25-30, then once warm'd up, drops to about 10-15? what ever,

 

[chrisgarrett]

If you don't have an oil pressure guage you need one. As long as the guage reads about 50 psi with the drill,it will get up top. Open the oil fill cap and look in there with a light. I usually prime mine on the stand before I put the covers on.

Steve, are you saying you prime the engine while it is on the engine stand? If so, what do you do about the cooler lines?

 

[Turbo1dr]

Remove the oil cooler adapter and screw the oil filter back on.

 

[chrisgarrett]

Remove the oil cooler adapter and screw the oil filter back on.

And then break in the cam without the oil cooler?

 

[Turbo1dr]

No. Put the oil cooler back on when the engine is in the car. On the engine stand, you can eliminate the cooler so you can prime the engine with a drill.

 

[chrisgarrett]

No. Put the oil cooler back on when the engine is in the car. On the engine stand you can eliminate the cooler so you can prime the engine with a drill.

I'm trying to understand this because I will be breaking in an engine soon. I hope this doesn't sound dumb, but how do you get the cooler back on without the oil running out when you remove the filter?

And if you do prime on the stand, how do you prime the pump? I always pore oil down the cooler line.

 

[Turbo1dr]

Referring back to the question you had with the engine on the stand and not in the car....

To prime the engine on the stand you can do away with the oil cooler adapter so you can use a drill to prime the engine with oil. This will allow you to see if you have good oil pressure with a gauge hooked up. If there is a problem with the engine it will be easier to go back into it without having to remove the engine from the car. Once you prime the engine with a drill on the engine stand you can install the engine and hook everything back up...oil cooler adapter and lines. The oil will run out but once you have everything hooked back up you can still re-prime the system with a drill so when you do start it the first time everything will be ready to go.

 

[87GN_70GS]

After the cam is broken in, it's a good idea to remove the valve cover and check to make sure the #3 exhaust pushrod is spinning like (except opposite direction) the others. If not, it'll be a slow death. If it's spinning but just slightly slower, you should be ok.

 

[chrisgarrett]

Referring back to the question you had with the engine on the stand and not in the car....

To prime the engine on the stand you can do away with the oil cooler adapter so you can use a drill to prime the engine with oil. This will allow you to see if you have good oil pressure with a gauge hooked up. If there is a problem with the engine it will be easier to go back into it without having to remove the engine from the car. Once you prime the engine with a drill on the engine stand you can install the engine and hook everything back up...oil cooler adapter and lines. The oil will run out but once you have everything hooked back up you can still re-prime the system with a drill so when you do start it the first time everything will be ready to go.

I understand. Thanks for the explanation.

 

[Steve V]

Turbo Elky

Sorry about your oil psi,but this in fact what happened with the 6 Turbo Buick motors I built. Even the one with resticted oil passage after the pump that only lasted 4,000 miles This is with 10w-30.