number 6 exhaust pushrod spinning slow?

[JDSfastGN]

I have been trying to track down a noise in my motor for a week or so now. (same tone as a lifter, but is inconsistant more like something loose and banging around) It sounds like its on the passenger side towards the back, but for some reason honestly its easier to hear it outside the engine than through the stethoscope. I pulled the passenger side valvecover and discovered one of my plastic keepers for the rocker arm was broken in half. I thought surely that was the noise. After fixing it, it still made the noise. Today i pulled the assembly off again and found a crack in the shaft and again thought that was the issue. So after a new shaft and replacing that rear rocker with another and checking to see if the pushrod was straight i fired it back up and still have the noise. This time i ran it with the valve cover off. The rear 6E pushrod is spinning very very slow compared to the others. Maybe 1 revolution every 1.5 seconds and the others are spinning very fast. The rocker appears to be moving up and down normally. Is this slow spinning a bad sign? Is this normal at all? Ive read that the 3E spins slower and backwards but never about any others having issues. Thanks.

 

[A2000RICH]

I have been trying to track down a noise in my motor for a week or so now. (same tone as a lifter, but is inconsistant more like something loose and banging around) It sounds like its on the passenger side towards the back, but for some reason honestly its easier to hear it outside the engine than through the stethoscope. I pulled the passenger side valvecover and discovered one of my plastic keepers for the rocker arm was broken in half. I thought surely that was the noise. After fixing it, it still made the noise. Today i pulled the assembly off again and found a crack in the shaft and again thought that was the issue. So after a new shaft and replacing that rear rocker with another and checking to see if the pushrod was straight i fired it back up and still have the noise. This time i ran it with the valve cover off. The rear 6E pushrod is spinning very very slow compared to the others. Maybe 1 revolution every 1.5 seconds and the others are spinning very fast. The rocker appears to be moving up and down normally. Is this slow spinning a bad sign? Is this normal at all? Ive read that the 3E spins slower and backwards but never about any others having issues. Thanks.

its a bad sign------its almost certain that you have a lifter/lobe problem and you are best off to deal with it before your engine suffers from particle contamination---------i just finished repairing an engine for a friend with the same symptom........RC

 

[JDSfastGN]

thanks Richard, i'm gonna pull the intake off this weekend and see if i can find anything....

 

[counterman]

I have the same thing with a slow spinning #6 exhaust pushrod. Same cam, it appears, too. Edelbrock flat tappet. I am currently accumulating parts for a teardown. I am going roller this time. I have a popping that comes only as cylinder pressures and boost increase. I have been all through the ignition system, and am seeing more silt-like particles than I'd like in my oil. All point to a failing cam. Good luck. Counterman.

 

[jimski]

Have u checked that flywheel for cracks right in the center.tap on it with a hammer to see if it has a solid sound to it.

 

[JDSfastGN]

ill check it out just to be sure.... i would be really happy if that was the noise, but the slow spinning lifter is what scares me...

 

[JDSfastGN]

I have the same thing with a slow spinning #6 exhaust pushrod. Same cam, it appears, too. Edelbrock flat tappet. I am currently accumulating parts for a teardown. I am going roller this time. I have a popping that comes only as cylinder pressures and boost increase. I have been all through the ignition system, and am seeing more silt-like particles than I'd like in my oil. All point to a failing cam. Good luck. Counterman.

dang sorry to hear of your problems as well. I can't say anything bad about the 204/214. It served me well for a lot of miles. If anything its probably my fault. The other week i took it for a 2 hour drive and before i left i didn't check the oil. It never uses or leaks, but somehow it was over 2 quarts low and i wasn't nice to it a few times on that trip:frown: I don't know if this caused it or not. If mine turns out to be bad, i will be saving for a fullthrottle 210/215 roller.

 

[87GN_70GS]

What oil were you guys using?

 

[JDSfastGN]

i run shell rotella T 15w40

 

[counterman]

My engine has less than 100 miles on it since rebuilding. I am using Castrol 10w40 with the zddp additive. Counterman.

 

[A2000RICH]

My engine has less than 100 miles on it since rebuilding. I am using Castrol 10w40 with the zddp additive. Counterman.

assuming that you have properly set the lifter preload a slow spinning lifter is a sign that the lobe taper and/or the convex face of the lifter has worn excessively---------due to the lifter location in the V-6 block the #3 and #6 exhaust are the worst culprits and are most susceptible to this failure-------but the slowing of the rotation only happens when the wear has reached a severe state------with only a hundred miles on your car i would have to question your breakin procedure and possibly how accurately you had the lifter preload set-------i'll be interested in seeing what is wrong...............RC

 

[Jerryl]

JD,
Been thinking about this a few days.
You may just have a bad lifter that is not pumping, since the sound is not rhythmic, but, only one way to tell.

I would think that if there is no pressure on the lobe, resulting from a worn lobe, the sound would be constant and consistent with rpm.
If there is no or minimal pressure on the lobe, the lobe will spin slow and also increase wear.
It is plausible that the "lack of pressure on the lobe" could be the result of a bad lifter that losses pressure, thereby decreasing the preload enough to cause slow spinning. :frown:

 

[ttypewe4jim]

Bump,

you ever figure anything out yet JD? Ive been on the road traveling with my buddy that has the drag radail car havent been around much..

 

[JDSfastGN]

yeah the tapping was a blown headgasket... nobody that listened thought it sounded anything like it. I saw the gasket sticking into the valley when i pulled the intake. The car had no symptoms at all of a blown headgasket other than a bit of coolant missing that I thought was going else where. Its amazing that the firing ring held up because i drove it around for 3 weeks with the noise. The cam looks ok, i had a slow rotating intake pushrod on the #5 as well. There is a tiny bit of wear that i expected on some of the lifters(#3E looks awesome though haha) I will be going roller and replacing bearings. It didn't look like any coolant was in the oil but there must have been a small enough amount to damage some of the bearings (or me beating the crap out of it)