3100 sfi ticking...

[88corsica5spd28]

Probably piston slap... it's not the end of the world if it is. My old Chevy truck did that for over 100k. It locked up on a main bearing... no busted pistons.

[SwiftDrift]

when its warm it goes away, does that indicate piston slap because the heat causes the pistons to expand, or injectors building pressure?

[Fireball]

yeah i will, i hope it isnt piston slap though

Don't worry about piston slap.
We had a Century that sounded like a diesel even when warm; by no means is this normal but it never burned a drop of oil and ran just fine to the day we sold it a year ago.

It's still on the road!

[SwiftDrift]

yeah i will, i hope it isnt piston slap though

[caffeine]

But make sure the injectors aren't what's ticking at least. Ticking injectors are completely normal.

[SwiftDrift]

we r selling the car probably within a year. even if its fine, its noticeable. if the washer method is safe i might do it

[caffeine]

Valve lash is supposed to be automatically hydraulically adjusted. Any method other than replacing bad lifters just sounds ghetto to me.

On older engines with non-hydraulic lifters valve lash is adjusted manually and can get rid of ticking.

Before assuming its the valvetrain listen for where the noise is coming from. If it's between the intakes then it's probably injectors. If it's from the valve covers it's probably lifters.

[SwiftDrift]

ohh okay thanks. how long do you think this will keep it from ticking again?

[trotterlg]

i thought there was a remedy like that, idk thats just what i heard from my neighbor.

Only way to tighten up the lash would be to put a washer under the rocker nut or put in a longer pushrod. The rocker bolts tighten down on top of a sholder on the rocker stud and there is no adjustment. The washer would have to be larger than the sholder on the stud which is about .398 inch. Larry

[SwiftDrift]

i thought there was a remedy like that, idk thats just what i heard from my neighbor.

[trotterlg]

when we got the car i dont even remember hearing the ticking, only had it for about a year... if it is the lifters ticking, i can always adjust the rockers right?

No, ther rockers are not adjustable. Larry

[SwiftDrift]

when we got the car i dont even remember hearing the ticking, only had it for about a year... if it is the lifters ticking, i can always adjust the rockers right?

[caffeine]

My brand new 550cc injectors are pretty loud. Pretty normal.

[robertisaar]

mine have been noisy for ~50K miles..... i don't think it is indicative of a problem, just something that happens depending on the design of the injector. they've actually quieted down, the last time i drove it, from what i remember.

[SwiftDrift]

if it is the injector, chances are i will need to replace it right? or do they get noisy when clogged?