3800 tapping sound

[sgtp]

taaaaaapa taaaaapa tapa...

Ok, so 2 days ago I reinstalled my roller rockers. Install went fine, but the inside of my valve covers had a thick white substance in the corners. I checked the oil, but it looks just fine, so stupid me decided not to change the oil. I drive the 30 miles from my parents garage to my apartment, and as Im parking, I hear a tapping noise. I think it must just be me incorrectly torquing a rocker down. Fast forward to tonight. I retorqued al the rockers and the tapping is still there. I think I spun a bearing. Whats more, checking my rockers tonight, I see the white stuff reforming on the valve covers....40 whole miles after I cleaned them up before putting them back on. Again, my oil "looks" fine. Im not sure if it made a difference, but in the 40 miles I drove, I only floored it once, but gave it plenty of halfthrottle jabs.

So, Im looking ahead, and need advice and some answers. Can you replace the bearings with the engine still in the car? Is the crank or the rods toast in addition to the bearings, or could I just need new bearings? I really want to believe I can fix my problem, but need some advice, or stories of what you did.....

....and is it true that you can do an oil change and check for metal material (bearings) to confirm this diagnosis?????

....and is the damage already done and I can still drive like a grandma, or should I not drive it at all because I would be causing further damage?

Does anyone know of any writeups so I can see how involved replacing the bearings would be?

thanks

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[phat_ridegt]

yes it is true that you can check for metal when you do an oil change but the white substance sort of sounds like coolant. like you have a lower intake or a head gasket leaking coolant into the oil....the oil doesn't appear milky on the dipstick? i would look into that.

 

[sgtp]

yep, the oil from the dipstick appears perfectly normal, so this is a tiny coolant leak that caused this whole problem. I'll check the oil when the time comes. For now, there is a lot of thinking to do

 

[imported_Ron Vogel]

I doubt it's coolant in the oil. If you park the car outside it's normal to get some condensation in there causing the milky white goop. If the oil itself looks ok you're fine. I'd attribte the noise to your headers of egr before anything else.

 

[MrT]

Originally posted by Ron Vogel@Dec 29 2005, 12:52 AM
I doubt it's coolant in the oil. If you park the car outside it's normal to get some condensation in there causing the milky white goop. If the oil itself looks ok you're fine. I'd attribte the noise to your headers of egr before anything else.

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pull the covers and check for a loose rocker

 

[Fish]

What kind of rockers are they?? If they are intents, did you get the replacement pedistals?? What locks and retainers are you using?? If comp locks, are they the new ones??

 

[sgtp]

The tapping sound is faint at idle and is really noticeable at 2k rpms and up. This all started only after some spirited 40 miles of driving after putting the RR's with new pedistals back in. I still have stock locks and retainers so thats not the prob. I retorqued all the rockers last night. Only one seemed a little loose when removing it to inspect it. The tapping was still there after retorquing.

I do park on the street, so Ron, I want to believe its condensasion because oil from the dipstick looks fine. I will admit for all the times I removed my valve covers, I have not replaced the gasket. Maybe that fucked me. Today, I am doing an oil change. I will run seafoam in the crankcase first. Someone suggested it may just be a clogged lifter so maybe the seafoam will help clear it up. If the tapping is still there, I will comb thru my oil with a magnet looking for the remains of a bearing.

I do have an aftermarket warranty thats about to die. I might want to see if I can use it, not caring if they tell me I voided it with all the mods...I will report back after my oil change

I will try the mechanics stethiscope trick on the egr for tapping, but Im pretty sure its coming from the block

 

[sgtp]

I tried running some RISLONE thinking I just have a noisy lifter, but no change in the sound. One thing I noticed is it is less loud when the engine is cold. Another thing I noticed was the tapping sound is just as loud listening from the oilpan as it does listening from heads/lim. From the bottom, its loudest on the driver side of the oilpan. I think I may have confirmed a bad bearing instead of the bad lifter I was hoping for. I am my options right now. I may be taking it in to a shop soon, after I convert it as far as I can to stock (might need a pully swap)