TheLion70x77
Well-Known Member
I made a list a while back in several of these BBQ Tick threads. Out of 52 members on the list, only two or three had actual short block replacements and one of them had the technicians actually tell them they could not find any out of spec parts. Rod bearings, crank journals, cylinder walls, pistons and rings were all fine and show no abnormal signs of wear. However they did NOT check or report back on the big end side to side clearance.
The reality is most of these cars with the BBQ have no abnormal operation. They make full power, no metal shavings in the pan, UOI's come back completely normal, no CEL's, no abnormal oil consumption...they just tick at low RPM. Certak, Archoil and TriboTEX all seem to lessen and in many cases eliminate the noise while also reducing friction losses and wear rates in the engine. There are a few cases where extremely pronounced ticking was an indication of an actual problem, but it varies. I've seen one or two that were spun bearings and yet others that were cylinders that were out of round.
The intensity, frequency and occurrence of the sound varies from engine to engine, oil to oil and how sensitive the owner is to such noises. It's not much different than the 6.2L SOHC V8 or the 6.7L Turbo Diesel type writer tick or the GM Duramax tick. I've even found some videos now of LT1's with an interesting tick or light knock:
That bottom end tap / tick sounds just like mine on 5W-20, it's much quieter now on 5W-30. Its' always sounded that way since I bought it with 5,600 miles on it. The best diagnosis of an actual issue is going to be drive ability issues, CEL and other signs like poor UOA's, shavings in the pan, excessive oil consumption etc. Remember these aluminum block performance engines are NOT like the old iron block units of yesteryear. Cylinder rattle, mild ticking etc. are all noises that are common and part of normal operation, especially as they wear in. Chevy has had issues for years with some of their LS engines having cylinder rattle when cold because of the required clearances to allow for block expansion over cast iron. Most 4 cylinder and V6's in your typical passenger sedans don't see nor are designed for the higher RPM, higher power and much higher thermal loads, so they can run slightly tighter clearances to reduce noise.
Many people simply don't notice them either, so what we think is abnormal may in fact be more common than one might think. My wife didn't notice my BBQ tick until I actually pointed it out to her and did a specific test to prove it (windows down, air / radio off, start from stop next to a sound barrier, sure enough tick tick...tick tick tick), only then could she distinguish it from other normal noises, but would have never known if it weren't for me pointing it out because I'm super sensitive to things like that.
The reality is most of these cars with the BBQ have no abnormal operation. They make full power, no metal shavings in the pan, UOI's come back completely normal, no CEL's, no abnormal oil consumption...they just tick at low RPM. Certak, Archoil and TriboTEX all seem to lessen and in many cases eliminate the noise while also reducing friction losses and wear rates in the engine. There are a few cases where extremely pronounced ticking was an indication of an actual problem, but it varies. I've seen one or two that were spun bearings and yet others that were cylinders that were out of round.
The intensity, frequency and occurrence of the sound varies from engine to engine, oil to oil and how sensitive the owner is to such noises. It's not much different than the 6.2L SOHC V8 or the 6.7L Turbo Diesel type writer tick or the GM Duramax tick. I've even found some videos now of LT1's with an interesting tick or light knock:
That bottom end tap / tick sounds just like mine on 5W-20, it's much quieter now on 5W-30. Its' always sounded that way since I bought it with 5,600 miles on it. The best diagnosis of an actual issue is going to be drive ability issues, CEL and other signs like poor UOA's, shavings in the pan, excessive oil consumption etc. Remember these aluminum block performance engines are NOT like the old iron block units of yesteryear. Cylinder rattle, mild ticking etc. are all noises that are common and part of normal operation, especially as they wear in. Chevy has had issues for years with some of their LS engines having cylinder rattle when cold because of the required clearances to allow for block expansion over cast iron. Most 4 cylinder and V6's in your typical passenger sedans don't see nor are designed for the higher RPM, higher power and much higher thermal loads, so they can run slightly tighter clearances to reduce noise.
Many people simply don't notice them either, so what we think is abnormal may in fact be more common than one might think. My wife didn't notice my BBQ tick until I actually pointed it out to her and did a specific test to prove it (windows down, air / radio off, start from stop next to a sound barrier, sure enough tick tick...tick tick tick), only then could she distinguish it from other normal noises, but would have never known if it weren't for me pointing it out because I'm super sensitive to things like that.
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