Tick on #7 cylinder - TBSSOWNERS.com Forums - The #1 TrailblazerSS Dedicated Owners Forum

mikem454 · May-12-12, 08:45 AM

Hey guys ive got a slow (slower than valvetrain) tick on my #7 cylinder ever since i went to the track last. I need ideas on what it could be.... first i thought it was an exhaust leak, so i changed the header gasket... no luck. Then i pulled each wire till the tick stopped to tell me which cylinder...#7 possibly spark grounding out. So i put a spare wire on, no luck. So i put a spare spark plug in it... no luck... wtf?!?! Maybe blown head gasket?? With no ignition to that cylinder, that cylinder wont blow the exhaust out through the gasket when the combustion happens maybe????? I already have fresh ls9 head gaskets and head studs on it...

mikem454 · May-12-12, 09:14 AM

I guess my next step is doing a leak down test on it

mikem454 · May-12-12, 09:51 AM

Ok with 100psi input, i have 92psi in the cylinder... so not even 10% leak down. To me thats killer! Even with rings gapped slightly bigger. Im at a loss here... help

ssprince · May-12-12, 02:15 PM

If it's a "tick"....It could possibly be in the valvetrain..........If it's "slower" than valvetrain, I'd hate to say the infamous rod bearing may just have plagued you...

**dfwwiz** · May-12-12, 02:52 PM

Or maybe you chipped the ring land like mine did on #7. Pull the head. If thats it it will make a ticking sound due to piston skirt slap because of the compression going down that side of the chip.

truckshop · May-12-12, 03:12 PM

Does the noise go away when you kill cyl 7?

ssprince · May-12-12, 03:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dfwwiz

Or maybe you chipped the ring land like mine did on #7. Pull the head. If thats it it will make a ticking sound due to piston skirt slap because of the compression going down that side of the chip.

How's the new build been running?

mikem454 · May-13-12, 12:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ssprince

If it's a "tick"....It could possibly be in the valvetrain..........If it's "slower" than valvetrain, I'd hate to say the infamous rod bearing may just have plagued you...

Its definitely not valvetrain, its too slow. Ive pulled the valve cover and everything looks good. It sounds exactly like an exhaust leak or a spark plug arcing...

Quote:

Originally Posted by dfwwiz

Or maybe you chipped the ring land like mine did on #7. Pull the head. If thats it it will make a ticking sound due to piston skirt slap because of the compression going down that side of the chip.

Well i did a leak down test on that cylinder with great results. I would think that would show a chipped ring land??? I could be wrong
. And i have brand new forged pistons in it, probably 5k miles on it

Quote:

Originally Posted by truckshop

Does the noise go away when you kill cyl 7?

Yup... thats what confuses the fuck out of me
, cause ive swapped ignition parts out and nothings changed

Quote:

Originally Posted by ssprince

How's the new build been running?

It runs good, although it ran the same et at the track lol. I dont know what the problem is. On the street it feels alot better than it used to be. I think my cats are holding me back or something

mikem454 · May-13-12, 12:45 PM

And its not loud enough to hear with the hood closed.

truckshop · May-13-12, 01:22 PM

If the noise goes away when you kill the cylinder then it's usually a wrist pin.

mikem454 · May-13-12, 02:05 PM

Hmmm. Well that sucks if thats what it is. What would cause that on a fresh engine? I had my machine shop check the new pistons, wrist pins and rods

mikem454 · May-13-12, 04:35 PM

Heres a video. You can hear it pretty good close to the end of the clip... also the noise goes away when you raise the idle up. Would a wrist pin do that?

truckshop · May-13-12, 06:11 PM

Doesn't sound like a wrist pin. Sounds more like an exhaust leak.

mikem454 · May-18-12, 06:21 PM

Anybody else have any ideas on what to try? I put a piece of stainless tubing to my ear and the noise sounds like its coming from the header tube, but my brand new gasket doesn't have any leak marks (outside or in between the metal layers), i have 50 lbs oil pressure at idle, the noise doesnt come from down low, and everything in the motor is brand new (pistons, gm lifters, pushrods, ect) with less than 10k miles on it now... i just put my nitrous kit on it but i dont wanna try it out if im gunna end up with a scattered motor. Heres a better video

mikem454 · May-19-12, 08:02 PM

Sweet baby jesus! I finally found my noise!! Its an exhaust leak coming from my header flange. But not from the gasket side, its coming from where the tube goes into the flange. I gooped some high temp silicone on it temporarily to see if it shuts it up. Ill weld it up when i get time. Im just glad i dont have to tear into my motor more than i already did.

**JD_SS** · May-19-12, 08:37 PM

Yikes! Glad you found the leak. What kind of headers?

ssprince · May-19-12, 08:39 PM

Did Walter help you with that??????

mikem454 · May-19-12, 08:44 PM

I dunno. They were on there when i bought it. Truckshop probably knows what they are. This leak just threw me for a loop. There was no burn marks or anything. I think i did everything besides pulling the motor to try and figure this one out. I dont think ive ever had a set of headers leak there.

SStripped · May-19-12, 08:46 PM

Man that's great news bro....I had a loud ass tick from my truck and got the exhaust checked first but unfortunately for me it wasn't exhaust related and I traded it in cuz I was scared of what was gonna happen next.

mikem454 · May-19-12, 08:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ssprince

Did Walter help you with that??????

Hey dont hate on my SWEET looking silicone job. That might make me pick up half a second

May-19-12, 08:02 PM	#15
mikem454 Real Name: mike Member # 7819 Join Date: Mar 2010 Status: Online Location: houston tx Posts: 251 iTrader: (0) Casino cash: $78200 Rep Power:	Sweet baby jesus! I finally found my noise!! Its an exhaust leak coming from my header flange. But not from the gasket side, its coming from where the tube goes into the flange. I gooped some high temp silicone on it temporarily to see if it shuts it up. Ill weld it up when i get time. Im just glad i dont have to tear into my motor more than i already did. __________________ patriot heads, custom grind cam, fwi, ported intake, throttle body, yank 3600, LT headers, kooks y pipe, magnaflo, spal fans, 160 tstat, U/D, forged pistons, tune, built tranny.

May-19-12, 08:37 PM	#16
JD_SS Real Name: JD Member # 855 Join Date: Sep 2007 Status: Offline Location: Boulder, CO Posts: 4,724 iTrader: (7) Casino cash: $582212 Rep Power:	Yikes! Glad you found the leak. What kind of headers? __________________ 07 3ss awd \| 402ci ls2 stroker jake skull hitch covers

May-19-12, 08:39 PM	#17
ssprince The Lurker Real Name: Anthony Member # 1369 Join Date: Dec 2007 Status: Offline Location: Plainfield Posts: 10,758 iTrader: (4) Casino cash: $1181500 Rep Power:	Did Walter help you with that?????? __________________

May-19-12, 08:44 PM	#18
mikem454 Real Name: mike Member # 7819 Join Date: Mar 2010 Status: Online Location: houston tx Posts: 251 iTrader: (0) Casino cash: $78200 Rep Power:	I dunno. They were on there when i bought it. Truckshop probably knows what they are. This leak just threw me for a loop. There was no burn marks or anything. I think i did everything besides pulling the motor to try and figure this one out. I dont think ive ever had a set of headers leak there. __________________ patriot heads, custom grind cam, fwi, ported intake, throttle body, yank 3600, LT headers, kooks y pipe, magnaflo, spal fans, 160 tstat, U/D, forged pistons, tune, built tranny.

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May-19-12, 08:46 PM	#19
SStripped Real Name: Sean Member # 4150 Join Date: Nov 2008 Status: Offline Location: PHX Posts: 2,125 iTrader: (2) Casino cash: $385500 Rep Power:	Man that's great news bro....I had a loud ass tick from my truck and got the exhaust checked first but unfortunately for me it wasn't exhaust related and I traded it in cuz I was scared of what was gonna happen next.