I have a question about my z28 (clicking noise)

[Complication]

recently purchased a 1997 Camaro Z28 (LT1 Motor) . I've never really dealt with V8s much, and my experience with engines is honestly somewhat limited. I now have some what of a mystery on my hands.

The car is making a "clicking" under acceleration, this is loudest seemingly around 1200-3500RPMS @ about 3/4 throttle, however it still is prevalent (but much quieter) in Higher RPMs. But mind you this is only when the motor is under load. If in neutral there is no clicking noise. The oil seems to be @ a fine level, (although it could stand to be changed) I do also have a bad Catalytic Converter,(I'm not sure which one it is at this point) and the sparkplugs are in Dire need of change, (all which I will be changing this weekend). I'm not sure if it could be timing or something along those lines. I am not all that sure whether or not it's just bad plugs.

The car tends to "bogg" down some times at lights and other times when asked to accelerate @ lower RPMS.

but I figured I'd see if anyone had some Ideas as to what I need to be doing other then replacing the obvious and giving it a general tune up.

also if anyone knows of a reputable shop that specializes in LT1's or Camaro’s that would help too. I've never gotten into American Muscle until now and would love some advise as where to go from here.

Thanks for the time and attention.
Complication :ninja:

[singsifu]

hmm

[Elbow]

^whore?

[Complication]

^whore?

I think, so...

[THEONE]

good luck changing those plugs,have you replaced the opti spark yet?as far as the ticking,i had the same problem in my formula it seemd like it was coming from the back of the motor but only when driving at low speeds in traffic 25-30mph.i changed plugs,wires,optispark.it would come and go after i put a new muffler on it it went away.so im guessing it was a block in the muffler causing a leak out of the exaust manifold from the the dougnut gasket. since you have a bad cat imn sure your flow is being restricted and forcing your exaust to escape from the weakest point in your exaust systems gaskets or pipe. change your cat.

[Complication]

good luck changing those plugs,have you replaced the opti spark yet?as far as the ticking,i had the same problem in my formula it seemd like it was coming from the back of the motor but only when driving at low speeds in traffic 25-30mph.i changed plugs,wires,optispark.it would come and go after i put a new muffler on it it went away.so im guessing it was a block in the muffler causing a leak out of the exaust manifold from the the dougnut gasket. since you have a bad cat imn sure your flow is being restricted and forcing your exaust to escape from the weakest point in your exaust systems gaskets or pipe. change your cat.


Thanks for the input that's deffinatly going to happen real soon.. I hope you like Reps... btw do you have a perticular shop that you used when you had the Formula?

thanks

Comp :ninja:

[THEONE]

Thanks for the input that's deffinatly going to happen real soon.. I hope you like Reps... btw do you have a perticular shop that you used when you had the Formula?

thanks

Comp :ninja:

steves auto repair in duluth,they do alot of perf work on domestics mostly classics well they use to the tech i used opened a shop off peachtree ind. right behind japanese auto repair. both shops do great work and thier tech are very very good.

[s13slider®]

its really hard to actually define what it could be cause i can not hear the noise for myself but i would start by fixing what you KNOW is wrong with it , and put new coil packs on it , or when you take the plug wires off just see if they are rusty . but if none of that works i would say try to get your vavles adjusted . and gl doing those plugs . everytime i did mine it was on a lift . so much easier that way .

[Complication]

gl doing those plugs . everytime i did mine it was on a lift . so much easier that way .

gosh, thats not what I wanted to hear.. oh well. I'll have a whole day to do figgure it out... if not I have to drive the Rapist Van (1999 Ford Econo Wagon)

[KPowerEP3]

gosh, thats not what I wanted to hear.. oh well. I'll have a whole day to do figgure it out... if not I have to drive the Rapist Van (1999 Ford Econo Wagon)

http://www.geocities.com/left_wing009/Sean_20Connery.jpe

I'll take 'The rapists for $500'

haha. But as said before, I'd look for exhaust leaks.

[Tech5]

exhaust leaks make a raddle not clicking, I think you might be hearing a desiel affect, called spark knocking, due to veryyy bad tune up, or timing off, or you got bad u joints, but that also makes a vibration, check your motor mounts, an suspension make sure you dont have anything loose, but we need to hear to make out what it real sounds like, but hope some of these options can help you find out what it is, Joshua

[KPowerEP3]

exhaust leaks make a raddle not clicking, I think you might be hearing a desiel affect, called spark knocking, due to veryyy bad tune up, or timing off, or you got bad u joints, but that also makes a vibration, check your motor mounts, an suspension make sure you dont have anything loose, but we need to hear to make out what it real sounds like, but hope some of these options can help you find out what it is, Joshua


true, but 95% of people don't know the difference between a rattle, click, ping, tick and knock, plus he already knows the cat's clogged.

[Complication]

Yeah, I looked at it again, and it is seemingly comming strongest @ exactly 3100RPMs and continues till about 3500RPMs in 3rd gear. Then I shift to 4th and it drasticly reduces the noise. I honesty think it's due to bad spark. From all the exhaust leaks I've had on other cars of mine, this does not sound like one of those. I am getting it all taken care of Saturday through tuesday. and will dial in the timeing a little later on in the week.

Comp. :ninja:

[s13slider®]

those damn f bodys keep so much heat under the hood its rediculous , like i said earlier MAKE DAMN SURE you check your coil packs .

[Complication]

those damn f bodys keep so much heat under the hood its rediculous , like i said earlier MAKE DAMN SURE you check your coil packs .


Certinaly! Ninja Style :ninja:

[THEONE]

you know,if you have a bad catalitic converter you should change it,changing your plugs and wires and opti spark will be useless if your cat it plugged.your just going to keep your engine under a constant unhealthy load,causing it to possibly over heat,foul plugs again,blow manifold gaskets,turn into a piece of crap.
you should park the car and fix it the right way,start with the known problems and go from there it makes no sense to change plugs when you know you have a bad cat.
having owned one of these i know repairs are pricey,but every time i did a repair on my formula it ran so much better.oh and it took me 3 hours to change my plugs. til one day i got wise and took the passenger side front wheel off and used a hole saw and cut a hole about as big around as a coke can in the wheel well just to make getting to that first plug a little easier and thats the only hard one on the whole car,i use to spray my LT1 so i had to stay on top of my plugs :)

[Complication]

So I found out from the previous owner of the z28 that in the first 6 years of the car's life, it had all of 1000 miles on it. he said that the owner before him was his grandpa. Thinking that there was possibly crud build up in there, I ran a can of Seafoam through the motor, and well it now doesn't take 3 attemps to start up. it actualy turns over perfectly now, and even idles better. I also checked the plugs (the ones I could get to) and they are fine. a little on the used side but still have plenty of life to give. I did however replace 2 little hoses on the top of the left side of the motor,(looked like emmissions control junk), they were totaly rotten.. that could have been the cause of the codes.

Now I think the problem seems a little more clear... I Think it's Rod knock... :no: ... It makes the "Clicking" noise at Idle and when it's under load. the only time I can't hear the noise is when, 1) I press in the clutch during lite accleration, and 2) after 4300 RPMS.

Complication :ninja:

::EDIT:: I also disconected the battery and cleared the codes and after close to 40 miles I have no codes. (and now that I think about it) there is no sound
like the Cat is busted.

I am going to take it to MTI over near Allgood Road... I'll see what they have to say.

[crashtke]

My ex-wife had the same noise with her 2000 TA. When taken to Pontiac they checked it out and they said that it was just noisy valves and that it was "normal" with those cars. I was not really thrilled with that answer and took it to another dealership since it was under warranty and they said the exact same thing. I ran a better oil in it and it seemed to help the issue a little bit. Try a little thicker good quality synthetic in the summer months. Other option is an exhaust leak. It can sound like a ticking noise as well. As for the cats...well if you get some good engine management you can take em off :)

[Blitanicle99]

If you think its the lifters or they seem to be making more noise than usual... Try this... Next time you change your oil, drop a quart of oil out of it, then put a quart of ATF in it and let it run at about 2000 rpms for 30 minutes. Drain everythign out and continue with the oil change. That fixed my little problem for about 30 bucks.