experts. please direct me into the right direction. the past few moring i have bee experiencig an aggressive start. would start within the normal time but a couple of rumbles first. today freaked me out a bit. i had a very loud ticking sound. lasted till engie warmed up. it was scary cause im hoping its not piston slap that is bad... im hoping one of you guys can tell me its something simple and easy to fix... ill try to get a video up...

 

Dumb question but hows your oil level? If ok it could be a sticky lifter

 

imma check that today and post the results... if sticky lifter what should i do.... seafoam and change would fix it up?

 

I would try to run some lucas before I doing the seafoam.
What is the oil pressure when warm? (Check with a real gage, not the instrument cluster). How does it idle/run when its warm?

 

engine tick.mp4 - YouTube

added half a qt of lucas after i got home but this video was before that....

 

check idle.mp4 - YouTube

here is the engine idle and oil pressure

 

Did you ever have your intake manifold gasket replaced, If and when they go bad, coolant could be getting into the oil filling the lifters, and when starting up in the moring the lifters will tap until they fill with oil agian and build up hydraulic pressure.

 

havent done the intake manifold gasket yet cause im scared **** of messin up the timing...

 

The only way you can mess up the timing is when you remove the distributor and replace it, there is also a slot on the end of the distributor that turns the oil pump. if the pump turn while you remove the dist. it is sometimes hard to get the dist. back in unless you move the pump alitte. This can get tricky and may not be the job for everyone. But GM does have a nice aluminum gasket set for the intakes. If the intakes are leaking it is not something you should neglect.

 

ill buy all the parts i need, gaskets for manifolds and valve cover gaskets...

GM 4.3 Vortec lower intake manifold gasket replacement - YouTube

best video on how to.... hopefully i can tackle this myself.. may need a couple of days..