its baaaaack...
 

well guys, for those of you that dont know, i had a noisy lifter about 2 months ago that i fixed by changing my oil and adding Slick 50 to the engine. well, last night i was coming back from the race track towing my buddy's camaro on a trailer, and suddenly the ticking started up again (very low). i pushed the clutch in and revved it up a little and it went away. after dropping the car and trailer off, i was driving home and the ticking started again, and it hasn't gone away since. last time it was 1 noisy lifter, but this time its definitely more than 1, and the noise is REALLY REALLY loud. im having a couple of economical problems (some of my college scholarships were reduced by the government, so i have to use 100% of the money i make working just to finish off tuition), so i am not going to be able to afford to rebuild the engine any time soon. right now i got it parked and im not gonna drive it anymore because im afraid to screw something up in the valvetrain, since i dont have the money to fix it. got any ideas on what i should do? sorry for the long post...:(

i have heard tales that transmission fluid will free up sticky lifters .

ok, now i have a big problem. i was just outside looking at the truck, and decided to climb underneath it. when i looked under, i saw that everything from the driveshaft and back is COVERED in oil (even the rear axle, the gas tanks, the rear shocks, the spare...). i THINK its tranny fluid, but it doesnt looked like it leaked, it looks like it sprayed (probably while i was driving). i opened up the filler plug and teh tranny fluid level is lower than normal (i checked the oil level in the engine, but it was full). the tranny has always had a tiny leak, but i dont think the oil came from that tiny leak. i dont see any other place where the tranny is leaking either. i did notice last night at one point that the truck smelled really bad, like something was burning. how can i figure out just where exactly on the tranny the fluid is coming from? thanks for the help...

if you cant see where it is coming from but all the driveshaft is covered it is probably coming from the rear seal . this maybe could be your noise also? i mean instead of sticky lifters?

im pretty sure the lifters are making the noise, if you put your ear close to the valve covers you can hear it. even if you touch tehm, you can feel the "ticking" noise. as far as the tranny, i think youre right, it might be the rear seal, because everything from teh rear seal and back is covered in tranny fluid. ive never worked on transmissions, so i dont know if this is something i can fix myself. how much do you guys think it is to fix that seal?thanks...

the seal itself is an easy fix and shouldnt be that much $$. gotta pull the driveline and pry out the old one and put the new one in , put the driveline back in .

I agree with Macgyver. If the tranny fluid is only from the rear of the tranny back then the extension housing seal has failed. They are usually easy to replace. Pull the driveshaft pullout old seal and install the new one and add tranny fluid. As far as valve train noise if it's that bad not much is going to solve it other than mechanical repairs. Could be a lifter that has collapsed and will not pump up.

could also be a broken/bent push rod . replacement of push rod and or lifters isnt that big a deal either . well if it is on the drivers side it isnt . pass side is a bit more to it since the plenium (upper intake) will have to be removed to get the valve cover off and to be able to get at the pushrods and lifters. single push rods and single lifters arent that much $ either . intake gasket , valve cover gasket. all in all should be under a $100.

Chip Code
 

Ray,

Noticed you have a chip. I tried to get a chip from Superchips, but they don't seem to have my code. What is your code, and where did you obtain your chip? Mike Troyer (Superchips) is good buddy of mine, at least I've bought a couple chips from him in the past. Want to give him the opportunity again--maybe I'm reading the wrong code (think it's SA1 if memory serves...)

Thanks,
-Mike

Mike
no unfortunatly i dont have a chip . i am trying to get my code also and working with mike t on that . i have no idea what my code is YET. but as mike t will tell you my code may not be the same as yours . contact mike i'm sure he'll be happy to help you obtain your code .

well i figured out my problem. it wasnt the tranny seal after all, it was the engine's rear main seal. i drained the oil from the pan and only got out 1.5 quarts (no wonder the lifters were ticking so much, they had no oil!).

Glad to hear you got it figured out...I hate when I get a mistery sound from my truck.