non-chevelle... diagnosing possible bent pushrods

1096 Views 9 Replies 5 Participants Last post by 69boo307, Jul 10, 2001

69boo307

Discussion Starter · Jul 10, 2001

This is the LS1 in my camaro. I missed a shift, and I'm paranoid about bending pushrods. Supposedly they will make a 'ticking' noise when they're bent. However the LS1 typically is a noisy engine and is known to have knocking type noises from the pistons even when everything's ok.

My car makes a kind of knocking noise that's very noticable when it's not fully at operating temp. It seems to go away when the engine's hot. I'm trying to decide if this is the 'normal' LS1 'cold knock' or if it's a bent pushrod.If it was a pushrod, it would tick regardless of the temperature right? Or could it come and go?

Obviously the only sure-fire thing to do is pull the valve covers and check them, but that's a big PITA with a new camaro, not like the old chevelle. Can anyone suggest a good way to diagnose the sounds without pulling the valve covers, or tell me what I should listen for? I'm sure there are some trained ears here that could recognize the various knocks and ticks from a small block chevy

thanks,
Brian

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Brian
Durham, NC
My Toys:
69 Chevelle Malibu
2001 Camaro SS

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69boo307

Discussion Starter · #3 · Jul 10, 2001

yeah, I've posted about it there before, but
I thought I'd post here, I think there's more 'hardcore' and very knowledgable mechanics on this site than on LS1.com. There's some people that know their stuff there, but for some reason I trust the Team Chevelle guys a little more when it comes to small block chevy tech

.

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Brian
Durham, NC
My Toys:
69 Chevelle Malibu
2001 Camaro SS

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69boo307

Discussion Starter · #6 · Jul 10, 2001

it has a rev limiter, at 6200, however if you
do something stupid like miss a shift and slam it into the rev limiter and making the tires hop, it'll still bend pushrods.

the LS1 comes with kind of weak pushrods, supposedly as a kind of 'safety net', so usually a pushrod bends before any valve or rocker damage occurs. From what I've seen on LS1.com, this is a fairly common result of hitting the rev limiter too hard. From what I've heard, 9 times out of 10 you'll bend a pushrod before other damage occurs, on a stock LS1 with stock valvetrain components.

I was just hoping someone could describe what a bent pushrod sounds like vs. 'cold knock' or something else.

------------------
Brian
Durham, NC
My Toys:
69 Chevelle Malibu
2001 Camaro SS

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69boo307

Discussion Starter · #8 · Jul 10, 2001

I've actually had the valve covers off once in it, and it was quite a chore. it took a couple hours on the camaro to do what would have taken a few minutes on the chevelle.

GM seems to have intentionally put lots of little sharp things sticking everywhere under the hood, last time I did it I got cut up pretty good.

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Brian
Durham, NC
My Toys:
69 Chevelle Malibu
2001 Camaro SS

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69boo307

Discussion Starter · #10 · Jul 10, 2001

That's an idea, I'm not sure how it would go over at the dealer though. Assuming there is something wrong, I might get lucky and they'd fix it under warranty, or they might declare abuse and end up charging me for the whole diagnostic and repair. If they think I've been racing the car (which I have

) then it might make it a pain to get future warranty work should I need it as well.

I think it's just my paranoia, and nothing is really wrong, but if it is it's probably something I should fix on my own and not let the dealer know about it while the car is under warranty

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Brian
Durham, NC
My Toys:
69 Chevelle Malibu
2001 Camaro SS

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