running engine with no valve cover...

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chevrolet

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You need positve mechanical work with this valve train that would not be 2nd guessed. It would be properly sealed and fuiction properly. NO GUESSWORK.
 

Jonny Cash

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God help us. Its still here.

You need positve mechanical work with this valve train that would not be 2nd guessed. It would be properly sealed and fuiction properly. NO GUESSWORK.

Todd is a mechanic though.
 

Kens1992mtxSHO

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^ +1

Bleach is the "do all" of the SHO world. It has replaced the paper clip and the most useful tool for SHO owners.
 

38SHO

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yeah maybe I'll go bleach my valve cover and then I can see

I mainly want to hear it better where its comming from....... with the valve cover off I'm sure it will be a lot louder and easier to figure out what exactly is causing it


I don't think this is that stupid of a thread, people run other types of engines without valve covers all the time..... I just wondered what would happen with the SHO engine and if anyone has done it before......

yes I'm a mechanic, we like to figure out 100% whats wrong before we slap parts on it... I'm not gonna start tearing down my engine to replace something I THINK might be bad... that is noob mechanics right there....

and if I start it dead cold it won't have hot oil.... maybe I can put some cardboard around it so it splashes onto that instead of on the engine bay......

This noise sounds like its coming from the driver side of vehicle, almost like the front head, and the noise only comes on at startup until the oil light goes off and I have pressure... it is worse the longer you let the engine sit between starting..... like if u shut it off and 5 minutes later start it... you won't hear it....... let it sit a week and it does it slightly louder/longer

as the years click on by I just realize its better to know for certain something is wrong, lot of people just throw parts at problems and pray to jesus..... that shit waistes time and is expensive.....
 
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haydenkayne

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There is a difference between technition and a parts replacer. Unfortunatly there are way to many of one claiming to be the other. It's kinda like the difference between love and ****
 

yamahaSHO

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If you already have an idea of where it's coming from, you can take it apart and inspect it for operation. That is comletely logical and wouldn't be replacing parts for the **** of it.
 
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honestly you should be able to tell for sure with a mechanics stethoscope if its a chain tensioner.
if its coming from that area then thats about 95% likely.
 
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Sho Amo

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how about you take the valve cover off, and inspect the timing chain tensioner for wear. while your at it, do a valve adjustment. make sure you have the shims and some new or just good tensioners just incase they are bad when you inspect them.

now you arent throwing parts at it.
 

JRA2000TL

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I'm glad he asked this too because I still have to fix my valve train noise. Not to hijack the thread, but I broke down and bought an actual stethescope rather than using a screwdriver. Mine is definitely the loudest and coming from Cyl #1. There is no loud rapping noise when holding the scope to the oil pan (but you can faintly hear the ticking resonating from the other part of the engine). The car still runs like a ***** ape and has been driven about 2k since the noise started.

I have a mechanic person to help BUT I'm in a quandary as to what to get first before I call him. I'm going to go ahead and get VC gaskets and intake manifold gaskets for the **** of it and replace them since I'm opening it up (and b/c my helper insists). Since I'll have the top opened up, do I need to go hunt down a Rotunda tool kit with shims in case my problem is valve related? I hate to go buy tons of parts I don't need but would be ****** if we had it torn down and couldn't continue without special tools.

I, too, don't want to go buy cam chain tensioners or a timing belt tensioner without finding the problem first, BUT I don't want to have the car torn down and not be able to fix the problem while we're in there. I've already got the advice and suggestions from everyone on here but now I'm wondering if I need to get the Rotunda kit too.

My noise, like the OPs, quiets down when the car warms up typically, especially on a warmer day. It will almost disappear if the engine is really hot.
 
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chevrolet

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If the shim spec's are good all should be good. The other concerns may be shim bucket slop or cam journal wear issues. If shims have worn to a point that the hard crome coating is flaking off, it has then worn that camshaft lobe. This has also contaminated the oiling. Also the rod bearings are always an issue and the thrust half of the bearing tend to wear down to the copper due to the abuse you guys give these engines. A cam can bang like a rod and a rod can tick like a cam. Its hard to distinguish the two. If there is a history of oiling problems pistons could be at issue. Running it without a valve cover has a high likelyhod of starting a huge FIRE!
 

tompumped

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I didn't think it is a stupid thread.
I know there's no comparison but I ran my small block with no valve covers and it has a high volume oil pump. As long as I didn't rev it there was little mess. My oil pressure was 35-40 psi warm. I also put peices of cardboard by the oil drains to prevent spillage. Reason I did it was because more than one person told me the best valve adjustment is with the engine running. It was impossible to do with my aftermarket rockers and I don't see how I could've done it with the stockers either.
My first SHO had a problem with the rear tensioner. It only made noise when I started the engine cold. Once it built up pressure the noise went away. I didn't know you could disassemble and clean them at the time. I bought a new one and the problem disappeared. My diagnostic skills weren't good then and it was obvious by the sound that it was a loose chain. It had a certain sound. It was only for a few seconds at initial startup.
It's good that your not just throwing parts at it till it goes away. It's so true that way to many people are parts changers, i've seen it first hand at more than one shop i've worked at.
I just read the rest your last post it's definitely the tensioner. The sound and the symptoms should be a dead giveaway. Same exact thing happened to me, I don't know if cleaning would be effective, maybe someone can chime in.
 
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shoon

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sounds like a bad idea... been in a similar situation.

I remember working on some mazda, was doing a compression test to help out one of the mechanics in the shop I worked at. It was after 9PM, and the tech was getting very frustrated.

In a last ditch effort, we put some ATF in each cylinder (for wet compression test) probably added a bit too much cause when the plugs went back in the engine was hydro locked.

So.. I had the bright idea of pulling all the spark plugs out and asking the tech to hold a rag over the valve cover while I cranked the engine to clear the ATF from the cylinders.

About a split second before I turned the key, the tech holding the rag over the valve cover had an epiphany, and realized what he was doing. But I had already turned the key :evilgrin:

needless to say, he got a load of ATF to the face before he went home that night.
 

Storm-Chaser

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You were saying . . . .


I must be dreaming.

Im gonna come back tomorrow, and this thread better not be here.


:laugh_ti:

I agree with tompumped. Back before roller-rockers became common, solid lifters was where it was at. While many use to run lash after warming the engine and then shutting down, those running faster cars ran the lash with the engine running, and virtually everyone was running either high pressure or high pressure/high volume oil pumps. Yes, some oil did spray-out, but it was not excessive even with 40-60 PSI (which you're not going to get out of a SHO at idle). Some even went to the trouble of making deflecting shields with lexan, but found it didn't make much difference.

You can try it for a second or two to get an idea of how much spray you'll get and whether or not it would be acceptable. I mean, it's not as if it's the first time you've spilled oil on your engine or had oil get all over the bottom of the engine as a result of changing the oil filter . . . .


:burnout:
 

NotSoSlowSHO

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I run my pickup without valve covers every time I remove them.

Just to check the injectors. Make sure each one is pumpin' oil

PSD :angelnot:
 

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