lololol, have another update

[yourgrandma]

I cranked the engine on the starter til i had about 30psi on the interceptor. I have 63psi at idle.

[WhiteArrow3800]

They just started maybe a little over a month ago. They don't stock anything, Joe builds them after the orders come in. Below is the link for the W bodies. I'm a but of a newb to the site so I don't know how to make it "clickable" but I'm gonna try, same goes for pics. Nothing has been posted for the H bodies on their site...yet. But if you call them they should set you up. They were talking about it as of a couple weeks ago on their facebook page.

Man, that's nice. If I would have know about this a few weeks ago I may have gone that direction.

I saw their posts on Facebook about this too but I talked to Joe at Intense directly two weeks ago. While he said they'd like to be doing something like this they have too many projects they're pre-occupied with. He told me if he was in my shoes he'd look at getting the drop springs at this point. So it sounds like even if they do follow through with this we won't be seeing H-Body coil-overs from them for a good while. They did say they were working on some new products for the 3800 market but I haven't heard what exactly is in the works.

[deano55]

I cranked the engine on the starter til i had about 30psi on the interceptor. I have 63psi at idle.

that's some good oil pressure, that should push oil up to the rockers easily as long as every thing below is open

[BonnieBoy08]

They just started maybe a little over a month ago. They don't stock anything, Joe builds them after the orders come in. Below is the link for the W bodies. I'm a but of a newb to the site so I don't know how to make it "clickable" but I'm gonna try, same goes for pics. Nothing has been posted for the H bodies on their site...yet. But if you call them they should set you up. They were talking about it as of a couple weeks ago on their facebook page.

Man, that's nice. If I would have know about this a few weeks ago I may have gone that direction.

I saw their posts on Facebook about this too but I talked to Joe at Intense directly two weeks ago. While he said they'd like to be doing something like this they have too many projects they're pre-occupied with. He told me if he was in my shoes he'd look at getting the drop springs at this point. So it sounds like even if they do follow through with this we won't be seeing H-Body coil-overs from them for a good while. They did say they were working on some new products for the 3800 market but I haven't heard what exactly is in the works.

Oh alright, good to know I guess. Thanks for the update. Hopefully by the time my struts are shot they will have something. Can't wait to see what new products they have in store!

[yourgrandma]

Im still trying to find info on this oil delivery issue, but if it comes to taking the motor back apart, Im not sure what Im going to do. My level of *shoot* has been so low as it is that my first inclination is to scre=ap it and buy crack with the money.

[MattStrike]

If you have good oil pressure, first thing would be to pull the valve covers and check the pushrods to see if they are even getting tight. You will be able to compress the lifter by hand if they are not pumping up.

Second thought - did you plug the passage in the rear main cover for the balance shaft bearing? IIRC, that passage also has the primary oil feed to the 'front' bank of lifters and I could see how it might get accidentally over-plugged.

[yourgrandma]

If the lifters are flat, is there anything I can do to aleaviate the situation without tearing the top end off?

The balance shaft bearing is installed backwards to block the oiling hole.

[MattStrike]

The LIM has to come off to service the lifters.

[yourgrandma]

Im going to take the valve cover off the front and see if any oil is making it up the pushrods. If the lifters just havent pumped up, the roller rockers can be manually splashed with oil to keep them happy until the lifters pump up. From what I hear, anyway. If it comes to taking the lim off, I just dont even want to bother.

[yourgrandma]

Took off the front vc and drizzled some oil on the rockers to keep them alive. Watched it run for 20 or so seconds and saw no oil coming from the feed holes in the rockers. Looks like the top end has to come off. Not sure who's going to do it. Obviously not me.

[swampthing]

I think you need a Pontiac Bonneville Club mini meet up there

[yourgrandma]

Or a flatbed and a dumpster to haul it to the crusher.

[deano55]

Or a flatbed and a dumpster to haul it to the crusher.

nah, your almost there, how could it even run decent if the lifters are not pumping up? The valves would not open much

[yourgrandma]

Lifters do seem pumped up. I checked to see if the pushrods were loose and they feel perfect.

[deano55]

It's been years since I rebuilt a a engine, but the lifters would clattering if they were not pumped up and I think when you tightened down the rocker arms it would be noticeable, wish I could help you. I did a chevy 3.8 engine in my boat and it took for ever priming the engine with the drill down the distributor gear, but finally got it.

[MattStrike]

Can you upload a video? Also, use the old 'rod against the ear' trick to see if you can identify which rocker bolts are making the noise. Which lifters did you use? What pushrods? And just for sanity's sake, re-torque the rockers and test again, if that doesn't work throw on the OEM rockers just to see.

Check the oil for babbit/metal. Pull a spark plug, shine a light in and see if the valves are kissing the pistons (they will leave marks).

My first engine build the lifters clattered to high heaven. They started quieting down in the first few minutes though and were silent after 5 minutes. They were 180k miles young. But if you're feeling by hand that the push rods are tight then I'm not convinced they aren't pumped up. When I had my engine apart last, I could tell which lifter caused all that racket because it was the only one that wasn't pumped up tight (and it had the wear marks on it as I discovered later).

[SC-Type]

I would probably let it idle a little more than 20 seconds without the valve cover, unless it sounds really bad.
When I started my L67 after the build, my new oil pressure sensor was faulty and had me slightly worried, but there wasnt a lot of shatter coming from the engine. I left it for the first few start up while i was trouble shooting other leaks. After an oil change, I removed the front valve cover and waited for something to happen. It took probably a minute for oil to start bubbling in the rockers from the driver side to the passenger, then it quickly turned into a light splash and a blip from the throttle immediately induced violent vomiting of oil shut down and I happily cleaned the back side of my hood.

I dont think its an oil pressure issue, sounds like short push rods. I've read someone who swapped to Yella Terras with stock push rods and had a lot of chatter, swapped back to stock and it was quite again. Apparently the way around it is to have the push rods measured to length:
http://www.zzperformance.com/blog/pushr ... r-preload/

[yourgrandma]

Stupid phone keeps messing this up...

I'll try to get a video up tommorrow.

Rockers are yellla terra, pushrods are the ones that came with them, lifters are gm ls7.

I know the rockers are dry and that's where the noise is coming from. After I dripped some oil on each one they were nice and quiet. I watched them for about 20 or so seconds and never saw any oil come up from the feed holes in the rockers.

Tomorrow I'll try injecting oil down the pushrods and see if that helps get things moving. Failing that I'll pull them out and see if anything is wrong with them.

I just don't get how my lifters can be pumped up but I'm not getting oil up top.

[yourgrandma]

Yeah, you'd definately have problems with stock pushrods and yt rockers. You need 7.3" with yt rockers.

[MattStrike]

You have oil restrictive push rods then? You are correct, if the lifters are pumped up it means they are passing oil to the pushrod.