2012 Chevelle Projects

[Basement Paul]

Just call in The Captain... he's pretty good at helping morale.

-BP

[TireSmoker]

I emailed Powermaster Tech Support today, and surprisingly, I got a response back a few hours later -- on the holiday. They told me to send it back and they'll take care of it. Very cool!

-Dave

So I got a call from Powermaster this morning. They said the brushes were hanging up in the brush holder and not making contact, which is why my alternator wasn't charging. Seeing as how the brushes and brush-holders were replaced with new parts during my rebuild, I somehow feel better that it wasn't something I did wrong, since they come pre-assembled. They also replaced the pulley, since he also noticed the marks on the pulley from the belt being mis-aligned, which I have since corrected. They are only charging me for the return shipping, which is fair. I'm looking forward to getting it back.

-Dave

[Blue_69_malibu]

Hey...I just ran into Joe Pesci and his brother Nicky out in the Las Vegas desert. They're very glad to hear about your alternator as well....and they're still wearing their tightly whities!

I've got fifty more bucks in my wallet then when I got here. Gonna head over to Planet Hollywood for a late night sandwich and some black jack.

Keep on trucking with the Chevelle!

[TireSmoker]

Well, after some good breakfast at the Maple Leaf with BP, Fred32v, Fast87 and my dad, I came home got my newly repaired alternator installed. No drama, I got it bolted up, car started right up, and I measure 13.8v at the battery with it running! Woo hoo!

And it's raining out. I pulled it out into the driveway, did a quick water burnout, and pulled it back inside. The wiper motor is out of it currently, otherwise I'd go for a quick spin.

-Dave

[TireSmoker]

So a few updates.. I've driven the car several times now. I was having/continue to have some sort of what sounds like a valvetrain noise. I thought I had it licked when I found out that the rockers on the passenger side were hitting the valve cover. But the noise, somewhat lessened, continues, once the RPM is over ~ 2100. Oil pressure is good. I don't think its detonation because it does it even with the timing turned way back.

The new EFI tank is working great. I've had zero fuel delivery issues.

One other electrical gremlin surfaced, though. I went to go for a drive last night, and when I turned the headlights on, the car stalled. After a couple repeated attempts, I'm seeing the RPM signal go wacky when I turn the lights on it. I suspect this to either be a grounding issue somewhere, or something related to the alternator wiring since that has been changed recently. Something causing electrical noise.

But it's running really good, otherwise. I've been able to let the computer self-tune a bit and the car is pretty drivable. It's got some really good power. The noise makes me nervous, but I've stepped on it anyway. It's badass. It shifts into OD at 45mph, and the speedo seems to be correct compared to GPS. I can't get the lockup converter working yet, though.

-Dave

[TireSmoker]

[ttamrettus]

looking good

[TireSmoker]

I went out to the garage tonight on a hunch.. and found one of the torque converter bolts not tight enough. I don't know if it was loose enough to rattle around to the extent I'm hearing my noise, but I was happy to find 'something'. Next step, if required, will probably be to swap the 1.6 rockers for 1.5s.

-Dave

[TireSmoker]

Well no real change on the noise.. but I'm still driving it a bit. I probably put 30 miles on it yesterday. It's really running good now. Still a little rough at idle in gear, but the rest of it is great. The overdrive makes all the difference in the world in drivability. I tried wiring the lockup per the B&M instructions, but it doesn't seem to engage. I'll come back to that later.

I turned the headlights on during the daylight -- and nothing happened. It continued to run fine. I hit the brights, turned them on, turned them off. I ended up doing half my driving yesterday after dark. No issues at all. I didn't do a thing, so not sure what happened Friday night.

I'm really happy to be able to drive it with my 400 with EFI and the overdrive.

-Dave

[TireSmoker]

I changed out the rocker arms last night from the 1.6s to a set of otherwise identical 1.5s. I test drove it this morning and the noise is still there. When I was adjusting the valves, the lifters on #6 didnt seem to have the same amount of resistance when putting the final half-turn after reaching zero lash. They had less.

I inspected the 1.6 rockers as I took them off and nothing jumped out at me. I suppose the next step will be to pull the intake and check out the lifters.

-Dave

[Maverick]

The rebuilt 351 Windsor in the '70 F100 is also making some valve noise. Like yours, a few of the lifters don't offer as much resistance as others when putting the 1/2 turn on the rocker adjustment. Don't know what to make of it.

Postings on forums say the Scorpion rockers can be noisy with some cams. Found that statement on a few Chevy forums too. Have you done any internet searches on noisy valves?

[GMJohnny]

Smoker & Maverick,

I've been reading both of your posts about noisy valve train... I can tell you
both that when the Vette came back from getting the cam installed, I thought it
sounded TERRIBLE at idle. There is just a bunch of valve noise. I asked Hutter's
about it and their response was that I had a ton of cam in an LS motor. Very normal.
It has subsided a small amount, but still sounds terrible. I've grown accustomed to
the sound now, so it is now the "normal." It runs great and has no issues other than
it sounds like little skeletons running around in the engine compartment. Being an
Oldsmobile guy, where we used to just torque down the rockers and go, on our flat
tappet cams, with old school, non-roller, valve gear, I was kind of surprised by the
shop's acceptance of the noises, because, back in the day, we would've started
chasing "a problem", but apparently this is where current technology has
brought us. I'll buy it because I know no different. I'm not saying that either of
you should totally accept the noises that sound "bad", but maybe they're normal..... ???

GM

[Maverick]

GM, think you're probably right that the noise may be the new normal with somewhat aggressive cams. The F100 is ready for a real test drive. Maybe it'll get one today. Thanks.

[TireSmoker]

No, I haven't done any internet searches on it -- yet. The rockers are Crane Energizers that I've had since the late 90s/early 2000s. I've had both sets installed before, so I pretty much consider them as known-goods. I changed them mainly because it was 1) free 2) easy

The weird thing with the noise is this. If I hold the trans in 1st and start lightly accelerating towards 3000 rpm, I can hear it, quite loud. If I ease off the gas just enough to maintain, but not accelerate/decelerate, it will almost go away.

I've decided that my noise is more of a rattle. At idle, no noise. 2000 rpm, no noise. When I start getting over 2500 rpm, especially when in gear, its obvious (less so in neutral, but still there). In neutral, if you go past 3000 and approach 4000 rpm, it certainly tapers off.

Engine runs great. It's smooth, doesnt smoke, and otherwise has no issues.

Pushrod hitting a guideplate? Did I leave a tool in the lifter valley? As long as it isn't the cam going flat..

-Dave

[Maverick]

I'm reading posts that say the noisy valve train is related to aggressive cams. Is the cam you're using now more aggressive than the cams previously installed with those rocker arms?