Hi Buick friends... i have a 1970 Skylark Custom 350-4 (44437),the car runs great but when it gets hot i can hear a little bit of ticking from the engine! But only when the engine gets hot. I have change to a 20-50 oil and i think it helpt a bit but you can still hear some ticking from the engine. A friend told me it may be a valve lifter thats ticking? I hope all of you Buick experts out there can help me!
is it a stock engine, or is it modded, has it recently been reworked, ect? the most obvious thing would be an exhaust leak, but on an older engine those manifolds will be stuck like glue, and i can't see a leak developing. what kind of tick is it? does it get worse when you hit the throttle/increase rpms?
More than likely, it's the lifters making the ticking. Motor probably has 'excess' clearance by now, contributing to the lifter tick. Do both sides of the motor seem to have the ticking or just one side? How many miles are on the motor now?
Its hard to hear were its coming from, but if you stand in front of the car, I think its on the right side? The car has only about 5300 miles on it... Its starting and runing great but does it help to put some special treatment in the engine? My Chevy friend told me about something to put in GM engines to reduse this kind of ticking from the lifters!
Just out of curiousity, what kind of oil filter do you have on the engine? BTW, it's always nice to put at least your first name at the bottom of your posts, so we all know who we're talking to. Go up to the 'user cp' button on the top of the page and you can add your first name (at least) to your 'signature' at the bottom. Is your mileage 5300 'actual' miles? That would be quite impressive if it is!
Sorry about the name! But now its there! The oil filter is Purolator. About the miles on the car Im 100% sure that its correct, the car have very few owners. The car is sold new here in Sweden by GM and have many options but no AC. The first owner had the car from around 1970 until 1996! :shock: The only big thing that is done on the car is repainted, but not in the original green color! Now its red but the car is so well painted you cant se anywere that the car was green! I have been talking to the first owner and it was clear that he realy liked his Buick! Today he is about 80 years old.
Less then 6k in 32 years? Damn man! What you got is a dream car that hasn't been broken in yet! IMO Purolator blows, try ACDelco or Mobile1 filters. :grin: With that low mileage you shouldn't hear anything I wouldn't think. I'd say an oil change with quality oil and new good filter is best option. again tho, tis mho.. Cheers on the great find! Scott (not willin to sell it are ya? :laugh: )
I am a betting man, and I would chance a bet that the original owner had 105,300 miles on the car. With 5300 miles on it, it should still look like new. I am also thinking that I bet you have a lobe or two on the cam that is starting to go flat, so your tolerances are out of specs. Probably one of the last two lobes on the cam, since that is the farthest place for the oil pressure to reach. I have had alot of 350's, including the one I have now, and more than half of them developed the same tick shortly after 100k. The one I have now made it to 114k, and I tore it down to find it. It was indeed the cam. I would definitely check to make sure of the mileage. If it is over 100k, I would investigate the cam, timing cover/oil pump, and cam bearings. I would also check the rocker arm assemblies. I went to a TA unit and it is nice and quiet under the hood........can't say the same though from behind the car. :grin:
The car is in so god condition so i havent had any reason to think that its had more miles on it. The car is no show winner...no no but for a car that has been in sweden for 30 years. I think the car is ok! Maybe someone can help me figure out the milage from km which we use over here! The km on the car is 87203km. hope Im not all wrong here! Thanks in advance!:TU:
The car then has 54,197 miles on it, instead of 5,300 miles. That I could believe. I think it could still be possibly an oil related wear problem. I guess it depends upon alot of things like Filters, oil used, and frequency of changes. I haven't see to many engines that developed cam wear at that low mileage other than the early 80's 305 chevy's that had a problem with their cams.
Mike.... sorry to butt in here, but.... :spank: On my '71 350 it started ticking at around 90k, (maybe earlier as I didn't drive it until it had around 88k on it and was in horrible shape) Anyhow, you say that the cam gets flat spots on it, does that mean that replacing the cam would cure the ticking problem? If one were to do such a thing, you mine as well do the timing chain and rocker assembly while your at it. Anyhow, whatcha's take on it? To Per: Still a stellar catch at 53k! One thing I've learned and will tell you the same, "Don't give up! You 'can' fix it". Stay cool people.... Scott
Re: Mike.... Some cams go before others.......it has alot to do with things like the filter used, how many cold starts the engine gets, the oil used...etc, etc. Yes, alot of the times the cam and lifters will take care of the problem. I always check out the rockers and shafts though too. If you have never changed the chain......do it, its cheap enough and you are already there.
Check out http://www.scuderiaciriani.com/rx7/oil_filter_study/ for oil filter analysis. The Purolator filters are actually good filters (shown in the tests). They have more filter area and a better bypass valve compared to a Fram filter. There have been 'too many' instances where Fram filters were used and noisey engines were the result!:blast: I also prefer the AC Delco filters - they are rated pretty good.
Thanks Buick friends for all the info!:TU: The oil in the engine is 20-50 and they told me it was very god! Is that the kind of oil you having in your Buicks? (if its stock!) And about the chain, how many miles until it breaks or does it? Do you get some warning like noise from it or something!
20-50 is okay and would be what you'd think for a rattling engine.. I switched to 10-30 and it quieted down a bit. Try it at next oil change and see.. Only thing lost would be 10-12$ for the change. Chains, most say around 80-100k as the nylon(or is it teflon?) wears and breaks. Tho on the otherhand you can read many ppl who have 200k on the engine with the original chain, so it's a tossup.. If you go in for a cam, then mine as well replace the chain since it's off anyways.. my few pence for today.. Mike's the dude tho... So is......i could go on for awhile here..... :grin: Scott
