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1990 K5 383 fresh rebuild. ticking...

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90K5Joe

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Hey guys/gals, it is my first post. I recently traded my 94 2500 cummins for a 1990 K5 with a 383 (so i was told). Well basically, the previous owner told me it had 1500-2500 miles on the rebuild and it has had this tick since rebuilt. I decided to go through with the trade since I have always wanted a K5 and my 2wd truck wasn't cutting it. The tick/knock sounds like it is just below the intake manifold. it does it at idle and is inconsistent. It does it during warm up too. It also seems to stay the same while revving. I consistently get 60 psi idle when cold and around 50 psi idle when warm. When I rev it it jumps to over 60. I had a friend who knows 350's come over and check the rocker adjustment. About 4-6 rockers were about 2-3 turns too tight. This leads me to believe that I have collapsed lifters.It runs great and has good power, just noisy :dunno:... Thanks a TON! Joe

I can't post a link to youtube of it running yet since I am still new...
 
Theres a lot of leeway with adjustment on a hydraulic lifter. 2-3 turns over when the pushrod meets the lifter might not be overtight. Now 2-3 turns past bottoming the lifter out and sure you could have a collapsed lifter. Pull the intake and valve covers and swap em out. Use new locking nuts on the rockers.

The real question now is whether or not you trust everything else that said PO did to the truck since he cant seem to lash a hydraulic lifter correctly.
 
Stomis said:
Theres a lot of leeway with adjustment on a hydraulic lifter. 2-3 turns over when the pushrod meets the lifter might not be overtight. Now 2-3 turns past bottoming the lifter out and sure you could have a collapsed lifter. Pull the intake and valve covers and swap em out. Use new locking nuts on the rockers.

The real question now is whether or not you trust everything else that said PO did to the truck since he cant seem to lash a hydraulic lifter correctly.
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I totally agree. Supposedly this engine was built by a reputable guy that builds corvette motors. I am pressed to think this is not true, as much as I want to believe it. My buddy and I reset the rockers while idling, loosen them until rocker tick (oil was coming from the push rods), then tighten a 1/4-1/2 turn. The ticking is in the intake where the lifters are.. I am at the point where I am doing a lifter swap and just for good measure I want to do push rods. I contacted the previous owner, he is going to call the shop tomorrow that did the build to find out what cam it is. I want to make sure I get the correct hydraulic/roller lifters. He told me it is a roller cam, but will verify tomorrow. I will also get new nuts for the studs. Crossed fingers!! Thanks for the input!
 
90K5Joe said:
I totally agree. Supposedly this engine was built by a reputable guy that builds corvette motors. I am pressed to think this is not true, as much as I want to believe it. My buddy and I reset the rockers while idling, loosen them until rocker tick (oil was coming from the push rods), then tighten a 1/4-1/2 turn. The ticking is in the intake where the lifters are.. I am at the point where I am doing a lifter swap and just for good measure I want to do push rods. I contacted the previous owner, he is going to call the shop tomorrow that did the build to find out what cam it is. I want to make sure I get the correct hydraulic/roller lifters. He told me it is a roller cam, but will verify tomorrow. I will also get new nuts for the studs. Crossed fingers!! Thanks for the input!
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Its easy to find out. Rollers will either have a dog bone attaching them or a guide bolted to the lifter valley. When you install the new ones and tighten down the rocker you spin the push rod by hand tightening until it stops spinning and then one complete turn and you're done.

Dont buy into that "Omgz my engine builder does corvette motors!" bull ****. I worked in a shop that specialized restoring 63-72 corvettes for 3 years and the biggest give away someone had no idea what they were talking about was when the term "corvette motor" started flying around. Big block, small block, LT1, LS1, LS6 its all the same **** as the other vehicles with the same engine architecture.
 
Stomis said:
Its easy to find out. Rollers will either have a dog bone attaching them or a guide bolted to the lifter valley. When you install the new ones and tighten down the rocker you spin the push rod by hand tightening until it stops spinning and then one complete turn and you're done.

Dont buy into that "Omgz my engine builder does corvette motors!" bull ****. I worked in a shop that specialized restoring 63-72 corvettes for 3 years and the biggest give away someone had no idea what they were talking about was when the term "corvette motor" started flying around. Big block, small block, LT1, LS1, LS6 its all the same **** as the other vehicles with the same engine architecture.
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I hear ya totally. I sent you the vid... let me know what you think..
 
Ok. i'm at the point where I am going to run it till it dies. I don't see the point of dumping money into a poorly built engine. I would rather put a fresh stock 350 in her. It looks like a stock 350 will run about $700 max. I am not seeking performance, just reliability. I mainly rock crawl and do slow wheeling. Any Thoughts?
 
Just tearing it up for no reason isnt a good idea. Its a waste of 700$. Instead of HAVING to buy an engine because you couldnt figure out the ticking, you could buy a ................ with that money instead.

See if the cam got trashed, pull the lifters and look at the bottom. If a lobe is trashed, it will be fairly easy to tell via the bottom of the lifter. And that method of adjusting lifters only works if the lifter is pumped up. I pump mine up manually, install them, run the rocker arm nut down until the pushrod has no up and down play, and it spins with a little drag, then I do 3/4 turn past and lock them down.

Pull the oil pan, if the block has been notched for connecting rods, its a 383. If not, its not.
 
454Sub said:
Just tearing it up for no reason isnt a good idea. Its a waste of 700$. Instead of HAVING to buy an engine because you couldnt figure out the ticking, you could buy a ................ with that money instead.

See if the cam got trashed, pull the lifters and look at the bottom. If a lobe is trashed, it will be fairly easy to tell via the bottom of the lifter. And that method of adjusting lifters only works if the lifter is pumped up. I pump mine up manually, install them, run the rocker arm nut down until the pushrod has no up and down play, and it spins with a little drag, then I do 3/4 turn past and lock them down.

Pull the oil pan, if the block has been notched for connecting rods, its a 383. If not, its not.
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Yea I hear ya. Thanks for the info on the block! I will be pulling it apart for the lifter issue. I would love it if lifters fixed it, and just running it into the ground would be dumb. I'll keep you guys up to date. I am going to night shift unfortunately so probably wont get to it until next weekend. Thanks for all the help!
 
My brother just troubleshot a 66 chevelle with the same issue. He yanked the big block and tore it apart, turned out it was mainly incorrect clearances.
 
Mkuhn138 said:
My brother just troubleshot a 66 chevelle with the same issue. He yanked the big block and tore it apart, turned out it was mainly incorrect clearances.
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Do you know which clearances? I have heard from research that the bottom of the lifter bores will get ovaled out... is that what you mean? Or do you mean bearing clearances, because that would def restrict oil flow.. hmm
 
Crappy foreign lifters, I had the engine in my '89 rebuilt a few years ago. After a 2000 mile trip back to Indiana from Arizona, it had a nasty tick, especially at fresh start up. I readjusted them several times to where most of them were quiet, but still had one that just wouldn't shut up. Left it alone so far, I do plan on replacing after I get moved and get the truck to our new place.
 
4xcrazy said:
Crappy foreign lifters, I had the engine in my '89 rebuilt a few years ago. After a 2000 mile trip back to Indiana from Arizona, it had a nasty tick, especially at fresh start up. I readjusted them several times to where most of them were quiet, but still had one that just wouldn't shut up. Left it alone so far, I do plan on replacing after I get moved and get the truck to our new place.
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Thanks for the reply. What brand of lifters do you guys suggest? I bet it does have foreign lifters. I have been leaning towards crane.. I guess comp cams would be good too?
 
I don't know exactly what brand the machine shop used for the rebuild on mine. I thought I read somewhere on here about problems with recent components being manufactured in China or something, causing problems, like camshafts and other stuff.

I would also like to know what the general consensus is for a quality brand of lifters. Mine were roller lifters. After market, add-on addition to this engine.
 
90K5Joe said:
Do you know which clearances? I have heard from research that the bottom of the lifter bores will get ovaled out... is that what you mean? Or do you mean bearing clearances, because that would def restrict oil flow.. hmm
Click to expand...

Piston to valve clearance. Had to pull the pistons out and have them milled.
 
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