THE STEVE
"part-time wheelman"
cruising down the freeway tonight i noticed a noise when accellerating from 2500rpm to around 2800rpm. sounded like a rattle coming from the pass side bank toward the back. my car is gutted so i can hear alot coming from the engine bay while driving. the noise gets a little louder at around 3000rpm. at idle it goes away the noise isnt consistent. doesnt sound to me like a lifter but more of a rocker noise? the valvetrain has always had alittle noise kinda like a "sewing machine" but never a tick or rattle. sitting in park with the hood open and engine running i can hear more of a noise coming from the back pass side. the motor is a 77 van motor with stock bottom end, a .498 .292 cam. stock heads with some port work and a little heavier valve spring (dont remember the spec) car runs fine but cruisin down the hwy it develops that rattle noise. tomorrow i was thinking of pulling the valve cover and inspecting the rockers. any thoughts?
also, i usually run 20-50 vr1 oil. thie last time i changed it i was out of town at school and used a 10-30 oil. my oil pressure gauge is hooked up at the top of the block behind the intake and reads low presure (always has). startup is around 45psi and drops as i drive it. its close to 10 psi for every 1000rpm but drops to 0 at a stop in gear. i can see the oil line connecting to the gauge throught the hole where the radio was and only at startup it has a constant flow going through it. i was thinking about connectig the gauge to a lower spot on the block if there is one. the engine was built 4 years ago and probably only has about 10000 mi on it if that. its always read low but ive used cheap gauges. the "sewing machine" upper end noise has always been there and i was told not to worry about it since the shaft system is non adjustable and it was the exact setup that come off that motor. motor had 60,000mi on it when i tore it apart and rebuilt it. i built it at the speed shop i worked at in highschool and my boss helped me assemble it.
also, i usually run 20-50 vr1 oil. thie last time i changed it i was out of town at school and used a 10-30 oil. my oil pressure gauge is hooked up at the top of the block behind the intake and reads low presure (always has). startup is around 45psi and drops as i drive it. its close to 10 psi for every 1000rpm but drops to 0 at a stop in gear. i can see the oil line connecting to the gauge throught the hole where the radio was and only at startup it has a constant flow going through it. i was thinking about connectig the gauge to a lower spot on the block if there is one. the engine was built 4 years ago and probably only has about 10000 mi on it if that. its always read low but ive used cheap gauges. the "sewing machine" upper end noise has always been there and i was told not to worry about it since the shaft system is non adjustable and it was the exact setup that come off that motor. motor had 60,000mi on it when i tore it apart and rebuilt it. i built it at the speed shop i worked at in highschool and my boss helped me assemble it.
