I have purchased a used 96 Camaro engine that was taken out at 26K under warranty. The complaint was excessive noise on cold start. I know this is a common problem to LT1's. I have heard it was due to everything from valve stem guides to piston slap. What is the actual cause and what is the cure. What action should I take before I install it in my car? Or do they 'all do that' and don't worry about it? I heard there was a TSB on this noise but couldn't find it at AllData site. Anybody know the TSB number?

 

my car also makes noise on cold start.....you could try using a thinner oil maybe...

when mine is cold it makes a really bad scraping/grinding noise and i dont know what the hell it is and neither does any mechanic.

 

I have that exact same problem.. a grinding/scrapping noise... sounds like it's comming from the drive shaft but I don't know Scares the hell outta me when I hear it.. but I try not to think about it too much.

 

IMHO 'they all do that' so as long as you have good oil pressure and it runs well ect, don't worry about a little extra noise when you first start it up.

The other two guys, scraping sound might be bad, but just a little extra vavletrain noise is ok.

 

whats your email or screen name? we gotta find out what the hell this crap is and you're the only person i know of that has the same problem

 

the noise is normal but it is still better to let your car run for a few minutes before putting a load on it (for example wait until the car quiets down before driving it).

 

I remember when GM had a lot of camshaft failures with their new flagship Corvette, the King of the Hill ZR1. It turned out the problem was oil drain back leaving the cam bearings dry on a cold start up. Their solution was to recommend the use of Mobil ! syn. oil exclusively.Does the stock AC Delco oil filter have an anti-drain back feature? Would using Mobil 1 or other good syn oil keep the intarnal parts coated to quiet a cold start UP? Inquiring minds want to know?

 

i have that problem to piston slap, and its worse on the LS1's, just on cold starts, nothing can be done about it, as long as the slap goes away after it warms up your fine, but it's funny how many 96z's year model's have this problem, maybe just a bad year who knows

 

the funny thing is, i noticed it after i changed the oil and used pennzoil 10w30. within the next few days im gonna try castrol GTX 5w30 and see if it makes a difference.

 

What oil filter did you use when you changed to Pennzoil? When you change to Castrol 5w/30, you need to use the same filter as before. Keep every thing constant except the oil. It may be the oil filter not the oil. The filter can have an anti-frain back feature that helps on cold start ups. GM had a problem with engine noise on their trucks. They came out with a filter PF 1218 to replace the previous PF 35. The PF 1218 had an anti-drain back feature the PF 35 did not. BTW be sure to fill the new oil filter half full when installing it so it will provide engine oil to the engine quickly.