Just purchased a 1984 corvette and it has lifter noise, does anyone familar with problem the vet has only 81000 miles on it. thanks frank

Just purchased a 1984 corvette and it has lifter noise, does anyone familar with problem the vet has only 81000 miles on it. thanks frank

first off are you positive that it is lifter noises? I would lean more towards the valves ticking. You could also try running injector cleaner through it!:cheers:

Thats few miles for lifter noise unless it was really uncared for.

Is it constant or ticks and then goes away once oil pressure is present.

You can have a ticking noise is a burnt piston skirt slaps on the BDC; is it comes up and slaps like a tick-tick. That ticking noise is a scored skirt that is galled. There is a wider tolerance being that the oil splash: quiets the normal running clearance is you do not hear the noise.

Now, say you want to pinpoint either a valve lifter is ticking being that mechanical noise is a worn/loose rocker/roller/etc. Or say, you set the running clearance after 81K; is redo the valve adjustments; being the head is pounded by the valves is the 45 degree is smashed and you have that valve ticking a tight rocker say.

So, you set the lifters as if you rebuilt the engine from the bottom up. You fire it off is you had a bad/tight lifter system and not the lifter itself. You also eliminated any piston noise that mimics a rocker tick or lifter noise is a little bit of research you finding that bad lifter/possible piston, (who knows you missed a shift is all that abuse variable).

You could also "heat stick" each exhaust at the head is the cylinder temp in the cheap seats, (acting like a heat sensor probe). That temp stick is used to measure how hot you make the metal before you start welding. These sticks come in increments of temps, so the crayon melts via certain heats.
You find that cylinder that is 'keeping the heat in' is that valve is not functioning as hot/cool as the others is (one bank) you might diagnose which cylinder is the problem child.