Scary Clicking Sound w/ Performance Issues

[jkelley]

I have a 2000 camaro 3.8 t5.. I'm really hoping I can figure out what's going on. So anyways, I turn on my car the other day after not driving it for a day or 2. All of a sudden I hear a "click, click, click, click, click..." very fast coming from the engine bay and when I rev the engine and drive it sounds like an STI almost. I can also hear it clicking a little bit slower from the exhaust. It will do this until I drive anywhere from a half of a block to 1 mile. While it's clicking, my car's power is diminished. All of a sudden, when it stops clicking, EVERYTHING is normal and it regains it's performance without any noise or problems. I'm completely puzzled. It seems if my engine gets cold after letting it sit for awhile it will have these problems. But if my engine is still warm after turning it off and then I turn it on to go somewhere again it will not have these signs and symptoms. Any ideas where to start?

[mrhobbz]

Re: Scary Clicking Sound w/ Performance Issues

Lifters?

[Joey41]

Re: Scary Clicking Sound w/ Performance Issues

I agree lifters. Seafoam in the crankcase just before an oil change took care of mine.

[jkelley]

Re: Scary Clicking Sound w/ Performance Issues

that's funny cuz i put sea foam in my crank case last oil change...

[Joey41]

Re: Scary Clicking Sound w/ Performance Issues

I remember when I was having a similar lifter sound it happening in the colder season, and I also remember it being an ongoing problem. I just remembered I also started using the Lucas stuff in the oil. I think the one bottle of Lucas replaced one quart of oil. I did that process (seafoam crankcase, oil change w/Lucas) for at least 3 - 4 oil changes and eventually the problem went away. Keeping up your engine oil level will also help.

[jkelley]

Re: Scary Clicking Sound w/ Performance Issues

damn so youre saying i have to deal with this problem for nearly a year?? is it the seafoam that caused this problem in the first place??

[Niko97RS]

Re: Scary Clicking Sound w/ Performance Issues

oil pump is going?

[vr4gasm]

Re: Scary Clicking Sound w/ Performance Issues

exhaust leak

[whitdog54]

Re: Scary Clicking Sound w/ Performance Issues

exhaust leak leak is possible. Did you get an oil change, then put sea foam in? I dont think you're supposed to do that. I would do complete seafoam cleaning through a vacuum line, not just dump some in the oil

[jkelley]

Re: Scary Clicking Sound w/ Performance Issues

BTW, I also forgot to mention that I have been losing a little bit of coolant. Haven't checked for where the leak is coming from or if it is actually a leak. It's nothing drastic I suppose.

oil pump is going?

Well I'm having oil pressure for sure. But it does fluctuate. When I'm driving it usually stays dead center on the guage but when I'm idling or slowing down it does only go to the 1/4 way point but not in red. Is this normal? What is the norm? Any other ways to check if the oil pump is going?

exhaust leak

could be possible but it doesn't sound like an exhaust leak... very quick clicking?

exhaust leak leak is possible. Did you get an oil change, then put sea foam in? I dont think you're supposed to do that. I would do complete seafoam cleaning through a vacuum line, not just dump some in the oil

No, I followed the seafoam guide on here religiously. I ran seafoam through fuel tank for the whole tank. I ran it in my old oil for 100 miles and then emptied it out and put mobil1 synthetic 10w30 in it. And I ran some seafoam through my brake line booster. everything has been fgolden up to a 1000 miles later

[cam98aro]

Re: Scary Clicking Sound w/ Performance Issues

that's funny cuz i put sea foam in my crank case last oil change...

thats probably why it is ticking, the seafoam cleaned all of the gunk up in your oil pan and some of it got stuck in the lifter, and its the exact reason why i dont recommend using it in the oil.

good luck, you can try and do an oil change to hopefully get the crap out of it, but if that doesnt work you will probably have to replace the lifters

[cam98aro]

Re: Scary Clicking Sound w/ Performance Issues

damn so youre saying i have to deal with this problem for nearly a year?? is it the seafoam that caused this problem in the first place??

it just depends on if you can work out whatever is stuck in there or not, like i said in my previous post, the seafoam probably did cause it.

when i go my lifter tick (i did not use seafoam, it happened after i changed my clutch, some dirt must have got in there) it was there for about a week or so and went away.

if i were you, i would get some cheap oil from the dollar store and run it in the engine for a while, then change it again to hopefully break it up.

what happens is once the oil thins out it is able to get passed the blockage and your lifter can work normally, which is why it goes away and seems perfectly normal.

if you need to drive the car, i would let it warm up to operating temp before you drive it, and if the ticking doesnt go away, just drive it easy until it does.

[jkelley]

Re: Scary Clicking Sound w/ Performance Issues

it just depends on if you can work out whatever is stuck in there or not, like i said in my previous post, the seafoam probably did cause it.

when i go my lifter tick (i did not use seafoam, it happened after i changed my clutch, some dirt must have got in there) it was there for about a week or so and went away.

if i were you, i would get some cheap oil from the dollar store and run it in the engine for a while, then change it again to hopefully break it up.

what happens is once the oil thins out it is able to get passed the blockage and your lifter can work normally, which is why it goes away and seems perfectly normal.

if you need to drive the car, i would let it warm up to operating temp before you drive it, and if the ticking doesnt go away, just drive it easy until it does.

okay, would you recomend me using sea foam in the crank case again to try and fix the problem? :omg:

[Joey41]

Re: Scary Clicking Sound w/ Performance Issues

damn so youre saying i have to deal with this problem for nearly a year?? is it the seafoam that caused this problem in the first place??

I wouldn't say it will take a year, and mine did not have the clicking sounds for a year either. Mine would come and go. It would sometimes come about the time when I needed to change the oil, or if my oil got low.

I would continue with the seafoam, and then try the Lucas stuff. As someone else said, you could just go in and replace the lifter. I don't think they are too expensive, but I do not know how much work is involved to replace one.

Seafoam/Oil Change with Lucas - fixed my problems and has been good for at least 2-3 years now.

By the way, I did not take the best care of my car when I was younger and it is still running good at 248k on the original engine & tranny! A bit tired, but still runs good!

[cam98aro]

Re: Scary Clicking Sound w/ Performance Issues

okay, would you recomend me using sea foam in the crank case again to try and fix the problem? :omg:

you can try, use it when i said to use the cheap dollar store oil, you dont want to keep it in there for long