Engine Tick Noise

My 07 LTZ has been making this tick for quite awhile now, it comes and goes but now since its getting colder it is being more active and ticking for longer periods of time. On cold startup its almost always there but usually goes away but its staying longer now. Its a rapid almost tapping sound. I think the oil pressure sensor is bad. Let me know what you guys think! 

Hopefully it's just broken exhaust bolts.

VIZIO 5 said:

My 07 LTZ has been making this tick for quite awhile now, it comes and goes but now since its getting colder it is being more active and ticking for longer periods of time. On cold startup its almost always there but usually goes away but its staying longer now. Its a rapid almost tapping sound. I think the oil pressure sensor is bad. Let me know what you guys think!  

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If it stays longer than 10 seconds, one of the things on my list would be the bypass valve on the oil pump &/or the o-ring that seals the oil pick-up to the pump.  These are things that can lead to aeration & starvation on start-up.

If your pressure gauge is suspect, then it would be difficult to document pressure fluctuations, as oil heats, or cools.

If you're looking to graduate past the more well known AFM issues, there's a wealth of info on the internet about this problem.  In a nutshell, the o-ring may have been sliced during assembly at the factory.  The bypass valve piston may have developed score marks that cause binding in its bore.

Google PIston slap.

Here's 15 pages for starters.

Low Oil Pressure

Recommend beginning on page one, & staying with it until the bitter end.  Almost all points of view are covered, here.

I will be starting at the "bottom" of the engine, next summer, when I do a refresh on my 2008 power plant-assuming it lasts that long.

Happy reading.

Now with the onset of what passes for winter here, my 04 makes the same noise on startup when cold that is, ambient of 45 deg or less, that my S10 with the 4.3 Vortec. I always assume it was the balance shaft mechanism. I have had a number of other machines with balance shafts that would rattle on initial start. Other than that,with 102K it's running strong,as a Chevy truck oughta.
David

Thanks for the advice guys! Im not too worried about it, its more of a annoyance lol. 

VIZIO 5 said:

My 07 LTZ has been making this tick for quite awhile now, it comes and goes but now since its getting colder it is being more active and ticking for longer periods of time. On cold startup its almost always there but usually goes away but its staying longer now. Its a rapid almost tapping sound. I think the oil pressure sensor is bad. Let me know what you guys think! 

Click to expand...

What viscosity oil are you using?  And how often do you change your oil?