Wow, never call Piston Slap a minor problem.

Valve tick is okay, but piston slap... That's just cylinders and pistons being worn down.

 

I've seen so many high mileage original motors that I'm a believer that a properly built motor will last a long, long time given proper maintenance. I've seen many 3800s and SBCs at or above 500k miles (heck, my truck has 250k and the motor runs like new). So I don't think it would be a stretch for the 60* motors to get pretty high numbers in terms of mileage as long as it's taken care of properly.

I saw a buick a few months ago with 625k on the original motor (3800). Head and intake gaskets had been changed of course, but the motor had not been rebuilt. IIRC it was mostly highway miles. Car looked like absolute dog crap but it ran great.

 

My thought is though, multiple members have the same issue. They have a ticking noise when their engines are cold and it goes away when warm. Can it really be possible we all have some kind of valve/lifter issue? To me it just doesn't seem possible that we would all have a problem with our engines.

I'm gonna look into this whole thing and i might try the motor honey you mentioned maniac and see what happens. If i do try it i'll be sure to report back on it.

 

IMO the only time piston slap is 'normal' would be during the first few seconds of starting a cold high mileage engine. Other than that it is a sign of excessive clearance between the piston and cylinder or a worn piston pin. IIRC GM had a TBS about the piston slap being caused by premature wear of the coating they used on the pistons. The fix was to replace the pistons. They claimed the piston slap didn't indicate a serious problem, but if you've ever torn down and rebuilt an engine that suffered from piston slap I think you would disagree. The elongation of the cylinder bore makes it necessary to bore the block for oversized pistons (additional part and labor cost) almost every time. A multi-viscosity oil like 5w30 can help to quiet the engine in some situations if the wear isn't too bad.

 

I've also had a few cars with the 3.1 engine. They all made an intermittent "ticking" noise when cold that went away when they got warm. Didn't sound at all like the noise in the video. When my old Monte (96) made the noise in the video, it had 200k miles on it and made the noise all of the time. I added a can of STP to the oil and the noise went away. I sold the car shortly after, letting the new owner know of the noise.

 

Yeah, the 60* v6's are known for their lifter tick. It's not a huge deal, but it is annoying. Piston slap on the other hand is BAD. That means your engine is pretty much done. I always liked the 60* v6's, but that tick is it's worst attribute. Now all you need to do is swap out that 3100 for the ultimate 60* v6...the 3900

 

How can you tell if what I'm hearing is piston slap or valve tick?

Looking forward to your results Leprechaun.

 

I wonder the same, i might make a video tommorow to post on here and see what everyone thinks

 

Again, I've had experience with 8 of these drive trains (varying in year and body they are housed in). Only ONE ever exhibited a valve tick that loud and obnoxious. The rest of them never made a noise like that. IMO the obnoxiously loud tick that goes away with warming up, I do not believe is all that common.
Here's a link to a video from October of 2009 (sorry don't have anything newer at the moment), after I changed the head gaskets on my '94 Grand Am with 180,000ish miles at the time. This is the second time starting (first was to check things like belt routing)... But if you notice the upper far left gauge (which is temp), the car is NOT even warm. This was taken with my digital camera. The car still sounds like this today.


As for why some do and do not make the louder noise.... Luck? Oil Change Intervals? Type of driving (freeway vs local roads)? Climate? Type/weight of oil used? Oil filter? I can't tell you.

I am curious if you try the Rislone or Motor Honey if your experience is the same as the one 3100 I know that made those noises (goes away).

Listen to the engine, if it sounds like the noise is on the TOP of the engine, get a mechanic's stethoscope (or some use a LONG screw driver), listen across the valve covers. Odds are, you will have one side or another sound louder then the other.

 

Ok, this is long over due but here is a cold start video with the noise. I'm interesting to see everyones opinon.

Chevy Monte Carlo Cold Start - YouTube