Will it start making noise? Drop in oil pressure?

I just started to hear this. The motor has about 30K miles on it since the rebuild. It sounds like a valve tap but a little deeper. It comes from the middle of the motor, not from the heads. It sounds almost like it comes from the distributor area. It can be heard the most between 2500-3500 RPM's. I recently replaced the distributor gear with a bronze one during a cam swap, but I did that over 5K miles ago. There were no noises then.

This may sound very weird but the noise began after I installed #24 SVO injectors. I know that it is not the injectors ticking because it sounds totally different from that. Through experience I also learned that the SVO injectors tick a little louder than stock GM's.

Thanks for any help.

Joe

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1988 GTA 5.7L TPI Auto
355 ci. block,TPIS ZZ-9 Camshaft, SLP Headers, Borla Cat Back, B&M Holeshot 2400 Stall Converter, 3.73 Richmond Gears

"Why ride a stang when birds can fly?"

http://www.geocities.com/thegta

 

If the oil pump starts going bad you will see a decrease in oil pressure. Never heard of one making a ticking noise. Most likely a lifter is making it from what you describe.

 

if the sound is deeper in the engine than the lifters then i wouldn't rule out rod bearings. maybe the rod caps were not torqued right and there is too much play or maybe they were torqued too much and there isn't enough clearance for the oil to flow properly and they are suffering from oil starvation... just my 2 cents

 

i learned the hard way. after replacing lifters and going through the hassle of adjusting rocker arms NUMEROUS times, do not overlook the SVO injector problem. and this is just a shot in the dark but i had what sounded like a rod knocking in my engine, not once but twice. the first time it turned out to be an improperly installed dust cover on the tranny, flywheel bolts were rubbing on the cover. the second time i heard this noise i found out that, believe it or not, the alternator was making the noise and it was traveling through the engine. older chevrolet's were know for this. however, the first time i heard this it happened at all rpm's. the second time, at around 2500 rpm and up. you gotta start somewhere.

[This message has been edited by '92_B4C (edited May 18, 2001).]