TotalChaos

Why not put the old plugs back in and see if the problem persists? I just received the same plugs from CED but have not installed them yet.

MajorCB

very good point.. and as a matter of fact I did that..

- so here's where it stands.. I received the Coil Packs from ZZP.. oddly enough they didn't look new as they weren't in OEM packaging.. so I'm not 100% sure to think about that.. it was advertised on their site that they were Delco brand.. but I thought they would have been out of the box new.. but anyway..

I installed them.. same procedure as before.. the first time with the new plugs.. bolted them down, wired then back up... turned over the car.. Bam.. noise is still there...

So I decided, well maybe it was a DOA plug... so I reversed the process.. pulled the packs back off.. took the new plugs out.. replaced with the old plugs... placed the packs back down.. cinched everything down... turn on the car .. and BAM...... Tapping sound STILL there..

SOOOO ... I don't really know what to do at this point except take it into the shop... I still have powertrain on it.. though i'm not sure if that would even be covered with what's going on ( whatever it is ) I really don't want to pull off the intake or manifold on my own as I never really did it.. and if I screw it up even a slight bit more.. I could be screwed completely..

I disconnected the EVAP solenoid just for S&G's ..and that didn't do anything either...

The Lash adjuster I guess is still a possibility??? but on the good side.. im not smoking at all.. no crazy amount of gas smells .. no white or blue smoke.. so in one way, I'm at least happy about that. any other possibilities based on this information?

the B I t c h of this whole thing is.... I never really got on it at all after I changed out the plugs.. just took it out to drive it normally and it was sounding just fine until mid way through 3rd gear... bang .. this noise just started.. got the CEL's as mentioned above.. and it hasn't been the same since...

SSlobalt

Sounds like a lash adjuster, alright. Pulling the valve cover isn't that hard.

MajorCB

yeah I am JUST getting started on that part. there's a lot of B.S. in the way of getting it off.. im not wanting to rush at all, and admittedly Im not a "seasoned" mechanic, and I just don't want to make anything worse. The dealer isn't gonna do squat.. I just don't have access to good mechanics here... sucks.. so I'm gonna walk through quick sand on this I think.

SSlobalt

I understand. If I wasn't selling my car, I would pull the cover just to show you how easy it is. If you do pull the cover and find a broken lash adjuster or two, you'll have to take it in anyway. Replacing them requires loosening the cam journal caps and I don't think you would be comfortable with that.

MajorCB

Hell if anyone was close to the SC area that has experience in doing this... I would pay to have it done and taught.. I want to learn it.. just haven't done it before with this type of car... last car I messed with was a Datsun 710 lol.... no where near the same.

toolman

If you're still within the 5 year, 100,000 mile, powertrain warranty, why won't you bring it to the dealer?

MajorCB

They said that if it was due to an over speed issue then it was my fault and they didn't want to fix it because it wasn't a manufacturers defect.

SSlobalt

I can actually see their point on that one. They don't break unless you over rev.

boostbalt

Interesting, was this ever resolved? I have that tapping noise in my SS/SC right after doing plugs and going for a couple hour drive doing lots of pulls...

At first I thought the exhaust was loose, but I got under the car and it looked perfectly fine on the hangers.

MajorCB

nothing has been resolved yet... I'm having issues with getting the valve cover off.. there's some hex type bolt holding onto the upper charge pipe... can NOT get anything in there.. plus there is another bolt on the turbo housing.. one of those near impossibles..

makes me appreciate a good mechanic hahahaha... and I'm not one of them. I've exhausted my quota of adjectives and colorful phrases for the day

SSlobalt

I use a hex shorty to get that tore bolt out for the upper charge pipe. I realize it is a torx and not a hex, but it works.

MajorCB

I'll be heading to Lowes or Autozone to pick some up.. I have some micro-ratchets that I do other work with.. hopefully that will do the trick.

boostbalt

My LSJ has made me purchase so many special tools to prevent absolutely messing up the bolts and screws in this thing...

I also keep a 9" chisel handy for when I strip the bloody torx heads that are throughout the engine bay. If you end up stripping any screws, just chisel them out. In case you don't know how to do that, you just put the chisel on top of the screwhead, smack it hard to make an impression in the steel and then tap on the chisel in the lefty-loosy direction to loosen the screw out.

Just in case someone strips one of these damn torx heads, chiseling it out works like a dream!

MajorCB

^ Elegant! ... but hey.. whatever works right? beats putting 15 holes in your garage wall tossing tools and fists into it

exninja

iTrader: (1)

I got to this bolt and thought "how the f_____???" Since I was pulling the whole motor out I ended up taking the whole bracket off and left this bolt in.

Probably works for 99% of the torx bolts, but no clearance on this one. I think the worst torx bolts are the bolts holding the TOB to the tranny. Maybe an impact driver works, but a regular torx bit with ratchet will NOT do it without stripping. Even after heating.

Sorry, easily distracted. Had to rant a bit.

boostbalt

This is actually the way the pros do it if you don't have a welder to weld something onto the screw or bolt.

I learned this from an engineer, it absolutely looks sketchy as ever, but it WORKS like you wouldn't believe buddy!

boostbalt

I wouldn't say that about the clearance. I too had a flush screwhead that stripped, I just found a chisel with a chisel head that was smaller than the screwhead. Then, I just made my own notch in the screwhead with a good smack of the chisel, and proceeded to micro tap on the chisel about 25 times before the screw budged out and I could grab it with pliers.

You'd be surprised.

If you chisel the entire screwhead off by accident, as I've done, then you have to drill it out, so be cognisant of this.

exninja

iTrader: (1)

The problem is you can't get the chisel in there. There's only like 1/2"-1" of space between the screw head and the charge pipe.

boostbalt

Well sh*t

MajorCB

well you guys will love this after the previous few posts..

turns out.. and I about crapped myself when it happened .. pissed off.. and laughing at the same time.. but the Hex bolt never needed to come out in the first place.. there are two metal brackets , an upper, and a lower.. I removed the upper bracket to get to the Hex/star bolt... and fussed and fussed and kicked and fussed... and as I was shimmying it around at bit to stare at the bolt TRYING to figure out the best tool or whatever to get in there, the plastic grommet in between both of the metal clamps flexed pretty well.. so I just decided.. hmm I wonder how much room I can create or deal with etc.. and as I was putting pressure on it to the left and right and pulling on it, that Mother Eff'er just pulled right off!!.. lifted it right straight up.. bang .. completely off.. never even TOUCHED the hex bolt HAHA!

so onto my continued issue..

--2 things are keeping me from removing the valve cover--

1. The braided line from Valve cover (exhaust side) to the Turbo... its connected with a 10mm .. I removed that bolt.. but it doesn't really want to come off from the turbo side.. and Im NOT trying to bend or break crap back there... please inform of the best way to do this.. can I do it from the valve cover side? or is it best to do it from the Turbo

2. Top left Exhaust side of the valve cover there are a series of wires ( some are to the coil packs on the left side.. two of them go to some electric plugs that are housed vertically .. a black one.. and a white one... ( those are the colors I can see stocking up from the valve cover in the holes they are coming out from ) the black one came out no problem.. the white one is NOT coming off.. its the same type of connector.. but its not budging.. anyone have issues with this and should I force it? I'm not trying to break it..

exninja

iTrader: (1)

That braided breather line is a PITA! There's no way to get it off with the normal fuel line tool. I tapped it out with a screwdriver but that dented it a little and it took a bit of work to get the little metal lock thing straightened to a usable condition. I don't recommended doing the same but I don't know of a good way to get it off. I tried using zip ties shoved in but didn't have any luck.

If I understand correctly the two things sticking up are the vvt solenoid actuator things. They have the same connector. What I do on the tricky harness plugs is I figure out how the clip works, then use a pick to pry whatever flange is holding it on. I do this when pushing the tab just isn't working, and I don't pull hard.