Comp Cams 206/206 lifter noise

W

wordy1

Member
Joined
May 19, 2006
Been trying to figure out this problem for quite some time, but it seems that nothing short of replacing the lifters will eliminate this noise and the related KR problem.. The lifters are the Comp Cams lifters that came with the cam. A friend told me about a certain type of lifter that makes noise at low engine speeds and quiet when revved. I asked Comp Cams if the lifters they sell are designed to work like this and they were not able to answer. Something about them having 2 slits instead of 1? I didn't know what he was talking about... but I trust his knowledge. It is a standard lifter set-up not a roller cam.

The reason why this is a concern is that I am fairly certain that this lifter noise is what is causing my KR and without it fixed I cannot fully run the car. I have already checked everything else, and not sure what else to check.

The KR starts when its under full load irregardless of the engine speed. So I am a little confused as to what is causing it, if the lifters are supposed to quiet up under higher engine speeds, then the knock retard should go away when its revved,. it is only there when the car is under full load. At pretty moderate boost, under 15 psi... There is no KR at 13 psi and under with 93 octane.. KR is still there with race gas at 15 psi, just not quite as much.. The turbo is the TA-60 which runs better at higher boost levels, so its been a bit disappointing to say the least. I have run the car at 15 psi and have gotten into the 12's with it with street tires, so by no means is it a slouch, I just know that with more boost it will really fly...

I have plans to run bigger injectors and ALKY, but need to get this solved first. Car should be able to run 25 psi of boost with race gas.. or at least thats what I've been told from the previous owner.
 
knock problem

it may be helpful for you to post some scan tool readings & fuel pressure values. also, what spark plugs are you using and what's their gap set at? you could have a variety of other things causing the knock problem which are masked by the lifter noise.
just something to consider ....... :smile:
bw jones
 
I will see if I saved the readings from last year. Plugs are stock AC delco set to the factory gap... Fuel pressure is good. Pump is Red's XP+.

Was not sure how to see if the fuel volume was ok last year, this could definitely be an issue as the car would also lean out slightly at WOT at high speeds over 85 MPH. But even if this is what is causing the KR, the lifter noise is still annoying.

The chip is Eric's Street chip. Even when running race gas, the most boost I've been able to run is 15 psi without KR. The KR only happens when the car initially gets to full load (255 on the LV8 reading on DirectScan) at 15 psi or higher. The KR goes away after 1-2 knock counts.. I have run the car at 14-15 psi on the street with absolutely no issues otherwise. If I turn it up slightly the KR returns...
 
How tight is your knock sensor? Put two raps of teflon tape on the threads, and crank it down tight by hand.

Good luck...
 
Not to play devils advocate, but I have had nothing short of terrible results with anything comp cams. Not only with their products, but with their service to stand behind their products. I have had countless problems with their lifters. My buick had that problem. Constant lifter tick. Within a few weeks, the lifter checked out and caused some nice problems. I also had problems with my small block chevy. the retainers kept popping out! They told me that I over tightened the valve. I said, remarkable that the car still ran perfect!! Anyway, I hope its a simple fix! Just my two cents!!
 
What sort of "lifter noise" is it making? Also, as BW Jones stated, some scan numbers and other info would be helpful. As far as taping the knock sensor goes I think this is a bad idea. Gm designed that sensor to work a certain way. Torque it to spec and leave it. Figure out what is causing the knock and fix it. FWIW I've never heard of a lifter that is designed to be noisy at low rpms. (not that I know all that much about lifters) Some may be because of there design, but it would seem odd that you would have some special lifter in your car (which is a low RPM application) and not know it. Even if you bought it that way I would think the seller would talk about it. That's just my .02 though. james
 
Brought the car to my mechanic, its definitely a lifter issue... and it needs to be repaired... not only is it annoying, its can cause some more serious problems if I don't fix it..

Not yet sure if this is definitely causing the false knock, but one thing at a time I guess. Its been this way since this cam was installed (about 15k ago), so it looks like I may need to replace the cam and lifters do to a defect in either the lifters or the cam or both. At this point I am considering a roller set-up from a different company, or at the very least using GM lifters.

I called Comp Cams about this, and they gave me the run-around... What a BS company... I strongly advise those looking for a good cam company to look elsewhere. Not only are they not willing to refund my money or at the very least replace the cam and lifters (not that I would do such a thing), but they are also not willing to offer any advice whatsoever..

Also, how do I check the fuel volume?? Fuel pressure checked out good, but O2 readings are still leaning out a bit at higher speeds and at WOT. No other issues to report, thankfully... Thanks guys, who says that only Chevy has all the good car guys, you guys are one of the best groups of people in all the car hobby..
 
I would start another thread if you're having issues with it leaning out on top. Get the cam fixed first though. Maybe you're just out of injector.
 
Thanks guys, who says that only Chevy has all the good car guys, you guys are one of the best groups of people in all the car hobby..[/QUOTE]
Fast with Class Baby!
 
Its possible, am only running 009 injectors, but without the boost, whats the point.. I am considering going to a new cam (definitely not anything made by comp cams), and possibly even a roller set-up,

What size cam would work well with the stock D5 convertor (upgraded to a true 2400 stall), and a TA-60 Turbo?

I have plans for ALKY and bigger injectors. I'd rather not spend the money for a higher stall speed if I don't have to as I like the lower stall speed for the street. Not too worried about turbo lag as I like the "delayed" boost so that the tires don't break loose under normal driving.
 
If it's any consolation I'm also running a CC 206/206 flat tappet and I think I have Sealed Power lifters and mine make noise too. It's real annoying. I can actually compress some of the lifters by hand with the pushrod with the valve cover and rocker shaft removed. I suspect I have some bad lifters myself. However, aside from the annoying sewing machine sound, I don't get any KR from them and car runs like a raped ape down low and also up top. Maybe next winter's project will be to pull the intake and replace the lifters.
 
Yeah this seems to be a recurring theme with Comp Cams lifters, noisy and unreliable. I think replacing them with stock lifters will solve the noise, as does my mechanic.

I have reason to doubt that the lifter noise is causing the KR, but am not wanting to look into this further until this is fixed, one problem at a time :). I

I'm wanting to replace the cam mainly because I am fed up with Comp Cams and their total lack of support, but I'd imagine there to be nothing wrong with it, unless they build their cams with the same quality control standards as their lifters. :(.

Been wanting to either swap in a roller set-up or a "smaller" cam anyways. Its just a shame that the person before got hoodwinked into thinking that the lifter noise was okay by CompCams. Its not, and not only is it annoying, but it can lead to more severe problems if left unchecked.
 
stickybones said:
If it's any consolation I'm also running a CC 206/206 flat tappet and I think I have Sealed Power lifters and mine make noise too. It's real annoying. I can actually compress some of the lifters by hand with the pushrod with the valve cover and rocker shaft removed. I suspect I have some bad lifters myself. However, aside from the annoying sewing machine sound, I don't get any KR from them and car runs like a raped ape down low and also up top. Maybe next winter's project will be to pull the intake and replace the lifters.
Click to expand...


Hmm, how to tell if its the cam or the lifters causing this noise?? He is using the same cam but with different lifters with the same condition... :confused:
 
Im running a 210-205 cam from the buick club and my car sounds like it has solid lifters. Its been like this for 4 years since I rebuilt the motor. After I rebuilt it I took the intake off to see if anything was going bad. Everything looked good but I then replaced the lifters which were comp. cams with GM lifters and it got a little quieter but not quiet enough for me. Ive been running it this way ever since but I still don't like the sound. But Ive never had a problem with the lifter noise getting picked up by the knock sensor. My car runs awesome but makes that annoying tick, tick, tick.

Weird thing is my buddy has the same camshaft in his buick and its quiet as the stock one. I don't know why.

My stock cam didn't make any noise and Im not sure why the performance cam is doing this. I keep checking to make sure I don't have any mushroomed lifters but every thing is good. I guess at least with my car I will have to get used to it or put a roller cam in it.
 
BlackBandit said:
What sort of "lifter noise" is it making? Also, as BW Jones stated, some scan numbers and other info would be helpful. As far as taping the knock sensor goes I think this is a bad idea. Gm designed that sensor to work a certain way. Torque it to spec and leave it. Figure out what is causing the knock and fix it. FWIW I've never heard of a lifter that is designed to be noisy at low rpms. (not that I know all that much about lifters) Some may be because of there design, but it would seem odd that you would have some special lifter in your car (which is a low RPM application) and not know it. Even if you bought it that way I would think the seller would talk about it. That's just my .02 though. james
Click to expand...

Back in the 80's they came out with a lifter that would bleed down at idle and remove some lift out of lumpy cams and would have lifter noise like a solid lifter. I believe they were Rodes lifters gave the lumpy cam a better idle and improved vacuum for brakes and accessory's.
 
WiskeyJack said:
Back in the 80's they came out with a lifter that would bleed down at idle and remove some lift out of lumpy cams and would have lifter noise like a solid lifter. I believe they were Rodes lifters gave the lumpy cam a better idle and improved vacuum for brakes and accessory's.
Click to expand...

Thats exactly what my friend described to me... :cool:
 
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