A veteran GM mechanic where Case works told him that the rocker arm bolts are not reusable. Is this true? That might be the problem because they were reused.

 

alldata said the bolts were tty, but the former gm guy said he has always reused them without an issue. the tick is definatly one side only, either cylinder 1 or 3. the guy i was talking to said to use some rags around the head and ill put something over the push rods. i asked him if he could listen to it wednesday, he said he may have a few minutes. as for the oil, it was changed about 500 miles after the build. the lifters were all new and allowed to soak for a few days in oil. i used all oil during the build, no "special" assembly lubes. the only time ive used those is for flat tappet engines. it sucks if its a lifter as it will be a pita to replaced them. it also sucks if its a rocker arm as theyre expensive as hell

 

No clue if it is your problem but never try to reuse a TTY bolt. I could explain how they work and why your should never reuse them but it is just to much typing even for me. I use to make bolts there is just no way they can work as designed a second time. They should not be replaced with other bolts either cause a tty bolt can handle heat that not even the best ARP bolt can.

 

yep, im aware of tty bolts. however, the haynes manual i was using did not specify they were tty, but alldata did. theyre still tight either way

 

I really doubt that your first oil change interval has anything to do with the lifter noise. But if you ever go with a rebuild again, you're best off changing the oil after the first run you take with the car. It may seem wasteful, but most of the accumulated contaminates in the oil will occur after the initial start up and within that first road run. Best to get that crud out and do your final break-in with fresh oil. Oops...I think I said that earlier, thought I was just thinking it to myself before. Still, oil for thought.