recently started making a tapping sound that increases with rpms and sounds like its coming from the upper end,i pulled the spark plugs one at a time and ran it and the sound never went away which the book tells me means that there is nothing wrong with the block..is this true? could it be a lifter or something along those lines?... (also the heads are brand new minus about 1000 miles so i dont think thats the problem)... thanx for any help, this would be awesome if i didnt have to rebuild the engine block..

 

Take a thick, long bladed screwdriver and use this as a stethoscope. With the engine running, place the blade on the valve covers, then to the fuel injectors, while the broad plastic end it placed in your ear. The fuel injectors on a 3.8 can get obnoxiously loud.

 

now that u mention it there is a seal that wraps around the injectors to help it seal better, and its missing on one of the injectors, could this be it or do u mean its just mechanically going bad?

 

Hmm. I'm not entirely sure. An injector is nothing but a solenoid with a tiny pintle that opens and closes when told to do so. Even so, the clicking/tapping you're hearing MAY be the injectors. When I first heard mine I thought valve tapping. After closer listening, I discovered that it was indeed the injectors.

 

what did u do to fix it? just replaced the injector?