Ok so heres the deal i heard a weird engine ticking or knocking noise from the passenger side when i started the car up on a fairly cold day, when i drive the car and the engine gets warm the noise goes away! i took it to the mechanic the day after and he took a look at it and said that it was the pulley tensioner and the serpentine belt was too lose and thats why it made that sound, so he charged me 220 hard earned dollars and the next day the same noise came from my car. so i recorded the sound on a video to ask you guys what it might be, so i have heard that it might be the lifters or the engine is knocking, some problem with the valves....

anyone have any idea or did this happen to anyone?
Here are the links for the videos of the noise:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=guRhRI2zGY8
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0V4FauhN5-w


More info:
99 Chevy Camaro
V6 3.8L
110K miles
Oil change every 3000 miles
Exhaust system problem, Catalytic converted going to fall off soon
to cheap to replace it, or just lets say dont have money to replace it.

 

hey man check the cap on your starter i had one of the bolts brake b4 and it kinda sounded like that

 

We had a 3.8 engine that made a noise that sounded alot like that. When we took the motor apart, the bearing on the number one cylinder was bad causing the piston to hit the bottom of the head.

 

I would guess it had to do with your oil. My 3.8 Camaro did that for a while right when I would start it. I hit a curb a long time ago and really jacked up my oil pan. After I replaced the engine crossmember and the oil pan... the sound went away Also my Hyundai Accent makes that sound when it's really low on oil.

 

to make sure its not anything connected to the belt unhook it and start the motor for a few seconds and see if it still does it.

 

Update - So i unhooked the belt, and the sound was there still...comes from the area around the valve covers. Going to get some oil and add and see it that helps. I have heard that using Seafoam on the engine might stop it what do you guys think?

 

It might help. And it definitely sounds like noisy lifters. They could be all gunked up inside, and the Seafoam might loosen them back up.

 

I would be very leary of using seafoam or any aggressive solvent on a possibly dirty motor. Is it much of a task to pull a valve cover on a 3.8? It might be worth it to have a look inside the motor. I think i would swap the oil filter first and see if that changes anything. It might be a little plugged.
Maybe give it a dose of Marvels Mystery oil on a short oil change schedule to see if that loosens things up a little.


Edit, just watched it agian and saw your oil pressure.

 

I have a 2001 Camaro V6 with 83,000 miles that has the same ticking, knocking noise problem. A friend and myself so far have removed the oil pan, replaced the pickup tube after finding out that the factory painted the inside of the pan and the paint was chipping and flaking off, clogging up the tube. After getting the new tube and pan reinstalled, I still have the ticking, knocking noises. We read the codes from the computer and it's giving a #1 engine cyclinder misfire only. Also, we've replaced the #1 fuel injector and the spark plug. I have a set of new MSD wires ordered and heat tape to cover them since the wires are mostly in the back of the engine compartment and wondering if the heat is affecting the wires. I've also tried using fuel injector additives, Slick 50, and other engine system additives with no luck either. Additionally, I've noticed after the car has been running a while the oil pressure gradually goes down to about 30psi, when it usually sits right around 55-60psi. Any other suggestions would be great, since I'd like to get my pride and joy back on the road.

 

seafoam it the get mobil 1 synthetic and a wix filter its piston slap. When the engine heats up everything expands then is back in spec.

same as above.