ticking

[andrewgrant]

my engine ticks not when its cold, but after its warmed up.its not that loud, and it really doesnt bother me too much, but its the opposite of what i'd expect, and im curious to know what is making the sound. Immediatly after changing the oil it doesnt do it for about 45 seconds to a minute.and on these cold winter mornings it doesnt start doing it for about two minutes.then i can drive it all day and the noise wont stop.

[crazyhorse]

If the ticking is coming after the enine warms, I'd be looking at the warm oil pressures. It sounds like it could be the lifters, not so much getting weak, but not getting the pressure they deserve. This could be as simple as a clogged pickup screen, or drainback passages. It could be as dire as a weak oil pump. Getting a mechanical guage on it will help diagnose it. A cheap wal-mart guage will do the trick.

Oil pressure is measured at two times. Cold and warm. Generally warm oil pressures run 15-20lbs lower than cold. I really can't say what's normal for these engines, but stock pressures usually run 60-80 cold and 40-60 warm. Example: my Ford 2300 runs 60psi cold, 40 warm measured at idle.

[andrewgrant]

where do i hook up a oil pressure gauge?

[crazyhorse]

You unhook the "idiot light" sender, and screw the mechanical guage in where it went. This will trigger the oil light. You don't need to leave this guage installed, it's just a diagnostic tool. When you get your readings you can unhook it & put the stock sender back in.

One of the 60deg Gurus can tell you exactly where the sender is, as I'm not 100% sure. They can also tell you if this will cause the engine not to run. I know some cars have a "murphy" switch that cuts the fuel if the oil pressure drops. I don't think your Grand Am does though.

[PCGUY112887]

What engine is this on? If it's a 3x00, then it's in the front/right/towards the bottom. You'll find an electrical connector going to it, just unplug it and unscrew the sender. Then screw in your gauge.

On my 3500, with 5w30 Mobil 1, I have about 25psi at warm idle, bit under 50 cold.

[andrewgrant]

3100, I'm using 10W30 Q synthetic. Approximately what should my pressure be?