Is it okay to use boat with noisy lifters? Penta 5.7 Gi-E

[VIPNiSS]

I just bought a boat and it has a 5.7 Penta Gi-E motor. It was sitting since November 2010 and he said he fired it up once in a while. Anyways I noticed a loud noise in the engine and recorded a video.

Penta 5.7 pinging sound? - YouTube

So I siphon the old gas out.. put in new gas.. changed plugs(yes I did check they are tight), thermostat, impeller, engine oil, oil filter, fuel filter.

The noise is still there but isnt as bad. I had a mechanic look at it today and he said he 99% certain they are the lifters. He did perform a compression test on the motor for me and got 180 across the board.

The question now is can I go ahead and use the boat and fix it during off season or should I address it now? Will anymore damage occur from using it?

 

[Don S]

Re: Is it okay to use boat with noisy lifters? Penta 5.7 Gi-E

I listened to that video 3 times, I can hear the fuel pump running and the engine running, but I don't hear any pinging or lifters.

I will say, for an MPI, it sounds like crap.

Have you done a tuneup? Spark plugs, cap and rotor?

One other note, injectors on MPI engines do make a clicking noise. Don't confuse that with lifters.
Get a mechanics stethoscope and be certain where the noise is coming from.

 

[Jammer864]

Re: Is it okay to use boat with noisy lifters? Penta 5.7 Gi-E

Hard to tell from a video but I do believe I hear lifters clacking. Can you run it that way? Sure. Ive known engines with solid lifters to clack away for years on irrigation pump engines. Should you run it that way forever? I dont think so. Its not a huge job, like Nike says.....Just Do It.

 

[VIPNiSS]

Re: Is it okay to use boat with noisy lifters? Penta 5.7 Gi-E

Correct it's the clacking noise. You hear it more when I put the camera next to the valve cover on the left side.

 

[VIPNiSS]

Re: Is it okay to use boat with noisy lifters? Penta 5.7 Gi-E

Seems as if the sound is coming from underneath the intake manifold almost

 

[Jammer864]

Re: Is it okay to use boat with noisy lifters? Penta 5.7 Gi-E

the lifters are underneath the intake manifold. Remove the manifold to gain acess to them. There is more to it than that, but they are located there.

 

[VIPNiSS]

Re: Is it okay to use boat with noisy lifters? Penta 5.7 Gi-E

i am going to try some marvel mystery oil tomorrow. hope it fixes it.

 

[VIPNiSS]

Re: Is it okay to use boat with noisy lifters? Penta 5.7 Gi-E

I am sitting on the boat outside now. I pulled out about 1 quart and added the MMO.

still chattering and it's been running about 20 mins now. Here's a video I just made. Does this sound normal? I know someone said the injectors are suppose to make a sound but is it this kind of sound? Speed of chattering increases with gas.

Penta 5.7 chattering - YouTube

 

[VIPNiSS]

Re: Is it okay to use boat with noisy lifters? Penta 5.7 Gi-E

Here's at 1k rpm

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=/fwSkaRUNVpU

 

[Silvertip]

Re: Is it okay to use boat with noisy lifters? Penta 5.7 Gi-E

What does the oil pressure gauge read? If that's normal, pull one of the valve covers and see if the rockers are oiling! You should also be able to tell where the noise is coming from using a mechanics stethoscope or even a piece of hose.

 

[Jammer864]

Re: Is it okay to use boat with noisy lifters? Penta 5.7 Gi-E

Silvertip is right. Make sure the rockers are getting oil. Why? Because the oil that lubes them comes up thru the pushrods via the lifters. If the lifters are collapsed its possible that no oil is getting farther up the chain. Odd that all the lifters (if so) are chattering. Makes a guy wonder about the ability of the lubrication system.

 

[Don S]

Re: Is it okay to use boat with noisy lifters? Penta 5.7 Gi-E

Hard to say with a video, but it sure sounds like injectors clicking to me. Does the other side sound the same as you get closer to it? Couldn't imagine the lifters sounding exactly the same on both sides.

 

[aerobat]

Re: Is it okay to use boat with noisy lifters? Penta 5.7 Gi-E

i found here a video with another 5.7 Gi idling and it does not ticker that loud.

New Risers & Manifolds Installed on a 2002 Volvo Penta 5.7 (Gi-A) Engine.3gp - YouTube

i can also say , even when its not the same engine , that a mercruiser 5.0 MPI also does not ticker that way in real.

but it can be also the recording and the engine has not any problem !

 

[VIPNiSS]

Re: Is it okay to use boat with noisy lifters? Penta 5.7 Gi-E

yeah thats quiet compared to mine.

 

[Don S]

Re: Is it okay to use boat with noisy lifters? Penta 5.7 Gi-E

yeah thats quiet compared to mine.

That's because it's not an MPI, it's a TBI :facepalm: A carbed engine with a mechanical fuel pump is even quieter.

 

[aerobat]

Re: Is it okay to use boat with noisy lifters? Penta 5.7 Gi-E

:watermelon:

are there really MPI and TBI versions of the 5.7 GI ???

in that case shame on ?me...

 

[Don S]

Re: Is it okay to use boat with noisy lifters? Penta 5.7 Gi-E

:watermelon:

are there really MPI and TBI versions of the 5.7 GI ???

in that case shame on ?me...

Yes, the 5.7Gi-A is TBI, and the 5.7Gi-B and newer are MPI.

 

[gm280]

Re: Is it okay to use boat with noisy lifters? Penta 5.7 Gi-E

Okay if you seriously think it is the lifters, are they solid or hydraulic lifters, because if they are solid, you could simply need a valve adjustment to quite them down. If they are hydraulic and original, then they are not pumping up properly and will cause other problems as well... BUT before you do anything, you need to find out if they were ever changed. Reason is Roads made hydraulic lifters that were suppose to work that way. They drained down so quickly that you could run a more radical cam and still have a good idle because their lifters would drain faster than they would stay pumped up. And when you run up the RPMs they would stay pumped up long enough to give you the duration and lift of a serious cam too... So you got a better idle but way more noise and then more cam in the mid to upper RPM range...

 

[aerobat]

Re: Is it okay to use boat with noisy lifters? Penta 5.7 Gi-E

ok, i did not said anything :tape:

:doh:

 

[Don S]

Re: Is it okay to use boat with noisy lifters? Penta 5.7 Gi-E

Okay if you seriously think it is the lifters, are they solid or hydraulic lifters,

All 5.7 Chevy engines are hydraulic lifters, have been forever. And Volvo doesn't use "radical cams".

Unless this engine is special built by the owner, which I doubt.