2007 Chevrolet Tahoe Tick at Idle

Hello,

So my wife and I bought our 2007 Chevy Tahoe a couple months back and love it so far. It has been a great vehicle for our family. We drove the vehicle for around 4,000 miles before changing the oil as the previous owner stated that he just changed it. I put Mobil 1 High Mileage Full Synthetic 5W-30 and a Mobil 1 filter when I changed the oil. I have since had another oil change on it after 5,000 miles and like to keep up with the changes like this in all my vehicles. Well, it has a ticking noise that I presume is a lifter at idle. It will only tick after driving it and then sitting at idle for around 3-5 minutes. No ticking at cold start and sitting for a bit after the cold start. Only ticking after taking it for a drive then stopping. My oil pressure gauge sits around 20-25psi at idle and 38-40psi when driving. When it develops the tick, I can increase the RPMs and the tick goes away. So I can only assume that the lifter is not getting enough oil at idle. I discovered maybe too late about the AFM systems in these motors and the issues that they can have. The previous owner did install a Range AFM disabler but unsure as to when he actually put it on the truck. I also really never owned a vehicle where the oil pressure does not constantly stays at 40psi even at idle (This is my first GM vehicle.) Is this normal findings for oil pressure readings? So my thought process now is maybe the oil pump needs replacement or maybe a different kind of oil and filter? I also read about the O-ring on the oil pickup tube needing replacement as well. The oil is topped off and not low when this happens as well. All thoughts and fixes are appreciated as I feel that I made a mistake on this vehicle now.

The vehicle:
2007 Chevrolet Tahoe LTZ 2WD
172,000 miles

is the range afm disable thingy still hooked up?

the oil pressure is fine, most see around 20 at idle.. gm min spec is like 7psi at 1000 rpm when up to operating temp.


if you can get a video recording of the tap it might help the guys that have been thru this give you their thoughts.


how much of a diy mechanic are you? if you have a place to work on it and willing to buy some tools, it's probably the easier engine to pull the heads and cam on for the repair. if not, yeah it's a bit painful. sorry about your luck, your story pops up every few months of someone buying one and soon after the afm stuff goes bad.

Check to see if any bolts have broken off on exhaust manifold. Sometime when they break the exhaust will leak making a sound as a tick.

As others have said and from my research on here your oil pressure is good and mine is just about the exact same on my 2011 xl 6.2. I actually just posted a video in my thread with what my noise is as well. I am trying to figure out what’s next. Check your exhaust bolts as noted above, mine appear to be fine. I think I’m going to pull the valve covers and check things out but was waiting for some additional guidance too.

Oil pressure is good. Take the serpentine belt off and run the truck to see if the tick goes away. That way you can eliminate the accessories as a source of the tick.

How many miles does it have on it?

I'll 2nd, 3rd, and 4th that the oil pressure is fine. Perhaps your previous vehicles had an oil pressure "switch" (I think it was called something like that) like ford's had for many years. Where as long as the motor had more then I forget the exact number but it was something pretty low like 5-10 psi of oil pressure it would read normal on the gauge and not move when revved up. All of my 90's rangers were like that and I'm pretty sure my relatives 01 f150 was too. Your oil pressure should be lower at a lower rpm and go up with more rpm's.

Thank you to all who replied. I checked my exhaust bolts and manifold and all seem well there. My previous vehicles were Fords and Dodge so that explains that. As far as my mechanical knowledge I would label myself more of an YouTube mechanic than anything else. I’ve replaced heads on my old dodge but it was more of a toy than a daily driver and was successful on that. I’m a lot more hesitant on trying it on our daily driven vehicles. Attached is the videos and pictures I have taken to recreate the tick. This image is oil pressure at start up.

The link below is the truck running after a 15 minute drive.


After 8 minutes of sitting at idle this is the oil pressure and the video of the ticking sound. Appears to be coming from the drivers side more.
The truck does not tick any other time during drive. It does take between 5-10 minutes of sitting for the tick to start, so stop and go traffic I normally do not hear it. I’ve jokingly told my wife to just turn the truck off when she gets to where she is. We have a newborn that she likes to nurse in the AC in the truck and can sit for up to 20 minutes at idle to do that. I would also like to add that once it ticks, driving the vehicle or increasing the RPMs to increase oil pressure it will go away.

Did you try removing accessory belt and start, Since it starts noise after 5 to 10 min warm up first.