Engine noise LS-1 350

I have a 2001 Ram Air Trans-Am with the LS-1 motor in it. I have a light pecking noise in it when i get around 1200 or 1300 RPM’S when idling. When driving after you get above 20 MPH you cant hear it anymore. I have had it checked by two seperate mechanics @ one said he couldnt pinpoint the noise @ the chevy dealership told me it was normal for the engine to make that noise because the motor is solid aluminum, so could someone tell me what it is or if i have anything to worry about? Thanks

The LS-1 is on the list of piston slappers. That’s a condition where one or more of the piston skirts slaps the cylinder walls in operation.

Google “GM piston slap problem”. You’ll find tons of information.

Do i have to worry about this or will it be fine? Thanks for your help.

The Googled sites should give you lots of that type of info.

I don’t think there is anything you can do. Material I’ve read is that the problem is a function of the short piston skirt length made necessary by a short connecting rod and long relative stroke. Apparently this combination is causing the skirts to slap against the sides of the cylinder walls at the bottom of the stroke.

I read something also about GM having changed manufacturing processes from individually fitting pistons to relying on process variations, but I don’t buy it because the industry was way, way beyond individual piston fitting by this time. Statistical Process Control should have long since eliminated that as a cause of piston slapping.