tick...tick..ticktickticktick

chandler

Well-known member
I thought i might be able to live with the ticking but it is driving me nuts. i went out and got a new valve cover gasket and im ready to get rid of the ticking except i have no idea what im getting into...anyone got any pointers??? ill i know is that it ticks more (or just louder) when the motor is warmed up than when it is cold
 
possible causes:
exhaust leak
sticky lifter
loose rocker arm shaft
detonation (?)

does it have any other symptoms?
more Vs louder is a bit confusing


do you have a mechanical stethoscope? might help find it
 
well i dont think its an exhaust leak bc it was happening beofre and after i did my exhaust. no other noticable symptoms only the ticking is much louder when the motor is warm it is barely noticable when the car is coldwith the hood up once the car warms up you can hear it inside over the exhaust at idle and low speeds then the exhuast downs it out
 
when did it start? how long did it take to get as bad as it is now?
i remember that it took a relatively short time for my rocker shaft to start acting up, so you might be able to rule that out

how close are you to your next oil change? if it's soon you could pour in some Marvel's Mystery Oil and run that for a while to see if it's a sticky lifter
 
its been around for a while but has been getting louder lately. im getting real close to my next oil change should do the pan gasket too its leakin too. what will the mistery oil tell me...we have cases of it at work
 
chandler":3ojlskl0 said:
what will the mistery oil tell me...we have cases of it at work
that's in case it's a sticky lifter

basically it's a detergent that'll clean out any sludge from the engine, it usually gets rid of sticky lifters
however, it can also loosen up holes that were plugged by old oil and gunk, thus creating some oil leaks
 
You might check your oil level. If I get more than a quart low, mine will start ticking. I would go ahead and give the Marvel Mystery oil a try. My car sat for a while and when I recommissioned it, it had a lifter ticking. I thought it was worth a shot, and it worked. It stopped the tapping. Since you are going to change the oil, why not add some of the Mystery oil first and give it a try.
Doug
 
How many miles on rebuild? What cam/lifter combo do you have? Mechanical or hydraulic? What typre rockers? What weight oil are you using? :?
Marvel is supposed to free up sticikng lifters, but won't take up the slack of loose or worn parts.
 
Sounds like an exhaust leak since it's louder when it's warm. Lifter sticking is usually louder when the engine is cold.

Slade
 
CobraSix":2i49p2uf said:
Sounds like an exhaust leak since it's louder when it's warm. Lifter sticking is usually louder when the engine is cold.

Slade

if he still had the log exhaust, i'd prolly agree, but i haven't heard of any such problems with the Pacemakers...
unless he doesn't have 'em sealed all the way, but he still said that it was before he did the exhaust...
 
right now my car has about 80k miles on it...getting time for a rebuild so the cam and lifters are what ever came stock on the 200. ill try the marvel prolly this weekend beofre i change the oil and hope that it works. if it doesnt what could it be? loose rocker shaft? i dont think its exhaust the pacemakers are on there pretty good with the split-lock bolts
 
Chandler,

Can you tell were the ticking is coming from? I'm with Slade it sounds more like an exhaust leak to me. It could be coming from where your headers connect to the exhaust. Did you have it welded or did you use clamps to connect to the header?

Did you install an exhaust port divider? If you did not I've heard that it can cause exhaust leaks in Clifford's headers no sure if the same problem occurs with the Pacemakers. If you did was it flush or below the surface of the exhaust flange on the head? If it protruds even slightly this would cause a leak. What type of exhaust gasket was used? Did you use cooper permatex around the ports on the gasket? Just rambling other things to consider.

Bob
 
Chandler,
1. Remove the valve cover, identify which lifter or lifters are making noise, then loosen both rockers intake/exhaust to see if the noise stops?

2. If one or the other stops readjust both rockers, if ticking goes away your good to go.

3. If noise persists adjust the lifter tighter till it goes away, if it goes away and then comes back while adjusting it's a collapsed lifter, if while adjusting the rocker the engine dies from being too tight and the ticking didn't go away you may have a piston problem.

4. If you loosen both lifters (disengage intake/exhaust lifters) and you still here ticking then it maybe a broken skirt on the piston as pictured below!

http://www.ncinternet.net/~durham/jason3.jpg

It may be just a adjustment, but after trying everything possible, we pulled the oil pan and using a drop light inspected each rod and piston and found this damage.

Here is how it looked with the piston still installed, my son Jason missed seeing the crack, him not sure what he was looking for. But I have seen this before and spotted it quickly upon inspecting each piston.

http://ncinternet.net/~durham/jason5.jpg

The good news is it's not expensive to fix yourself, bad news is if you have to pay someone to fix it, it will be money better spent on a complete rebuild. With 80,000 miles on your engine, you could drop another piston the week after fixing this problem and have to repeat it all over again? :shock: I hope your's is just a adjustment or lifter problem! :wink:
 
HI
You can use a long rubber hose and hold one end to your ear and use the other end to fish out the sound check along the top of the valve cover to check lifters, along the exhaust at the head/and pipe conection..
Tim
 
Headers can leak too. If the head face isn't flush, it'll still leak, of it the port divider isn't flush or if a bolt isn't 100% torqued.

Slade
 
i have had a tick since rebuild....

just turn up the radio and drive it like....
whats the saying.....

chaz
 
well i used to just turn up the radio but theres something wrong with my amp wiring so i have no music...another project. im not sure its the exhuast becasue it was happening before the headers installed and now its just getting louder im am using whatever the fspp gasket is and the exhaust is welded to the headers. thanks mustangaroo for the directions that helps alot. pedal2themetal ill use a hose to and see if it is the exhaust if i dont get any noise from the lifters. How much Marvel should i be using?
 
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