Ok, guys. I have a ticking noise coming from the passenger side of the car. Gets louder with acceleration. It actually is at the same pace as my acceleration. I was racing a high end BMW the other night and after the third race my car started ticking. I did find a couple of header bolts loose and tightened them. The ticking sound decresed, however, it is still noticable. WTF did i do to the car? I took a screwdriver and put it up against the passenger side valve cover. There is a faint ticking sound coming from around number 6 and 8 cylinders. There is also a ticking coming from the fuel rail. When you are driving the car, the ticking sounds like an exhaust manifold/header gasket leak, I did check and re-tighten all of my header bolts though. Any ideas?

 

If it sounds like a gasket leak and doesn't make much noise after tightening the loose manifold bolts down then that's probably what it is...a shot gasket that's not completely sealing near cylinders 6 & 8 even after tightening the bolts down accordingly.

 

Pull that valve cover and inspect the valve train. If you're running self-aligning rockers I'd definitely suspect the valve train.

Jake

 

I pulled the valve cover today and I didn't notice anything out of the ordinary. The rockers that were raised or in the up or open position ,did shake and had some slack in them.

 

Probably needs new header/exhaust manifold gaskets. Some of the rockers may be up, some may be down, depending on the particular stroke that cylinder was on when you shut it down last. Doesn't sound like thats the issue though.

 

". . . did shake and had some slack in them" seems normal unless it's excessive. Hard for me to tell from just a written description though. BTW, if the rocker is 'up position' the valve would be in the closed position, not "open".

Did you check for the needed clearance between the underside of the rocker arm and the retainer?

How about for a broken valve spring or a pushrod hitting against the cylinder head?

Any shiny areas indicating parts are wearing against each other?

Lots of things to check to be SURE.

Jake

 

BINGO! He hit the nail on the head. It is your exhaust gasket.

 

How do you know? Is that what he found after investigating?

Jake

 

If it were an exhaust gasket, I would think he would be able to tell it was at the mating surfaces of the manifold/header and the head. I think it got quieter when he tightened the bolts because that allowed less internal noise to escape.

If it is headers and it is the gasket, go with red high temp silicone. No more burned out gaskets. Use it on the collectors too.

My guess is something in the valve train................run it with the valve cover off and see is all the rockers are moving correctly. Make sure you have new gaskets to put back on.

 

I've had that exact same issue happen on my car. Swapped out header gaskets and my problem was solved.

You figure that the issue was reduced when he retorqued the header bolts. While the header bolts were loose the gasket could have been damaged or worked loose. That's where I'd start before I go digging into the engine.

 

Right, now I agree with that plan; investigate first, then respond accordingly. I always check and recommend the easiest most probable causes be explored first, then move on to other areas. Other areas that involve more work or expense.

My earlier response was posted because he was already under the valve cover and I wanted to make sure he'd check certain areas in order for him not to button things back up and later have to go back under them a second time. That would end up being double work.

My question surrounded the "It is your exhaust gasket" comment which I didn't see any support for. Something suspicious, sure; something to be investigated, sure; but to conclude the gasket is the cause, without enough supporting evidence, gives me concerns as being premature.

Just how I approach things like this.

Jake

 

Understood. From his description, I believe it is most likely the gasket. As with anything else on these boards, it was merely a suggestion. I have asked numerous questions regarding issues on my car and people have been very helpful. However, not once have I received recommendations without verifying the cause first. Both of us are in the same boat on this one. We are offering advice on the issue, not saying what the cause is 100%. If anyone reads these boards and acts on the advice without first confirming it, then that is on them. Between the two of us, I hope he is able to find the issue and is able to fix it cheaply. Sometimes it is easy to misunderstand somebody's intentions on message boards. No hard feelings on my end.

-Eldon

 

Mine either.

Jake

 

.....racing then the dreaded ticking noise. He'll be lucky if it is just the gasket! Wonder who won??????

 

found out it was the header gasket,fixed and problem solved. the bmw turned out to be factory twin turbo. i lost by 1.5 cars.