funny metal tick sound.

[Nikos95]

Alright in gear, in park, or in neutral I get a slight almost knocking sound from what sounds to be around my engine. I have not been able to locate this sound as of yet. I do know however that it is not a heat shield. It gets a little louder at higher rpms and tends to smooth out, or at least fade out with road noise. I did notice that my exhaust pipe where it curves down by the oil pan has a slight ding in it, by the pan. Anyone know of an issue where it vibrates against the pan or the frame rail on the other side of it? Just wondering if that could be it. Other ideas is valve spring, bearing, or even a loose flex plate.

[cam98aro]

i have never heard of a valve spring making a ticking sound.

i do know that your lifters will make a ticking sound.

It will go up and down compared to RPM, and if a uniform tick.

[camaro_speedemon]

Originally posted by victimizati0n:
i have never heard of a valve spring making a ticking sound.

i do know that your lifters will make a ticking sound.

It will go up and down compared to RPM, and if a uniform tick.

yea, it's probably a collapsed lifter if it's a ticking sound that varries with RPMs.

I had a lifter with a bad check valve in my old camaro. It would tick when it was cold, but when the engine was up to temp it would go away. How many miles do you have?

[Nikos95]

Well mine is at 136k, thats what i meant not spring I was thinking lifter, ya it varries a bit with rpm, and louder obviously. I'll have to take a look at them later today if I get a chance. I'm doing a master rebuild on it early fall, and yes including the crank. Thanks for the info.

I had a mechanic that supposedly checked it say it was a bearing, but a bad bearing normally causes a rough start and turn off also to my expierience anyways.

[cam98aro]

Originally posted by Nikos95:
Well mine is at 136k, thats what i meant not spring I was thinking lifter, ya it varries a bit with rpm, and louder obviously. I'll have to take a look at them later today if I get a chance. I'm doing a master rebuild on it early fall, and yes including the crank. Thanks for the info.

I had a mechanic that supposedly checked it say it was a bearing, but a bad bearing normally causes a rough start and turn off also to my expierience anyways.

what oil do you run in it?

Try putting thicker oil in, and see if it ticks, if it quits, its mostlikely a lifter/pushrod.

[notsonic]

my engine just developed a ticking too ;_;

[Nikos95]

Ya I'm using Mobil 1 super syn 10w30 now, i ran 5w30 last time, but its getting warmer and I didn't like it too much off 5w30.. It also sat for about a year, also still trying to get that problem gone. It did seem to quiet a little, but that might be my mind too, cause I just pulled my cat out, so obviously thats a little louder. Ohh well I'll just pop a cover off and take a look, not like lifters are hard to replace.

[BobbyZ72]

I could be a fuel injector. I wouldnt worry about it.

[cam98aro]

Originally posted by Nikos95:
Ohh well I'll just pop a cover off and take a look, not like lifters are hard to replace.

i wouldnt really say that...

[Nikos95]

Originally posted by victimizati0n:
</font><blockquote>quote:</font><hr />Originally posted by Nikos95:
Ohh well I'll just pop a cover off and take a look, not like lifters are hard to replace.

i wouldnt really say that... </font>[/QUOTE]I have a full shop lifts and a picker to work with, not too worried about pulling the engine forward to pop the covers off. Considering I'm going to totaly rebuild it anyways, including a new crank, a lifter is the least of my worries, as long as I don't have a loose rod.

Also Fuel injector making that kinda sound? Never heard one make it, but if it is, don't care I already ordered me new injectors 17lbs wont work for me for long. Plus at 130k miles I'm sure it wouldn't hurt to replace them.

[97wht3800]

Mine started tickin about 2 months ago i cant figure out where tha hell its coming from, its not tha same as a lifter tick tho its seems like sumthing to do with tha belt, could its be a starter or water pump making tha noise?

[Xian]

Re: funny metal tick sound.

The dealer wants $2400 to replace the collapsed lifters he claims are causing the same symptoms in my car, and say they have probably caused so much damage that I may just as well replace the engine. Is he kidding?

Is lifter replacement something the average amateur mechanic like myself could accomplish on his own and if so, what would the parts probably run me?

Or should I just try to get whatever I can for it for parts and move on?

I have another car I can drive in the meanwhile, but I can't afford to spend $2400 plus...

P.S. - more info may help...It's a 2001 V6 Camaro (of course) with 139K miles. Lifter noise started a few months ago but always quieted down as the car warmed up. It still does stop after warming up, but I was in a hurry and drove it while it was making the noise and the car ran very rough and the SES light came on so I took it in to the dealer. They say there's a lack of compression due to collapsed lifters. But it still runs okay after warming up. Could it be just a lubrication issue? Should I at least try just changing the oil (which is long overdue), maybe use a treatment to clean things out? Or is it pretty much guranteed I really do need to replace the lifters... which might mean the car has to be sold if I can't do it myself.

[Xian]

Re: funny metal tick sound.

Bump for maybe some kind of feedback... Well I picked the car up and sure enough, five minutes into the drive home it smoothed right out and ran just fine. So I'm more inclined to think it's sticking lifters, not irreversibly damaged ones.

I picked up a case of oil, a filter and a can of Sea Foam on the way home, so we'll try that first. Sea Foam says it "frees" lifters, and I guess we'll see if that includes resurrecting those that the dealer says are beyond all hope. Should I just put it in the oil and go, like the can says?

If you're the praying type, please join me... I really don't want to have to open her up and go after those valve lifters if I can avoid it!

[Xian]

Re: funny metal tick sound.

Okay so nobody ever replied to my call for help. Still, maybe somebody can benefit from hearing about my experience.

Thank goodness I didn't have $2400 to give to the (as someone else rightly called it) "stealership" for valve lifter replacement!

This weekend I simply changed the oil and filter and started the Sea Foam treatment process, and voila! No more valve tick! The SES light has reset itself and my car seems to be running smoother and peppier than it has in a long time.

So it seems the lifters weren't beyond hope, just sticking as I had hoped, and now they're un-stuck and all is well.

Wow what an emotional roller-coaster ride. Here I was thinking I might have to get rid of her, and all it took was a little TLC! I could kick myself for wasting time and money taking her into the dealer!

[Smoke Panther]

Re: funny metal tick sound.

Okay so nobody ever replied to my call for help. Still, maybe somebody can benefit from hearing about my experience.

Thank goodness I didn't have $2400 to give to the (as someone else rightly called it) "stealership" for valve lifter replacement!

This weekend I simply changed the oil and filter and started the Sea Foam treatment process, and voila! No more valve tick! The SES light has reset itself and my car seems to be running smoother and peppier than it has in a long time.

So it seems the lifters weren't beyond hope, just sticking as I had hoped, and now they're un-stuck and all is well.

Wow what an emotional roller-coaster ride. Here I was thinking I might have to get rid of her, and all it took was a little TLC! I could kick myself for wasting time and money taking her into the dealer!

yea, if some of the more experienced board members lived online, they would have told you to just seafoam it