Tick Tick Tick Tick, sometimes i will be sitthing at a red light or a drive-thru and i'll start to hear a ticking noise from under the hood somewhere, if i press the gas very lightly (just enough to raise the rpm one notch) it will go away. is this something to do with my timing? i have a stethoscopem i just don't ever have it with me when it does this.

 

Dude, sell your car. Its a boom waiting to go off.

Actually, its most likely a lifter....maybe even an exhaust leak but I dont think so. A lifter would do just what you have stated.

 

a lifter? i'm not sure exactly what that does. should i replace it?

 

like already said, could be either collapsed lifter or exhaust leak. Have you checked the exhaust gasket yet? Is the problem worse in the cold?? Pushrod engines use lifters to tranfer lift from the cam to the rockers. There are many different types which serve different functions and are cam specific. If the lifter is bad then it most likely is not holding pressure (isn't staying pumped, because you have hydraulic lifters). This could be because of natural wear and tear or other things but you should replace it.

 

Exhaust leaks don't go away, they get louder with increased load, however he may think it's going away since he doesn't hear it, but could still be there.

 

Sitting at a drive through, or especially near a wall, you'll hear an exhaust leak much louder than somewhere else because the sound will really echo. Revving won't make it go away. Revving could cause a lifter to stop tapping momentarily by flailing oil around. If you've got your air conditioning on it may be your compressor ticking. Fuel injectors can also make a semi loud ticking that may be audible sitting with your window down, but the sound wouldn't go away with revving.

 

Had a header leak that would stop after the engine warmed up....

 

Having the noise stop when the engine is warm is actually common for mild exhaust leaks. At least one buddy of mine had a hairline crack in his exhaust manifold that did the same thing, and my '79 vette has a massively loud exhaust leak on the #8 cyl that goes away once the engine is at operating temp

 

I had a ticking noise when I had my 305 in the car. I then replaced the motor, complete exhaust, and throttlebody and injectors and I still get a ticking noise when the car is cold. It don't go away until the car gets above 160*. Strange huh. I think it is the injectors. Is that normal or ok?

 

now that sounds like a sticky lifter to me......

 

it sounds like it is coming from the injectors though. I wonder if that is ok or not. They are brand new. I also don't know what would cause that. It seems like something is causing it. Maybe it is because I don't have a proper eprom yet. Maybe. Don't know.