lately ive been noticeing a strange ticking noise comeing from what seems like the back passanger side of the engine. i would almost swear its comeing from the distributor or carburator though. its not really loud but its deffinately noticable and probly not normal. after takeing it out for a drive and stepping on it hard the ticking noise seems to go away. but the next day when i go to start it up again it starts happening again. its possible it could be one of the rockers loosened. ill re-do the valves if i have to, but they were set perfectly when i put the engine in and have been totaly quiet for about 4 months now. is there anything i should check on the carb or distributor first before i start ripping out hoses and stuff to get the valve covers off?

 

Start by tightening up the exhaust manifold bolts. Go from there.

 

i thought it might have been my headers, a couple of the bolts were "a little" loose, but tightening them didnt change the noise at all. should i mabey tighten the nuts that connect the y-pipe to the headers? i doubt its that far down though, it totaly sounds like the ticking is comeing from somewhere on the top end.

 

If some of your header bolts were loose, it could have already burned through the header gasket (it doesn't take long)...

 

On my S-10 I just got done replacing the AIR tube assembly...one of the tubes had rusted and broken off at the manifold, creating a nice exhaust leak that ticked like crazy.

 

To find the leak, try holding one end of a house up to your ear and use the other end to listen for the leak. It might help you pin point it.

 

I found mine by feeling around the manifold for it when the engine was cold (careful...the manifold doesn't take long to heat up!).

 

would a vacume leak seriously cause a ticking noise? i dont have any problems with the way the engine performs or an unstable idle. but its deffinately possible some of the header gasket blew, some of the bolts loosened themselves so much that i could turn them with my fingers. is it possible to replace the header gaskets at the top without replaceing the ones that connect to the y-pipe at the bottom? those ones are a real bitch to replace/install. also, i tryed listening with a hose to locate where the ticking noise was but it just didnt sound like it was comeing from the the rockers or the intake manifold. its deffinately on the passanger side somewhere. also, being that they are cheap *** flow tech headers it wouldnt surprise me if a rust hole formed somewhere on it. wtf do they even paint these things for??? like a week after i had them and the paint all burnt off, they were completely rusty and looked worse than the stock manifolds. plus it looks like some guy welded them up in his back yard with spare metal that was lieing around.

 

Hrmm... if the ticking could be blown gasket, is there anyway that could be leaking oil into my exhaust? See, I've had this ticking noise since I got the car. I was told that if I change the oil and put some lucas oil stabalizer in there, it should make it go away. Well since I got the car it hasn't had a full oil pan (above the "add" line, but def not at "full"). well after a change and some lucas, I started it up and the ticking continues. not only that but now my exhaust has some grey oily stuff in it. That really worries me. I would have let it run longer but there was white smoke pouring out of the exhaust and I had some comin up from behind the engine (looked like behind the distrib... any help would be appriciated.

 

Stick the pointed end of a long screwdriver in various places on the engine and put your ear on the handle to help locate it.

 

alright, after ALOT of searching and frustration ive discovered that it is a blown header gasket. right at the back of the engine on the passanger side there was a little tiny peice of the gasket that was missing and the surounding area was slightly burnt. this has been ticking for about a month now, could i have caused any serious damage to my valve seals? if i were to buy some kind of lead additive, would this help out the seal a bit? i know older cars used leaded gas so the valve seals wouldnt burn out, and i realize that todays seals dont need lead, but is there any way at all i can reverse any potential damage i caused to the seals? or are they fine? the seals were replaced about a year ago, so they are fairly new.

 

TA 83 Daytona, it sounds like you have a blown "head" gasket. white smoke usualy means water is getting into the combustion chamber. check everything else before you change that though, because it is a very time consumeing job and you will probly need alot more gaskets than just the head gasket (intake, carb/FI gaskets). also mabey get a second oppinion on this, im not really a mechanic, this is just what ive heard from other people on here. white smoke = water, black smoke = oil.

 

ok, i have one more question.... i just bought some very expensive copper gaskets (60 dollars, ouch!) and much to my surprise they are actualy solid copper.... do i have to use some kind of sealant on these before i put them in? it just doesnt look like this will form any kind a seal alone

 

Psyte, thanks for the opinion. After talkin to some other people I've decided that it needs to be taken down to the heads to check my gaskets, like you suggested. problem is I have a Crossfire Injection... its been a trip just trying to get to the valve covers. Thanks for the help tho.

 

I'd assume you'd put some gasket sealant on it... it's like 99 cents at AutoZone.

 

Do not use sealant, it will just blow out.

THe copper gaskets are very effective. Follow the instructions to the letter; and if your headers and heads and gaskets are all the right match to each other, they will do a very good job.

 

well, the gaskets came with a bunch of lock washers, but i decided to use medium thread lock instead because the bolts i have are pretty short. i didnt end up useing any gasket sealer just the copper gasket alone and its sounds 100% better. i just hope it stays that way. if for some odd reason the thread lock doesnt cut it, are these copper gaskets reuseable by any chance?

 

No they are not re-usable. Once they're crushed, they don't spring back.

Use the lock washers wherever possible. They work. Loctite doesn't.

Re-tighten the bolts when hot, and then re-tighten them again after a few heat-cool cycles.