Hi everyone, I have a tapping noise coming from the engine of my car and I was wondering if anyone has had this happen to them. From what I have noticed the tapping is really bad from cold starts and goes away somewhat once it warms up. Under normal slow driving conditions when I don't romp on it and just accelerate pretty normally i don't hear it. But when I floor it, around 1500rpms and up it starts to tap again but only when I floor it. I am pretty sure my timing isn't off and there is no loss of power. Is it maybe a busted up rocker? If its a rocker or two is that something I could do myself?
Thanks for any input.

Tony

 

Exhaust leak

Tighten your exhaust manifold bolts, the ones that hold them to the heads

 

if its a loud clicking you may want to see if oil is coming up through the lifters cause it might be your oil pumo.. hopefully not.. just a thought though no need to jump to conclusions.

yeah a light tapping usually represents an exaust leak though

 

if you have headers...... i have found it impossible seal them perfectly to the heads ....just keep in mind.

 

lol when i used to own my old 84 2.8 sport coup it had a tapping then quickly turned into the sound of a machine gun going off.
hope this sint going to happen to u .

 

I'm not knocking you in anyway man, but I don't see how people have such a hard time getting their headers to seal?

I've been maintaining 750-800hp big blocks for almost 3 years now, and I've never once had a problem with an exhaust leak.

The only time I've ever had to correct that problem was when the car saw about 25 feet in the air and landed on it's side.

Have you tried using the thickest gasket you can find?

 

Where can I get one of those cheap!!! ;-) Sounds like a fun job! Who do you maintain these for??

 

Can you identify where the tapping is coming from?? Front, back, which side?

 

throwing some ideas out there.....

What about a valve adjustment, or maybe low oil pressure at idle ?

Is an exhust leak really a "Tap" ?

BC

 

I always thought exhaust leaks (especially header gasket leaks) were more of a rapid "pffffft".

 

pfffft !

Yup !

 

Cheap!! LOL These babies run $30,000 from Kevin Enders.

I maintain(ed) for Gilardi Motorsports engines for 2 years. I'm no longer associated with them. All that money being spent on motors & chassis' and other crew members were too involved with drinking while working on the car.

It's really difficult maintaining that big of a motor & a chassis at the track by yourself. I have some pics of the car from last season while I was still with them. If your interested in seeing them let me know.

 

It is definatley not an exhaust leak, i can tell that for sure. It is a metallic tapping noise. It is kind of sperautic(SP?) because it only does it when it is running from a cold start and sometimes it only does it when i floor it or downshifting (auto). I don't downshift like from third to first but from like 4th-3rd sometimes or 3rd-2nd. It reminds me of a valve hitting the piston. I had that happen on my (T-belt slipped bad) dodge stealth, so I have a pretty good idea what that sounds like. But I have no power loss. If it is the oil pump, how do i check?
Thanks for the suggestions so far!
Tony

 

Could it be a lifter or pushrod?

 

Could it be a lifter or pushrod?

 

Maybe it is valvetrain related. Maybe its a rod bearing. My first guess is like what the others think with the possibility of an exhaust leak. Could be in the valvetrain though. Use a stethoscope or length of heater hose or a long screw driver and start to listen to the engine when it is making the noise(cold start). That should get you in the area(hopefully) to find something loose or worn.

I have been using the aluminum header gaskets for a year now and have had no trouble. They provide a very good seal. I use the aluminum gaskets on the collectors too.