i know this might not be the right place for this but oh well.... just the other day i started my car up after letting it sit for a few months, and i noticed there is a ticking sound comming from the passangers side valve cover. at first i figured it was a rocker arm ticking against the cover, however i removed the valve cover and all rocker arms were tight. all valve springs appeared to be in tact. where else could i look. you can feel the ticking coming from the back of the valve cover. very fast paced. only heard when hood is open. HELP ME PLEAAASE!!!!

 

Do the sound get faster as the engine gets faster? If so you might want to check out the smog pump (if your car has one) My car is doing the same thing and thats whats wrong with it.

 

does that go from the valve cover to the intake (i have a old jasper 350).

 

How long did you let it run for?

My car sat for several months w/o being started and the lifters where really noisy untill they finally pumped up with oil.

 

i ran it for a while, probably a good 15-20 minutes. when i rev up its hard to tell if the ticking speeds up. im going to have to go mess around with it and see.

 

lifter tap?

 

That was definatly long enough for oil to reach the lifters. What pitch does the sound have? Is it deep, or is it a higher pitched metallic sound? Might not be a bad idea to adjust the lash. If the engine is old then it probably could use it. The best method is to adjust the lash with the engine running.

 

Fuel injectors batch fireing....

 

it is a high pitch tick. i played around today and i couldnt really tell if it gets any faster. it dosent get any louder when the rpms get higher because it gets muffled by everything else. as far as a faster pace. im not sure yet. im starting to think its comming from the hose that comes out of the valve cover and goes to the intake-behind the carb. (sorry i have no idea what that is?)

 

PCV Valve???

 

My car makes a very similar noise, a kinda click, that i have narrowed to an exhaust leak. My understanding is that as the manifolds heat up they flex or warp and the clicking stops, try driving it for 20 minutes and see if you can get those manifolds hot.

 

yeaaa ill drive it next month, BUFFALO SUCKS!! it could be possible that everything loosened up. the car sat for about 5 years before i bought it. im pulling everything when i get back from florida in april to paint the engine compartment, my exhaust, headers etc. hopefully new heads, or shave, port and polish my heads. if it is a exhaust leak, would i still be able to feel the tick on the valve cover?

 

yeah i can feel it on my cover too. I thought it was a rocker or lifter at first but the engine is not even a year old. I dont think any manifold gaskets were used.

 

it was the pcv valve, i replaced that and gasket tahts in the valve cover and now im good to go! thanks guys