my engine is making a ticking noise, i included a video link so you can here and maybe be able to give me an idea of what it might be, i know a lot of you may have a trained ear for this type of stuff, but i dont really, and im just really worried that it could be something seriously wrong, i hope not, heres the link

http://s117.photobucket.com/albums/o...t=PICT0009.flv
im thinking it might be the lifters because it sounds like its coming from the left valve cover, if thats what it is, is that a big deal?

also im wondering about how hot the radiator hoses should be after about 15-20 mins of running

if anyone could help me out here, thatd much appreciated

 

any idea? anyone?

 

lifter tap
pull the valve covers and adjust your valves

 

i have had my far share of ticking noises and there usally not good, dose the noise fallow the rpms? dose it go away at some point? are you low on any liquid like oil or coolent or transmission?
for both of my cars i had some sort of ticking or knocking sound, first one i "through a rod" not sure about that one, and the other i blew out the main bearing both had ticking noise just like that, and both got worse when accelerating. if you think its the lifters then take off the valve cover and check them out to see if there loose. i just hope your not running into the same problem as i did good luck and keep us updated

 

yeah, it goes along with the rpms, and i just changed my oil a few days ago, 5 quarts of 5w30 penzoil, and i also recently topped off the trans fluid, but its been making this noise ever since i bought the car, ive had it for about 5 months and it hasnt gotten any worse, but it does seem to go away when im driving, but comes back when idling, sometimes i wont even hear it when i first start the car

its actually not as loud as it sounds in the video, its just annoying, and hearing it just worries me a little bit, i dont have a phone at the moment and id hate to get stranded again, that really sucks, so every little noise that doesnt sound right to me is going to raise my paranoia level a lot

the reason i thought it may be a lifter is because it sounds like its coming from directly under the passenger side valve cover

really wish i had an engine lift, i would just buy all new parts, and rebuild the whole damn thing

thanks a lot for the help, anyone have a decent tutorial on how to adjust the valves? that is something ive never done before..

 

Well most people just say "adjust the lifters/valves" but what they're probably referring to is the valve lash, which is the torque, if you will, of the rocker arm against the pushrod. To do this, pop off the valve cover, unthread the stud that holds the rocker arm on to insure that you do it properly, rethread the stud back on and keep tightening until you feel the slightest resistance from the pushrod, then turn the stud 1/2-3/4's of a turn more to get the correct lash.

Be very careful as to not over-tighten the stud, and if you don't tighten it enough, well, you already know what happens in that situation, you're experiencing it now.

Hope this helps.

 

spot on thats exatcly what i was going to write. its really that simple, hope thats your problem good luck

 

ok so i did the rocker arm lash adjustment, following this tutorial http://www.pontiacstreetperformance....p/rockers.html

of course i did read up on tons of **** to understand how the whole thing works

now my problem is, after i did the whole adjustment, some of the rocker arms are loose, not loose enough to back off the pushrod, but enough to wiggle with my fingers

did i do something wrong here? or is supposed to be that way?

thanks

-steve

 

sorry for the bump, but i really want to get this car put back together

 

Is the motor old? Does it have alot of miles on it. It is possible that the lifter's could be worn concave (the foot of the lifter has a dimple in the bottom) or the lobes of the cam could be worn, so that the lash is not adjustable via the procedure used on new applications.

If I were you I'd just adjust them according to how they feel, until enough tension is felt on them, but be very careful.

 

thanks for the reply, well its got 92,000 miles on it, and i can tell its been rebuilt, so for all i know it might have a newish cam and lifters and all that good stuff, all the rockers were tight to begin with, except for the one that was clicking(that noise was a loose rocker arm btw), but i figured i would adjust them all, so i did, i loosened them all up, then did the adjustment starting at tdc on #1 cyl, tightened the rockers the guide told me to, then i turned the engine 360degs and tightened the remaining, at this point they were all tight, half of them i could still turn the pushrod with my fingers, but i couldnt move the rocker, i figured that was right, then i gave the engine a few turns, now a lot of the arms are loose, not too loose, but i can wiggle some of them with my fingers, and some i cant move at all

i thought about giving them all another 1/4 turn, i gave them all a half turn to begin with

ive never done this before, and dont know too much about working deep in an engine, so i kind of have a feeling im gonna end up having to buy a new damn engine because of this, lol, that would suck

would it be too much of a hassle to remove the intake and get a good look?

*edit* i turned the engine some more and now the others are loose, but the ones that were loose are tight, so they are all at the same adjustment, so im thinking im just gonna give them all another quarter turn