Hello and greetings from Finland!

In short : I replaced the intake manifold gaskets on my -88 305 LO3 TBI Camaro and now engine makes a strange ticking noise when running.

I removed the intake manifold in November 2014 to change the gaskets. My Camaro was eating coolant so the gaskets were #1 suspect for the problem since no visible leaks were found (e.g. water pump, heater core hoses...)

Last weekend I re-assembled the manifold with new gaskets and also changed the TBI gasket since the unit was removed. Parts were off the car for 3 months. I changed motor oil before cranking, only to notice that engine was full of gasoline, probably from the fuel lines that were open on top of lifter valley...

First start was difficult, I had to crank for a long time. Little pumping on the gas pedal helped and Camaro finally started. I idled the engine long enough to get the thermostat to open since I swapped that, too. Engine had this new, irritating ticking noise. Motor was however running fine, revved easily and ran smoothly.

Here is a small video of my engine running, hopefully it helps to identify the noise : http://aijaa.com/bh6OXp (link directs to a Finnish image hosting site)

I suspected that my injectors had taken some damage since the ticking noise was significantly lower with air filter case on. First the noise sounded like it was coming from valve cover but with the air cleaner off it sounded more like injectors. There was no such sound before gasket swap.

I searched this problem for a while and some suggestions on this forum were that I could have a bent pushrod or my AC compressor is failing... Do you have any suggestions what could be causing my problem?

Br.
Johnny from Finland

 

Injectors? Lifters stuck? Anyone had similar problems?

 

I will be working with my Camaro next weekend, trying to change the oil for a better quality one in case I have some gunk in lifters from gasoline bath...

Crossed my mind that timing might be off since I pulled the distributor and installed it back by my markings. It could cause such ticking, right?

 

I have not seen the video but this could be the hydraulic lifters not being full of oil?

 

Noise was gone after couple of weeks of car standing still. My best guess is stuck lifters / lifters not being full of oil. Everything works smoothly now, time to hit the road!