Like usual when my hood is closed, all I hear is the burly exhaust. But when I pop the hood I hear a lot of "clicking" going on. I hear a good amount of "clicking" on the right side of the engine (like near the valve cover area), I hear it on left also, but its more pronounced on the right. It sounds like "teh teh teh teh teh". Then when move my ears closer to the back of the engine, near the windshield, I hear more of a Cricket type, sound. (ya know like crickets at night make that noise, during usually summer/spring). Well I'm just curious if my car/engine should be making that noise? Does everyone else have this clicking and cricket noise? Or is everyone's engine so quiet theres nothing to hear?

... Also by the way, I decided to put in some Fuel Injector Cleaner by STP (black bottle), it was 5bucks. I was thinking maybe it would get rid of clicking?? And also possibly just help the engine run better. And since I'm the type of person who wants to do something when I want to do it. I tried putting it in at night, cuz thats when I got it. I couldn't really see the nozzle, so ofcourse just like I expected the Cleaner dripped out the neck, it couldnt reach the valve either to open it. So I went to look for a d@mn funnel, that worked fine. But then my Dad said (ofcourse afterwards ) that I should have cleaned the funnel before pouring the Cleaner in, or it will put particles that were on the funnel in the tank. However I did see some particles, I tried to blow it out as best I could, it was just some dust, I got the funnel from a plastic bag so there wasn't a lot of foreign particles on it. Plus I thought the fuel line had a filter somewhere. So I had to clean the Cleaner off my car, and hands .I put the Cleaner in after I refilled the tank with Super. Note to self, next time, Pour cleaner in when there is DAYLIGHT, and use the FUNNEL. So do you think these "particles" might affect my car, or is it nothing to worry about?
Thanks.

 

My engine makes sort of a "meow" noise.. haven't figured that out yet. Your injectors may be clicking, my SVO injectors are pretty loud. As far as whatever was in your funnel..that's what a fuel filter is for. I don't know why your engine sounds like crickets, though. Normally the cricket sound comes from the front of the engine and is associated with a belt of some sort.

 

the noise you are hearing is most likely a valve tap , you might have a bad wire as well , go outside at night and look for arking , see if one of your wires is making contact with something else . if its a valve tap your going to have to pull the covers and adjust the lash . and about the "particles" you mention , i wouldnt worry about it at all , they were most likely small enough to burn out , depending on if they even make it that far .

edit : yeah i forgot you have tpi , the injectors could be making the noise as well , how loud is it ?

 

Well its good to know that those particles wont do any damage, thanks. To how loud my injectors are, I can't really describe as of loudness. But I guess the best way to say is that, you can kind of hear it when the hood is closed, but usually only if you're trying to hear it, but yeah a slight noise with it closed. When I pop the hood and its still connected to the latch, it is much louder, and then when I put the hood all the way up its louder. I guess thats more of an apparent observation being that the sound is coming from underneath the hood, but I don't know how else to explain. But what is this injecting "click"? It makes the noise when it sprays gas right? But why does it make that noise? Is it a good thing or bad? Why is it louder than other cars? Thanks. Any other possible causes of the noise? How bout that cricket noise near the back of the engine???

 

BTT

 

I think I know your problem. This customer at Wal-Mart once had the same problem, my friend ended up pulling a cat, and not the emissions kind, out from around her engine somewhere, not sure exactly where the thing was hiding not to get cooked.

 

50 views? And no one can give any information about spark plug ticking??

 

Jus one more time... BTT

 

After reading your symptoms, it sounds to me like it's the exh. manifold gasket.

The ticking or clicking noise that you're hearing is the exhaust valve.

The "teh teh teh teh teh" (did I spell that right? ) that you're hearing is air getting by.

The cricket sound you're hearing is the manifold wiggling around on the bolt that's supposed to hold it still. Since the gasket ain't there, it's got a few hundredths of an inch to move around.

When you first start up the engine (while it's cold), put your hand back there and try to feel the air rushing out. Rev it up a little more and see if it gets louder as the RPMs go up, or if you can feel it easier. It might feel more like an "in-and-out" thing due to any valve overlap.

If that's not it, then it sounds like either the valve lash is off (like mss said) or possibly a broken valve spring.

But check the things that are easiest to fix first. I can't tell you how many times I've thought the worst, and it was the little obvious thing that I overlooked.

AJ

 

Wow, that stuff sounds pretty d@mn bad. When I get a tuneup, will those mechanics be able to realize the noise and fix it? BTW, I have bad gas mileage, if that has to do with anything? (11mpg)

 

all i can hear under my hood is hissing from running the open element...when i had the stock cleaner it didnt make any noice but with the k&n open element it hisses loudly especially when i turn it one and its in warm up mode

 

The 'cricket' sound could be coming from the coil. Find a dark area at night and open the hood up (dunno if your car has an underhood light, if it does disconnect it) and see if theres a blue spark show going on under the hood. About the only thing you should be able to see is maybe a blue glow around the plugs, but no sparks jumping around to metal objects on the car.

 

Just my luck, I don't happen to have a light in the socket on the hood. So I could check out what you're saying. So what if I do see blue? That good or bad?

 

Sounds to me like a rocker arm that is misadjusted or spark arch.

 

Thanks for helping me diagnose the "meow" problem mark, I never thought it might be a cat

As far as the clicking/chirping noises: I would just check all of the exhaust manifold bolts to see if they are loose, I bet a couple in the back of the drivers side are. All cars I've seen are like that, but normally it doesn't cause trouble. I believe the injectors make a ticking noise when after they are grounded, kind of like a spark can make the same noise.

You don't want to see any blue anywhere besides the base of the spark plugs, if even there. You won't need your underhood light for this.

 

....UPDATE!!!

..Well I checked my car, as for the clicking, I'm still not sure but I'll go with the idea the fuel injectors are doing it.
..As for the cricket noise, I think it might be either the distributor or the coil. I looked on the right side of the engine, and saw a couple sparks on wire, flickers of blue, not constant, but from time to time. I was trying to check other parts of the car also, and I found other sparks! Not on the wires, but on the coil! Theres a piece that is on it that runs up and down, it faces the front of the car. Well theres a blue spark behind it. Its very constant. Its not a round spark, its more a longer spark, cuz its behind this "piece" so the light creeps behind it, I think that might be causing that cricket noise.

So what does this mean? Obviously I need new wires... Tune Up!
As for the coil, think I need a new one? Whats a good one?

...The part that I love is that I sensed my car wasn't that fast. But now after adjusting the TV cable (I finally figured out how to do it!), its real EASY to do. I did it the book way, not leo's way. And now I feel more pull coming from the car, even without downshifting. So it got a little faster. And now since I might have faulty wires and faulty coil, that shows why my car isn't running full potential, which I find is GREAT! Why? Cuz right now my car runs pretty d@mn good, and now by fixing these things, it will be even FASTER! Awesome. And this can also explain why I'm running rich! Not enough spark is sparking, must be why I get 11mpg, I definately can't wait to get tune-up. :lala: Just got to see what the best stuff is...
So far... plugs=ac delco rapid fires, wires=msd?, rotor=msd?, cap=msd?, coil (if really needed)=msd?, oil filter=ac delco?, fuel filter=ac delco?, oil=mobil1(synthetic)?

 

yeah, if you're sparking back there (from the coil,) you should probably get a new one. Before you spend any money thought, make sure the wire that goes form the coil to the distributor is on tight, and the boot is covering the entire connection. If thats ok, and the spark is coming off the coil itself, then the insulator is cracked and yes, you most definatly need a new coil..

As for which coil to buy, thats a good question. You may want to start a new thread. Myself, I'd just buy the AC delco brand, there like $20 at autozone. I have heard aftermarket coils are usually unreliable, if anyone has had good/bad experinces, please post.

 

aftermarket coils are a waste of time , you will be fine with the stock replacment . mine was 40 for my lg4