My 91 T/A with a 305 TPI engine keeps making a ticking sound when idling. I'm leaning towards injectors since it doesn't stop even after the car warms up (ticking valves stop after the thing warms up right?). I made a video of it:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HDXWFuO0Rms
It idles fine (with light shaking) and starts up immediately, regardless if it was sitting for 7 days or 7 seconds. Oil pressure climbs up to about 40-50 psi almost instantly (takes about 1 or 2 seconds right after startup if the car has been sitting for a bit)
and here's part 2 of the vid i made:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k5igrxZPW6c

 

I have always chalked my ticking sound to the injectors. I would just start by taking a stethoscope and trying to find the source.

 

the people on youtube are the morons. injectors do click. i know because i've done injector tests with the engine off. if it isn't lifters or valve adjustment i wouldn't worry

 

Injectors click when there is a charge applied to them. The clicking sound is the tiny little valve opening. BUT, the tick could be from something else aswell. Get some surgical tubing 1/4 of inch (hardware store, about 10-25 cents a foot) , not the water hose because its to big in diameter. You want to put one end in your ear and the other end, put onto the suspected locations. Once you hear to intense clicking, BANG, youve found the source. Good luck bro.

 

or a if you have a 4 way around the garage the socket end touching the source and the other socket end touching your ear works great and is free .

btw i have the same injectors on mine i do beleive and they are especially noisy. no worries though as stated above.

 

Never thought of that one. You'de have to be pretty close to the source though right? How does it feel to get a blast of radiator heat? J-K.. You can use a couple socket extentions. But Id go for the tubing because if the engine is too noisy, you can have someone do the tube touching while you sit in the Camaro to isolate any foriegn noises. Much easier that way to hear what you are looking for IMO.

 

How loud is it? Does the sound change when putting the car in different gears (D,N,R,1,2,3)? If it dies it can be a flexplate, thats a pretty common problem on these cars.

I have a cracked flexplate that makes a ticking sound. I thought it was an exhaust leak, but its not.

 

Most likely it's just the injectors doing their job. There is a chance that it is the valvetrain, but that would sound louder than injector ticking.

 

Alright... I just went out to check on the car again and I'm almost completely certain that it's the injectors. I even stuck my ear right by the valve covers/injectors and it seems to be coming straight from the injectors. I put my finger on each of the injectors I was able to reach without burning myself and I was able to feel them opening/closing and they felt as if they were matching the clicking noise. I tried the flexplate diagnosis that camaro1185 mentioned but that doesn't seem to be it. The clicking slows down a bit when I put the car in gear but that's most likely because the engine rpms drop as well.

 

Putting your ear next to the source wont cut it buddy. Get a small tube, put it in your ear and the other end on the culprit. Then you'll know exactly where the issue is at. But if you insist that you've located the problem by touch, then have at it. Keep it mind that metal is a good conductor of sound, especially an impact that causes vibrations." Keep in mind, there is a lot going on inside the engine that causes knocks, pings, and vibrations. But its your car. Im just trying to help you out bro.

 

I have the same on my 92 its the injectors if you know how to listen to the firing order you will notice the sound bounces all over from one to the other its not just from one place.... mone are loud lol

 

musclecar70sfan can you hear the ticking noise whilst sitting in the drivers seat? i have the same thing on my car, its stating to anoy the heck out of me!

 

Sorry to hear that!
But nah I can't hear it inside my car.

 

Actually, your a bit incorrect buddy. If you got a TPI system, then the injectors dont fire in order. We TPI guys have batch fire. Need proof? Look at the wiring diagram for your specific vehicle. If the leftside of the engines injectors have the wires connected as one whole bunch or branch off of one pair of wires, then there you go. They dont fire individualy by firing order. They fire by batch as left, right, left, right and you get the point.

 

I just got the Bosch 3 injectors and I had the same clicking sound after installation. It was much louder than before. I thought I was getting valve tapping when I had no noise before. Put a screwdriver to ear and valve cover, nothing much. Put driver to fuel rail and click click click loud. So after looking at posts I guess these new injectors just make aot of noise. Oh well. Glad I found this so I know I am not the only one. So I guess its normal.

 

Yup. Its the injectors. I have Bosch III's. In my wifes Expedition, the injectors have the same body style as the Bosch III's, only they are grey. Get this, they click too. So its common for the Bosch III's to tick.

 

Does the ticking sound tick faster ,the faster you accelerate? Sure it's not your header gaskets or an exhaust manifold leak?

 

Like I said, my Bosch III's and the Expedition have the same style injectors, and they click.