I think I know what they are but I'm definatly no expert so I wanted to know what you guys think. Lets start with the one I'm least worried about. I think its just an exaust leak from around what I think is the EGR valve. So I don't feel stupid anymore exactly where is the EGR, I know what it is and think I know where it is but I"m not sure. Anyway that noise is coming from the passengers side around the exhaust manifold area. I've had that noise ever since I had the car and I've put 67k miles on it. The other one just started last week. Its coming from inside the drivers side valve cover. There is a light ticking but only when its cold and it goes away when it warms up. I don't know if its a lifter ticking or what but I'm 90% sure that its coming from inside the vavle cover somewhere down there. It doesn't worry me a whole lot b/c my friend has a car that's had a lifter tick for over a year and it runs just fine and mine isn't even as loud as theirs, but I have another friend who's truck developed one and the oil pump went out. Should I worry about this or not. The car is getting a lot of miles on it and at the rate I'm going it'll have 200k in less than a year.

 

You COULD have a cracked exhaust manifold. Mine was.
Caused by poor tranny mount.
Ticking?
BFD
Going onto 200K miles....
Smile every time the car drives away.
You've saved money.
Drive it until it dies!
Start saving for a 3.4 or for rebuilding every foundation set up under the hood (fuel, ignition, etc).
You're winning every day it runs ok.
The EGR is the UFO thing passenger side, front engine.

 

The ticking under the valve cover is probably a lifter that is bleeding down. The lifters are hydraulic and the oil pressure from the pump , pumps pressure into the lifters . The lifters normally hold the pressure even after the engine is off . It sounds like one of your lifters is bleeding down and when you start the car again the oil pressure pumps it back up.

The friend whos oil pump went up .

The pump was dying which caused the lifters to lose pressure.

Hope this helps

 

geez , I hope Im not starting anything again when I bring this up heh But , it could be a ticking fuel injector , they tick when they are cold .I know you said it is coming from the valve cover .But before I found out it was an injector , I could have sworn it was coming from the valve cover , I got out there several times with my stethascope , put it on there no tick ! I just could not figure it out . Then I put my stethascope thru one of the gaps in teh plenum , right on top of an injector , TICK TICK TICK TICK . But you swear is coming from the valve cover but its not ( I did anyway) .Yours really could be coming from the valve cover .

 

Good point
Very possible

HMMM . When did they go to MPFI ? was it 85

 

Yep, '85. In fact, in '85, they called the 2.8 Engine Code "S" MPFI motor the "High Output 2.8", just because of the more aggressive camshaft and the fuel injection. In '86, the "High Output" designation was dropped from the 2.8 code "S".

(82-84 2.8's were engine code "1")

And I think 3.1's are engine code "T"?

Jason86, you could also check the exhaust manifold bolts for tightness, and make sure they're all there. I found out that I had a snapped one on my motor; I guess the previous owner tried taking it off? Luckily the bolt stud came out of the head with some liquid wrench and a "medium" pull on my ViseGrips.