Infamous Ticking relative to RPM?!
12-02-2008, 10:53 PM
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Infamous Ticking relative to RPM?! After my cam swap, the engine of course was a little louder but nothing bad, just all normal. I recently switched to synthetic oil and noticed that driving down the freeway, every so often, i will get this loud ticking noise, slows down when i let off the gas. Could this be a big problem or just from the oil?
It is cheap, chevron synthetic or something. should i switch to a different oil or am i lookin at bigger problems? any help, thanks.
It is cheap, chevron synthetic or something. should i switch to a different oil or am i lookin at bigger problems? any help, thanks.
12-03-2008, 01:10 PM
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maybe you have an exhaust leak...recheck all your egr block offs, header gaskets, welds etc.
i swore i had a ticking coming from my valvetrain, pulled it apart, put it back together and it turned out i had a very small exhaust leak.
i swore i had a ticking coming from my valvetrain, pulled it apart, put it back together and it turned out i had a very small exhaust leak.
12-03-2008, 05:52 PM
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ill have to check over the exhaust, still have all the egr and air hooked up so no block off plates. but guess it could be from manifolds. and no on the 2500 rpm, still around. thats about the rpm my a4 cruises at on the freeway.
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12-03-2008, 06:33 PM
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ive been chasing a tick for the past year it hasnt gotten any louder but it hasnt quieted down any, the way i see it ive changed everything in the top end and new lifters and i still have the ticking and its been almost 10k miles and its still running strong. i figured im tired of changing parts and still get the same results so ill just run it till it goes bang and then buy a new short block.
Last edited by hokie00 TA; 12-03-2008 at 07:53 PM.
12-03-2008, 08:57 PM
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ive been chasing a tick for the past year it hasnt gotten any louder but it hasnt quieted down any, the way i see it ive changed everything in the top end and new lifters and i still have the ticking and its been almost 10k miles and its still running strong. i figured im tired of changing parts and still get the same results so ill just run it till it goes bang and then buy a new short block.
12-04-2008, 02:14 AM
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I had the same problem. I took the valve train apart in the passenger side where the noise was coming from and checked my push rods a couple where slightly bent so I replace them with some straight ones I had laying around from my previous cammed firebird. One was more bent than the others, but nothing noticeable to the eye (rolled them on a glass top).I tighten everything up and did my oil change. I also switch from mobil 15w-50 one to Valvoline VR-1 20w-50. It could have been the pushrod or the oil change. I don't know but the ticking is gone so far so I'm happy. Sorry I couldn't be more specific.
12-04-2008, 03:21 PM
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smallest gap in your gaskets etc can cause that. i wouldnt worry about it unless you start feeling a lose of power
if you really feeling like digging into it, remove the rocker arms, remove the push rods and roll them on a glass table to see if theres any irregularities in them.
honestly, i would just leave it alone.
if you really feeling like digging into it, remove the rocker arms, remove the push rods and roll them on a glass table to see if theres any irregularities in them.
honestly, i would just leave it alone.
12-04-2008, 08:09 PM
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smallest gap in your gaskets etc can cause that. i wouldnt worry about it unless you start feeling a lose of power
if you really feeling like digging into it, remove the rocker arms, remove the push rods and roll them on a glass table to see if theres any irregularities in them.
honestly, i would just leave it alone.
if you really feeling like digging into it, remove the rocker arms, remove the push rods and roll them on a glass table to see if theres any irregularities in them.
honestly, i would just leave it alone.
12-04-2008, 10:15 PM
#16
If the ticking is intermittent, then there's a possibility of a collapsing lifter. Before it comes to pulling the heads, I'd do this.
First I would measure pushrods to determine proper pushrod length. Changing cams means that Cam A may not be the same size as Cam B. Switch to hardened pushrods, doubtful stockers can handle the forces that higher spring rates bring to the table. I'd use the GM method for tightening down rockers. You want to make sure that the torque is applied when there is no tension to the rocker. I usually opt for torquing down the rocker arm next to the one that is being compressed.
Once you've done all that and it still ticks and you've gone to a thicker oil as well, then change lifters. My intermittent tick was solved by the above after my cam swap. I also have dual springs which wreak havoc on stock lifters.
First I would measure pushrods to determine proper pushrod length. Changing cams means that Cam A may not be the same size as Cam B. Switch to hardened pushrods, doubtful stockers can handle the forces that higher spring rates bring to the table. I'd use the GM method for tightening down rockers. You want to make sure that the torque is applied when there is no tension to the rocker. I usually opt for torquing down the rocker arm next to the one that is being compressed.
Once you've done all that and it still ticks and you've gone to a thicker oil as well, then change lifters. My intermittent tick was solved by the above after my cam swap. I also have dual springs which wreak havoc on stock lifters.
12-05-2008, 01:03 PM
#18
If they sold you the cam and pushrods as a set, I'm sure they sent the right ones. Worst case scenario the base circles on the cam lobes are a little smaller, requiring slightly longer pushrods, but not enough to go out and resize. The preload in the lifters changed a bit instead, you now have less preload. Which is a bit noiser, but you can make a bit more power when running minimal preload.
12-05-2008, 10:20 PM
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question i just found a deal on a vette and the guy at the dealership just wants to give it to me for like 9k and not worry about the problem i was wonderin what a bent pushrod sounds like this car has like 105k on it but something def sounds broken in the top end not real loud but def noticable i didnt know if there were any comon problems in the valve train any help would be appreciated to thanks