General Maintenance & Repairs - strange tick noise need help please.

Hey guys let me say thanks in advance for any helpful feed back as right now im about to pull my hair out over this issue. Alot of people say our valve train is noisy and this I know for sure but ever since Ive had the transmission rebuilt and put headers on Ive been hearing a ticking noise and it gets louder as engine gets warmer. Ive had it at a performance shop where he plugged in his computer and let it run and played with the throttle looking for issues but all he noticed was a slight misfire and it was rare and nothing to be alarmed of he said it only happened once and he was playing with it for about 15 min besides that the passenger side seems to be running a slight bit leaner than driver which again he said was normal for a car with as many miles. He believed the sound to be an exhaust leak and not bent pushrod or spun bearing since I have no power loss. It's a 2001 z28 camaro with 140k miles and full exhaust thats lt headers and y-pipe and cat back and the transmission was rebuilt by aamco about 8 - 9 months ago. Im going to post a vid from YouTube as soon as I figure out how.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x6JMWKok9k0&feature=youtube_gdata_player

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g1ZrSU-SX6w&feature=youtube_gdata_player

Cant play your videos - they come up as private.

Is it an exhaust leak?

I think it is and Idk how to take it off private do u know how?

Ok Nvm I got it off private im doing all this on a smart phone since my computer is down.

it mite be a exhaust gasket leak or a bad trunnion bearing.how many miles on the engine ?

Theres near 140k on the engine but this noise never started till I changed the headers and rebuilt tranny. Whats a trunnion bearing? There is a popping noise at higher rpm.

a trunnion bearing is in the rocker arm.comp cam has a trunnion bearing upgrade for gm ls rockers.the needle bearings come out of the rocker and end up in the oil pan.the popping noise mite be the rear gears.

Ok and when u say rear gears u are referring to the bearings or the rear axle? Sorry im not very tech savvy when it comes to the lingo would I notice any kind of power loss with that trunnion bearing issue? I just took a video driving of the popping sound Idk if it would help any but if u think it might I can post it here and thanks for all the quick replies.

It sounds to me like the passenger side exhaust manifold gasket not sealing properly since your last header install.

Could also be an exhaust valve is not closing properly due to carbon buildup. Would not hurt to run a can of seafoam in the gas tank next time you fill it up.

I do not think it is a RR bearing, it is spot on the money with only one piston timing event and the last thing that was done before it became audible was exhaust based.

2nd video is fine. 1st video, filming that close to the pan is going to make a ton of noice for the camera micraphone. One of your plug wires looks like it is about to fall off in the first video.

@Flattusmaximus78 yeah I noticed that as well when I watched the video and since then pushed the cable back onto the spark plug. Really hard to get to.

@ss10tech I actually just did the seafoam treatment and ran it through the vacuum line and let it sit for a while and poured the rest of the can into the gas tank so if thats the issue hopefully the seafoam will help I just did it the day before I posted this video. Hopefully on my days off I can get it on a lift and check it out.

Thanks

Ok so Ive had it to two different shops who both used a stethoscope and said they didnt hear any abnormality in the valve covers or head. Both beleive I may have pinched the header gasket and caused it to leak. I have the carbon header gasket set from ws6 store didnt think I could pinch those but I may have. Well guess I'll just live with the noise and see if my bro in law at Chevy can get me a good deal on work like that.

ok guys so Ive come to the conclusion that it is a exhaust leak but it sounds kinda like its coming from the air system that bolts up to the headers i used liqiud gasket sealer since I didnt have access to those lil gaskets in my home town im going to buy the roll of black gasket material and cut my own and use that see if it helps. also the locking header bolts i put on there are basicly a stud you screw into the head then place the gasket over it and then the header and u take a nut with a locking washer and tighten it down on the stud and one of them seems to be kinda free spinning and isnt getting any tighter its tight but no where near as tight as the others. think that will be my next try if this gasket material doesnt help.

ok guys so Ive come to the conclusion that it is a exhaust leak but it sounds kinda like its coming from the air system that bolts up to the headers i used liqiud gasket sealer since I didnt have access to those lil gaskets in my home town im going to buy the roll of black gasket material and cut my own and use that see if it helps. also the locking header bolts i put on there are basicly a stud you screw into the head then place the gasket over it and then the header and u take a nut with a locking washer and tighten it down on the stud and one of them seems to be kinda free spinning and isnt getting any tighter its tight but no where near as tight as the others. think that will be my next try if this gasket material doesnt help.

Is it one of the header studs that won't tighten up, or is it the bolt that goes on the stud that won't tighten up? If it's the stud, you may have stripped the hole, which could be causing an exhaust leak because the flange isn't pulling tight enough against the head.

Also, it's not uncommon for cars with the air system and long tubes to have a ticking noise. You might try making small block-off plates for the air system - you can get thin sheets of aluminum or steel at Lowes and use that. If the ticking noise goes away with the air system removed, you can either leave it off for good, or if you're in a state that does a visual check for emissions, you might just be stuck with the noise.