Help, Another "ticking noise" thread

[84ttype]

Ok so I was driving the buick the other day, was running good until it died... the alternator bolts loosened on me to the point where the belt wasnt spinning the alt. anymore. luckily it was a cool day so i wasnt overheating. had my friend come out and give me a jump after i fixed the belt, when it fired I reved it so it wouldnt stumble and die again and thats when the ticking started.

here's the symptoms: idle is worse now, almost like a vacuum leak but its still pulling the same amount of vacuum as before. the ticking noise (obviously) its hard to tell where its coming from but its definately close to the block and its more noticable from underneath the car, when i was limping it home i noticed while holding the RPMs steady the ticking would occasionally speed up and then slow back down, also once I got above about 3k it would disapear. and finally when I hit the starter now it kind of rocks forward like its not in park all the way.

car specs are in my sig.

I'm already planning on checking the convertor bolts and pulling valve covers to see if the rockers are all working correctly. any other suggestions on what I should be checking though?

 

[badblknboostd]

id say torque convertor came apart

 

[84ttype]

Is there any way I can confirm this without pulling the convertor?

 

[84ttype]

update. I put a new battery in the car and the bad idle and rocking forward when starting have gone away. I dont know if it was related or not, I have also uploaded a video of the ticking noise.

2011-04-20_15-18-54_816.mp4 video by dan2071 - Photobucket

 

[chrisgarrett]

Just a couple of thoughts:

1. Remove the serpentine belt and see if it goes away. That way you can determine if it is anything belt driven.

2. Check you crank sensor. Maybe it's hitting the reluctor wheel.

3. Get a stethescope or long screw driver and put it on the engine and see if you can track down the noise.

4. Get a long rubber hose and listen all around your driver's side header, especially near #3 and #5 for the ticking noise.

 

[DaySleeper]

My best guess is a flywheel bolt backing out...easy to check and fix.

 

[st1nger]

jumping could be bad volt reg in alternator which could also cause tick have alt checked cost nothing remove belt like suggested stethoscope works pretty good just a thought

 

[84ttype]

checked the torque convertor bolts, they're all tight. removed belts and started the car, ticking is still there. I was on youtube today looking through "ticking noise" videos and i actually found a video of a car that had ticking nearly identical to mine! more importantly it turned out he had a small crack in his header. so this weekend Ill be taking a close look at my headers...

 

[chrisgarrett]

When the car is running, you won't be able to get very close to them. You can either remove them and look them over very carefully, or you can use the rubber hose to listen.

 

[terry richards]

ticking noise

To find exh leak, charge exh pipe with blowervac,if you have duals put a heave ruber glove with a hose clamp on one pipe.Will pressureize exh to heads. spray bottle with soap just like cheaking a tire.

 

[84ttype]

Another update, I pulled the Left header off and took a close look at everything, no cracks or visible damage. changed the gasket and re-torqued all the bolts on both headers and the crossover pipe. that didnt change anything, figured if it was an exhaust leak that would have atleast changed the pitch or tone of the ticking.

So then, I went and bought a stethoscope, i can hear the noise through all three tubes on the left header its the loudest in the #3 tube. I can also hear it faintly through the valve cover. I DONT hear anything through the transmission case or anywhere on the right side of the motor however.

also the bad idle is back, it was idling smooth at first so I revved the motor a couple times and then the ticking got louder and it started stumbling... so bad lifter?

Ill try the blowervac and rubber glove trick tommorow just to double check but its not looking good right now.

 

[chrisgarrett]

Since you have ticking and idle problems, I wondering about the fuel injectors.

 

[84ttype]

I didnt think about that, Ill check those too tommorow while im at it.

 

[84ttype]

I checked the injectors, i can hear the clicking through the #1 injector and very faintly in the #3 nothing in #5 or the right side, idk but I think the the clicking is way too loud to be an injector. Oil pressure is good by the way. I was watching the Boost/vacuum gauge too and the vacuum gauge actually jumps with the tick. It only moves 1 or 2 inches of vacuum but its definately in sync with the ticking.

Also I let the car warm up and the ticking actually went away for a little bit once the car was warm. I revved the engine and it came right back though. I read somewhere about lifter bleed out when the motor doesnt crank all the way (I.E. dead battery) but how long does it take to get the air out of the lifter?? The day I jumped it I had to drive it about 20 miles back to my house and since then I've had it idling for about a half hour in the garage while I was tracing the noise.

I have a powerlogger file now if anyones interested in looking at it let me know and I'll email it.

 

[chrisgarrett]

I'm assuming you have the stock, non-adjustable rockers. I would at least remove the valve cover and check the rockers and make sure they look like they are functioning normally.

 

[84ttype]

they're not..... Sorry guys the weather went to hell and I kinda lost motivation to go outside this past week.

Anyway update again, fired the car up with the valve cover off and (sorry I dont know my intakes from my exhausts) starting with the rocker at the front of the engine(drivers side), the third one back is not traveling nearly as far as the rest of the rockers, I double checked with the stethoscope and the noise is definately coming from that rocker... also the first rocker has a way deeper sounding click that almost matches up with the original ticking noise. none of the other four rockers have the same ticking noise as these two rockers. so now do I have to pull the intake off?

What should I be looking for at this point? I've never gotten into the block or heads of an engine before...

And thanks for all the help by the way.

 

[chrisgarrett]

Remove the rocker and see if the pushrod is bent by rolling it on a flat surface. If the pushrod seems okay, I would suspect a wiped lope on the camshaft.

 

[JimG]

im no pro, but the fact that the third rocker is moving less is usually indicative of a wiped, or soon to be wiped cam shaft.
I am sure someone with much more knowledge will chime in and either confirm or denounce this.
thanks
Jim

 

[84ttype]

pushrods not bent...

 

[84ttype]

does this lobe looked wiped to you? That dark spot on the bottom is not dirt, its a flat spot.

Heres the lifter, the first shot its on a flat surface! Also the motor has less than 5k miles on it the other lifters are flat and look brand new still and while the others were nice and oily and slid right out of the block this one was way dry and I had to use a pair of vice grips to get it out.