Valve ticking noise

[anadaron]

Under load starting around 1500 RPM on up you can here a ticking noise coming from under the passenger side valve cover. Curious as to what this could be and how to fix the noise.

I am running 10w 30 Valvoline Synpower and Synpower Oil additive. The rockers and valves are all stock as far as i know. Has a slightly larger than stock cam. Lifters are stock as far as i know. Car has 140k on it with 5k on a rebuild, .030 over.

Thanks for the help!

 

[mikestertwo]

Are you sure it's not an exhaust leak?

 

[anadaron]

I know i have some exhaust leaks but it appears it to be coming from the valve cover. They are so close it is hard to tell. I may try to stethscope the cover and verify. But if it is from under the valve cover what would cause it and what would be my remedies?

 

[Jerryl]

......... But if it is from under the valve cover what would cause it and what would be my remedies?

Hard to recommend a remedy untill you take the cover off and get some facts Afterall we don't need to get you overly worried by mentioning a few possibilities per your "under the valve cover" diagnosis:
Bad lifter(s)
Bend push rod
Broken shaft
excessive play / worn cam lobe
Broken valve spring
Cracked keeper

 

[anadaron]

Well monday we shall remove the valve cover and take a looksy.

 

[onefastcar]

Take a rubber hose and put it to your ear and all around the headers or turbo flanges you will hear it believe me for exhaust leaks. Good Luck

 

[anadaron]

that is an excellent idea i will do that. What siz e rubber hose to you reccomend?

 

[onefastcar]

Any size will really do it really lets ya hear whats going on.

 

[anadaron]

Ok got to diagnosising the problem. Got a stethoscope and listened everywhere. No major leaks in headers causing the noise. Fuel injectors quiet as a mouse.

The noise is coming from passenger side valvecover. It is much louder on the front two rockers closest to trubo. Took valve cover offand everything looks good. No play in the pushrods, rockers tight new valve springs from what i can tell.

So now i am lost. The ticking is audible in vehicle. Noise starts around 1200-1500 rpm and gets faster and louder the higher the RPM.

What type of problem am i looking at guys?

 

[BW Jones]

noise

just a thought ............ any chance the noise is coming from your cam sensor? if the cam sensor was not replaced at the time of the rebuild, it's not uncommon for it to be worn at 140k miles and make a considerable ticking sound.
it may be worth investigating.
bw jones

 

[GNBeswick]

I have a ticking noise to near my passenger side valve cover....though you can hear mine at idle....which leads me to think mine is exhaust related.

 

[anadaron]

I will scope the cam sensor when i get home and report if the noise emanates from there.

Anyone else have any other insight? MY friends and I have a few theories: stuck valve, bent pushrod, or wiped cam lobe? Are any of these possible with this ticking noise?

 

[chrisgarrett]

Sometimes the source of a noise can be very hard to locate. I know you said it appears to be under the front ps valve cover, but in addition to checking the cam sensor, take off the accessory belt and run the car. This will tell you if it is anything belt driven. Also, don't forget to check that the crank sensor isn't hitting the interrupter ring. In truth, it probably isn't any of these things, but I would check before you take any further action.

 

[chrisgarrett]

I will scope the cam sensor when i get home and report if the noise emanates from there.

Anyone else have any other insight? MY friends and I have a few theories: stuck valve, bent pushrod, or wiped cam lobe? Are any of these possible with this ticking noise?

All of these are possible.

 

[anadaron]

do i have to remove the cam sensor to check it and subsequently reinstall? If so how do i remove it and what am i looking for when examining it.

 

[RUQWKNF]

With regards to the Cam sensor, what happens is, the bushing gets worn with age and allows the shaft to basically bob up and down due to the slop in the bushing. Many have tried re-shimming the shaft assembly, but it will eventually wear out to the point that shimming won't cure it. The best bet, if it indeed does check out to be the Cam sensor, would be to replace the entire assembly. Especially if you intend on keeping the car, or making some serious power. Also, letting something like this go un-fixed, if it is a Cam Sensor, can and will cause damage to the gear on the camshaft over time. I like the idea of removing the belt and seeing if the noise goes away. I have had belt tensioners wear out and cause an intermittent clicking noise. That was a tough one to diagnose until I removed the belt. Alternator can make noises too. The crank sensor rubbing on the reluctor ring kinda sounds like a fast and perfectly timed with rpm shhhhk shhhhkk shhhhkk sound. LOL Diggin my redneck description? :biggrin: You will definitely be able to hear and feel a cam sensor with a stethoscope.

Patrick

 

[BlackBandit]

Under load starting around 1500 RPM on up you can here a ticking noise coming from under the passenger side valve cover.

If it only happens under load (ie: moving the car, not just free revving) and it gets louder with more gas it is probably an exhaust leak. I would think that if it's not happening at idle or while free revving then it's probably not mechanical. (not sayin' it can't be) It would be pretty easy (maybe an hour) to pull the header, check for cracks, inspect the gasket, and put it back together.Just some food for thought. HTH james

 

[anadaron]

Ok so more diagnosing. I fired it up and grab the scope and place it on the Cam sensor cap and could hear the noise loud and clear through it and of course the front passenger side rockers were making the noise. But after 45 seconds(time for oil to circulate and lubricate) the noise at the cam sensor went away completely but you can still here the noise with a scope on the front passenger side rockers.

Also there are no passenger side exhaust leaks that were noticeable.

So with that in mind what problems havei elminated and what should i check. I can rip the engine down as far as needed. I just want to know where to go from here and what to look for when going there. Thanks for the input.

 

[gczarny]

You said 5k after rebuild ? little bigger then stock cam ? poss. CAMP CAM 206/206 junk ? hope I am wrong but you probably wipped out that junk cam ! if everything esle looks good pull intake off and look at the cam ! that's what happend to me ! TWICE !

 

[onefastcar]

Check valves by turning engine by hand after ya get all the plugs out to verify the cam possibility (wiped), then i would recheck the torque on you're rockers and preload on the springs then i would go deeper and check for a possible lifter being bad, its probably something simple.