ticking sound. may have found problem..

[ewoo]

hey everybody,

for awhile now i've been having a problem with an engine tick. its not injector tick, btw. a few weeks after i got my car, i mis-shifted from the top of 3rd to second, and didnt catch it in time. i dont remember if the tick was there before i misshifted.

now... i immediately assumed that it was a bent valve. but many tuner shops around here were saying that it wouldve dropped already, and that it wouldnt be running right at all. after changing my spark plugs, wires, dizzy cap, and rotor, the car ran like a champ. ran perfect. still ticked.

so, on top of that, i used seafoam (i know about the effects of seafoam and stuff, no worries) and noticed that smoke was pouring out the exhaust manifold. this led me to think that the ticking is just an exhaust leak (which was what a reputable shop around here said).

given this info, would you all assume that the tick is just my header? thanks for any and all input everybody!

 

[MrGurley]

sounds like that could be the problem. i just may have a stock manifold laying around for you to bolt up and test if you'd like. lmk and ill see if i still have that manifold.

Daniel

 

[TRoss]

its a tick, right? like, not rod knock?

 

[ewoo]

yeah, its a tick. i've heard rod knock and such but this is definitely a tick. a shop around here said that it doesnt seem like its a bent valve.. if i spun a bearing the car woulda already taken a shit... etc etc. i'm thinking it is just the header. the only reason why i'm second guessing myself is because i DID mis-shift..

 

[Winki]

yeah, its a tick. i've heard rod knock and such but this is definitely a tick. a shop around here said that it doesnt seem like its a bent valve.. if i spun a bearing the car woulda already taken a shit... etc etc. i'm thinking it is just the header. the only reason why i'm second guessing myself is because i DID mis-shift..

check your timeing and do a valve adustment. may be your LMA or some random rocker

 

[ewoo]

valve adjustment done.. nothing was wrong in the head. but i havent pulled the valves or anything yet. compression test done, results were fine. its one tick, so i'm still assuming its an exhaust manifold leak.

i'm just trying to diagnose the cheap way.. money's tight, especially in between jobs.

 

[Winki]

well just dont drive it hard. may be a little piston slap but i think its something in the valvetrain. i cant think of what an exhaust tick sounds like.
is there any change in the tick if you pulll a spark plug wire, while at idle

 

[ewoo]

nah. the thing that gets me is that pretty much ALL reputable shops around here, one shop i have close associations with, dont think its valve tick or anything. one even suggested a header leak right off the bat. i KNOW that i should get it checked out and everything, but as i mentioned, being in between jobs sucks. and this is my dd.

this tick is driving me nuts. btw, the car runs like a champ, i just have no idea. i'm just hoping that the seafoam smoke coming out the header area was the problem i was looking for...

 

[ewoo]

oh yeah, thanks winki.

 

[tunerauti]

im assuming the same thing on my car... the only diff is i got rear ended when i was shifting gears and threw my car into WTF mode... HEHE