Valves tick after valve adjustment

[Integgy95]

I just did a valve adjustment at home and used all the proper tools needed to get them properly adjusted and now my car is ticking underneath the valve cover. I adjusted the intake valves to .004 inches and the exhaust valves to .007 inches, as instructed in my repair manual. Why is it making this sound? If you have any ideas, please send them my way.

I had a rough idle, so i was told that this could be an issue, come to find out when i took it off, one of my rocker arms had fallen off one of the exhaust valves. Ever since that's been put back in it's place, it's ran stronger, but it has that awful ticking sound.

 

[Nick_C78]

How did you tighten it? Did you make sure each was at TDC perfectly? Also how did you double check your work? Usually you should try fitting one size up and seeing if it fits, it shouldn't.

 

[Muckman]

If you had a rocker arm off of the exhaust valve then I would suspect that would indicate a more severe event had occurred such as an over rev and/or bent valve. Do a compression test and lets find out if the valves are holding compression in all cylinders.

 

[dc2GS-R]

If you had a rocker arm off of the exhaust valve then I would suspect that would indicate a more severe event had occurred such as an over rev and/or bent valve. Do a compression test and lets find out if the valves are holding compression in all cylinders.

That's exactly what I was thinking. Rocker arms typically don't just fall off. You may have an issue with that valve.

 

[Integgy95]

I found out that the valve had been off since i got the car roughly 10k miles ago. It had always idled like shit since i've owned it. I popped it back on by compressing the retainer down and sliding it over. Runs like a top now. Also, they had the valves tightened down to .002 intake and .004 exhaust. I got a compression test done and everything runs fine. The tick was because the person who took the valve cover off last tightened down the nuts so tight, it stripped the nuts, so i bought new OEM ones and retightened with my torque wrench to specs. It sounds great. Thank you all for your inputs though. It really helped in making the job easier.

 

[zack11122]

The nut made it tick..?

 

[Integgy95]

Also, I did the valve adjustment with a typical mini flat head screwdriver and a 12mm wrench and used my torque wrench to tighten to specs after tightening the bolts after the adjustment. As for the testing for TDC, I used a piece of sheet metal and cut it to roughly 110mm and marked where 89mm was at and made sure it came up to that line.

 

[Integgy95]

The nuts weren't sealing the valve cover, so you could hear all the commotion underneath going.

 

[Nick_C78]

Did you check the valve specs after your torqued it? It can move. Also, to put it at TDC you should have done it by the cam gears. A lot easier and more accurate. Especially since you are going off the cams/valves.

 

[Muckman]

I found out that the valve had been off since i got the car roughly 10k miles ago. It had always idled like s*** since i've owned it. I popped it back on by compressing the retainer down and sliding it over. Runs like a top now.

I don't understand this. How is the valve off? And you don't attribute the valve train noise to this at all? You think the sound was escaping via a loose valve cover?

 

[Integgy95]

i meant the rocker arm was off the valve muckman. it's been a long day today. I checked everything before and after torqueing to assure it stayed accurate. i turned the engine over by the crank instead of by the power steering pump like everybody shows.