New ticking noise

[OrngK5]

Back again looking for answers from the guru's, I noticed a new ticking noise coming from the engine bay while idling from my 1978 K5 400 w/ T350. It started a bit rough this morning, while cranking over it sounded like a belt was loose once it finally fired up. I wasn't able to hear if the 'ticking' increased while reving the engine or not, but while driving only a few blocks to the gym, the engine seemed to 'hesitate' and the RPMs dropped from 2500 back to 2000.

It did this three times until I finally babied it into the parking lot where the "tick tick tick tick tick tick" noise was very pronounced. I want to say it seems louder on the passenger side, underneath the valve covers. It stayed constant with the engine idling, no unusual smells, no leaks, no discoloration of exhaust from the exhaust pipes. Some answers while searching were exhaust leak, loose lifter, loose rod, or distributor cap hitting. Would any of those cause the engine to hesitate at higher RPMs?

Thanks for any advice you could give, and PS, my last problem was the U-Joints.

 

[ktmoutfront]

Bent push rod, stuck lifter or loose rocker arm wil cause a dead cylinder. All header from under the valve cover.

 

[OrngK5]

Thanks for your reply, would that cause that hesitation it experienced? I'll pull the valve covers off right now, I assume any of those problems you listed would be pretty pronounced yes?

 

[ktmoutfront]

Everything but the stuck lifter. You would only see it if the engine is running. A dead hole will cause it to run rough. Not really hesitate, but it will be low on horse power.

 

[OrngK5]

I just pulled the valve cover off on the noisy side, fired it up and all of the assemblies seemed to be functioning fine. There does seem to be a higher build up of black deposits on the passenger side manifold compared to the driver side. This may have been just a fluke thing, since driving home I gave it a good run to see if I could replicate the problem but it ran fine without hesitation, just that damn ticking noise!

 

[ktmoutfront]

You can not see a few k of slop. You would need to pull the push rods and check them. If they are good, pull the intake and pull the lifters and check them.

 

[Fordum]

OK, I know this is going to sound picky. Is it a ticking noise like two pieces of metal tapping, or a snapping sound?

If its a snapping sound, and you get back online tonight, crank it up, open the hood, and turn out all the lights.
Look in the area of the sound. See any blue sparks?

A bad plug wire jumping to ground will cause those symptoms and sound like something tapping.

 

[Chevy305]

If its a snapping sound, and you get back online tonight, crank it up, open the hood, and turn out all the lights.
Look in the area of the sound. See any blue sparks?

A bad plug wire jumping to ground will cause those symptoms and sound like something tapping.

I had a cracked spark plug do the same thing... 50,000 volts does not feel good...

 

[diesel4me]

I've had a fuel pump make a ticking noise ,I thought it was a loose timing chain..the little spring on the fuel pump's rocker arm had broke and it let it clank against the push rod..glad I deceided to pull the pump off and check it by running it with it off for a minute,it saved me from putting the timing chain and gears in it I had bought,for nothing!..