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So I have an annoying ticking sound...SOLVED

Craig Artzner

Craig Artzner

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***PROBLEM SOLVED*** 1/15/07

Ok. I have this annoying ticking sound when my Blazer is cold. It seems to get quieter once the truck warms up and it does NOT get louder when the rpms go up. I'm sure that it's not an exhaust leak. I'm thinking it's a sticky lifter. Even at it's loudest it's not THAT loud but it's just enough to be annoying.

I put some Justice Brothers Oil Treatment in with the oil and have driven it about an hour and a half or so. Noise is still there. How long should it take that stuff to work (if it does work)?

Also, has anyone ever used "Seafoam". I heard good stuff about it, too...
 
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What you're describing REALLY sounds like an exhaust leak. Every time I've had a tick that goes away once the motor warms up, it's been exhaust-related.

How long does the tick last during warm up? Are we talking 10 seconds or more than a couple of minutes?
 
Yep.

Start with the easy stuff first.

Exhaust leaks.

Then check your rocker arm adjustment.

Worst case it could be a piston wrist pin but most likely one of the 1st two.
 
Well I already replaced the header gaskets with a good Fel-Pro performance gasket, but the sound didn't go away.

Then I thought maybe it was the collectors so I got underneath while the engine was running and smothered both sides (one at a time) with an old beach towel hoping to muffle the sound, but that didn't seem to do much at all. Maybe I should just replace them anyway.

I coudn't see any holes in the headers and the rest of the exhaust piping is stainless and is in excellent shape. The headers are Hooker headers that were put on in 1977, but they seem to be in good shape too.

The tick seems to get quieter after 10-15 minutes, but never dissappears completely. To make it even harder to diagnose I have some rather loud mufflers on the exhaust...
 
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Thanks for the link James, I have a few things I'm going to try. I think I'm going to replace those collector gaskets anyway because they are leaking a just a bit. Couldn't hurt. I'll post back when I fix it.
 
Well I replaced the collector gaskets too but the annoying sound is still there. I went over the whole motor while running with an extra-long screwdriver up against the valve covers, intake, headers, block, water pump, alternator, oil pan, bellhousing, tranny, and basically anything else with moving parts inside or connnected to moving parts. I heard nothing out of the ordinary, all sounded quiet and perfectly normal. It seems to be an external sound. At this point I'm leaning towards some kind of exhaust leak somehow but I can't find any. I've replaced both the manifold-to-header gaskets and the collector gaskets just yesterday. The search continues. Ugh :mad: . Maybe my collector flanges just arent sealing, they seem a little rough but not enough to make for a bad seal...the headers are Hooker 2807s that are 30 years old. Maybe it's just time for new headers.
 
Can you pinpoint a general location? It can't be coming from everywhere.
 
What type of gaskets are you using on the head to header surfaces? I personally have found that the stock type manifold gaskets work pretty well there.

Just an idea/thought
 
The general location seems to be more on the driver's side, towards the lower part of the engine. If I didn't know any better I would say it's the collector gasket(s), 'cept that they've just been replaced.

As far as gaskets go I used a Fel-Pro Performance molded steel core gasket for the manifold and aluminum Percy's three-hole collector seals for the collectors...
 
Craig Artzner said:
the headers are Hooker 2807s that are 30 years old. Maybe it's just time for new headers.
Click to expand...

30 years!:eek1: I can't get three years out of a set.
 
Jason4x4 said:
check your spark plugs, a loose plug will do that too.
Click to expand...

There you go!

That reminds me of B_to_C and his loose plug wire at the distributor. It was barely off the cap, just enough to ground. Interceptor was the one that finally pinpointed it.
 
Never thought it could be spark plug...but that's an easy check

I'm checking my spark plugs after work today...
 
Not yet, another problem popped up that now trumps the ticking sound. The carb will not idle, either cold or hot. It would run on fast idle, but once it steps off that cam it just dies. I currently have the carb off the truck to be rebuilt. I can't find any manifold vacuum leaks and the truck has a brand new fuel pump on it.

While I've got it off I put new plugs, wires, etc. and also the valve cover gaskets. When I checked the driver's side rockers, there were two that had slightly more play than the other ones so I tightened them down about 1/8 turn to snug them up. Since I haven't run the truck since I did that I'm not sure if that fixed the sound. Those loose rockers were right where the sound was coming from so we'll see...:thinking:
 
Problems SOLVED.

I didn't have to rebuild the carb, I checked the needle & seat because the carb was flooding itself out while I was trying to start it as of late. Sure enough there was some dirt and crud in there. Threw the carb back on and it fired right up and stayed running. Yes I test drove it for about 15-20 minutes, no probs.

While I had the carb and valve covers off last week I did find those two loose rockers right at the spot where I was getting the most noise, so I adjusted them down snug. I had not been able to see if that fixed the problem until I got the truck running (today). So that must have done it, no more annoying ticking! Truck runs like a champ.

Thanks for all the support, you guys rock...:laugh:
 
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