Funny Ticking sound near valves

[robhamster]

I have been struggling for the last month with trying to narrow down the cause of an rpm related ticking sound. It is coming from the 4-5-6- cylinder side and sounds like it is on the intake side rather than exhaust side. I have checked, rechecked and rechecked again the clearances on each of the intake and exhaust valves and all feels good.

I did loosen each of the tightening screws all the way to see how the rocker arm travel felt and #5 felt just a little bit "notchy" compared with the others. Could a worn rocker arm provide that obnoxious ticking sound? Does one need to pull the engine to replace a worn rocker arm? I see our host sells the assembly and it is not expensive.

What else could be an rpm related tick in this part of the engine?

[sailchef]

Just a guess....timing chain?

A collapsed tensioner with collar stops bouncing on top of the tensioner housing?

[Superman]

Yes, I believe a worn rocker arm can cause ticking noise. I believe it can also mess with your ability to set valve lash. It creates a moving target.

[sc_rufctr]

Did you check the valve springs? They have been known to become weak or break.
Do you know when was the last time they were changed?

If an internal spring breaks it can cause a ticking sound and unless you specifically checked for it you may miss it on a valve job.
You need to look from the side and poke something in there and check it's still in one piece.
Even when and external one breaks it can be missed...

Some background.

They should be renewed as part of an engine rebuild but often they aren't.
They should be at least tested on a special fixture before being reused.
You can set-up a bathroom scale and a simple jig for testing them. (Google for ideas)

[psalt]

Mechanical valve trains make noise. If you are sure the clearances are correct, the noise is most likely caused by worn valve guides or rockers and cannot be cured until a rebuild. And most likely harmless. How many miles are on the engine ?

[robhamster]

116K miles on the engine. Still no rebuild. No smoke on startup, acceleration or deceleration. I have owned the car since 29K mi and had maintenance done on all the regular intervals.

I have read all the scary posts on tensioners and will review with the screwdriver stethoscope to see if the sound might be eminating from the chain housing. I have read you can access those without dropping the engine, but I have not found a thread on rebuilding them or do you just replace them?

[kach22i]

I had a similar problem of ticking show up after I adjusted my valves. I even readjusted one side to cure it, but seemed to make it worse.

Then out of the blue the fan was ticking and I made a recording of it.

It dawned on me, I had tightened up the fan belt really tight so I could turn the engine to adjust the valves and never loosened it back up to normal tension.

I readjusted the fan belt tension, no more funny ticking noises. That was almost two years ago, belt, alternator bearings, fan housing and valves are all just fine.

[hcoles]

probably time for a top end rebuild... when I bought my car I had a ticking sound that got noticeable when the engine warmed up... turned out to be a couple of the guides. I ended up replacing all the rocker bushings and I think many of the rocker shafts, can't remember.
You can do much of the wrench turning yourself with the help of people here and the Wayne book. You will likely run into the "while you are in there" syndrome. There is a considerable slippery slope ahead.

[hcoles]

I didn't see mentioned... you can do a check of guide wear by getting the valve lifted just a bit and trying to move the stem back and forth, I forget the details.

[psalt]

116K miles on the engine. Still no rebuild. No smoke on startup, acceleration or deceleration. I have owned the car since 29K mi and had maintenance done on all the regular intervals.

I have read all the scary posts on tensioners and will review with the screwdriver stethoscope to see if the sound might be eminating from the chain housing. I have read you can access those without dropping the engine, but I have not found a thread on rebuilding them or do you just replace them?



The timing chain makes a rattle that sounds more like "bolts in a can" than ticking, but sounds are hard to describe. You have pressure tensioners already.

There are a lot of misconceptions about valve noise and adjustment. The old wives tail that "noisy valve just need an adjustment" is often incorrect. The clearances close up over time as the seats erodes. The purpose of the adjustment is to allow for proper cooling of the valves, and many times, the clearances need to be loosened at adjustment and they become louder. This is normal, but some people have difficulty understanding this. Expecting silent valves after an adjustment is not realistic. If you have checked the clearances, looked at the rockers and cam lobes, have oil delivery to the head and no broken head studs, I would not get bent out of shape. Exhaust leaks can also make a ticking, you can check for exhaust leaks at the head on a cold running engine while someone momentarily plugs the exhaust.

[psalt]

I didn't see mentioned... you can do a check of guide wear by getting the valve lifted just a bit and trying to move the stem back and forth, I forget the details


Never could do this, the spring tension is too much. I am fairly good at the wiggle test with a disassembled head. It's like pornography and the Supreme Court. You know it when you feel it.

No smoking after opening the throttle on a closed throttle, long, down hill run is the best test for an installed engine.

[AUSTmike]

Hi guys..I just did a oil change and adjusted the valves..when doing the vavle adjustment i noticed some of the rockers had abit of play from side to side.

here is a video on what i mean.
courtesy from RCPD
https://youtu.be/2kfM0LkDcSY

Can this be a worn rocker bushes?..my engine is fine and dont get tappet noise on cold start..its when the engine is warmed up and up to operating temp that i get the ticking of the tappets.

[Northy]

Originally Posted by AUSTmike

Hi guys..I just did a oil change and adjusted the valves..when doing the vavle adjustment i noticed some of the rockers had abit of play from side to side.

here is a video on what i mean.
courtesy from RCPD
https://youtu.be/2kfM0LkDcSY

Can this be a worn rocker bushes?..my engine is fine and dont get tappet noise on cold start..its when the engine is warmed up and up to operating temp that i get the ticking of the tappets.

Hey @AUSTmike did you get to the bottom of this? I have the same symptoms on my SC engine.

[Schulisco]

Also watch on the injection valves to make sure that the suspected cylinders get enough fuel! Especially on SC/CIS cars, but also due to stuck injectors on Carreras. On CIS the injection valves or the fuel distributor are suspicious if a single cylinder runs hotter than the rest and the exhaust valve elongates more due to thermal expansion...that was exactly the reason on cyl. #6 of my SC, which is already heat stressed due to the neighborhood of the engine oil cooler and therefore getting less cooling air.

Thomas

[LBEEMING]

@austmike did you ever figure this out? Seems alot of people chasing the same noise!