Questions: Tick noise & Head gasket & General

[Highlander944]

Hey all... a few new questions this morning.

My car is a 1986 944T with 56,000 miles. I begin driving it again about 1.5 years ago. It had been garaged for about 8 years with very little driving. Last year I had the water pump & timing belt replaced.

The car runs well and after 2 years of saving I figured I'd do a small performance upgrade. Prior to the upgrade I came here and begin reading which lead me to discover some items that were not working properly.

Ok I replaced my turbo water pump, bypass valve, and air filter. I've also added the guru racing chips, boost bolt, and 3.0bar FPR. Last night I changed to plug wires, distributor cap and rotor.

Before I began the upgrade I would lose about 1Cup of coolant every 2-4 weeks. I noticed residue under the turbo pump, so I figured when I replaced that life would be good. Well it appears as though I'm still leaking fluid somewhere. What are signs of the head gasket going bad?

The car has always had a slight ticking noise. I would describe it as a faint metallic ticking which appears to come from the aluminum casting which the fuel rail is attached to. This ticking can not be heard unless the hood is lifted. The noise varies in pitch with the RPM of the engine. It does not appear get louder, simply varies it's frequency. Last night, while inspecting for fuel leaks (since I had to remove the fuel damper to change the plug cables) I noticed the tick was not as rhythmic as it once was. Interestingly enough, if I pressed the accelerator and revved up the engine for a few seconds, then dropped back down the idle, the tick noise became rhythmic again. It seemed to drop out of perfect rhythm if left idle for 5+ minutes however the car had no hesitation in the idle, it sounded great.

So any ideas what this metallic ticking sound could be? Could it be related to the head gasket / coolant dropping? Could it be valves that need cleaned? (how do u clean valves?) Could it be dirty fuel injectors?

Ok.. one last thing... The car feels insanely fast now. On a dry road, full throttle in 2nd gear will brake loose Z rated tires. The car has more power than ever before. Prior to doing the performance upgrade the car was running very strong. The chip upgrade made it feel like a race car. Of course, we are in the winter now with temps around 30F, so the rubber is a bit harder and the car has a bit more punch.

I feel I have an exception gift for 'feeling' if things are out of tune... I just need to know what 'tuned' sounds like.

Peter.

[joes]

The electric fuel injectors "click' when they fire. Take a metal rod put one end on the injector the other on your ear and seeif that is it. It also could be a lifter that didn't get pumped up from sitting.

[Lawrence Coppari]

Look for a small leak where the water lines screw into the turbo. Mine has leaked there before and has once again begun. It is very minor so I just let it go.

[ae1969]

- the ticking is normal... could be the injectors or the hydraulic lifters.
- the coolant leak is probably what lawrence describes.... You may have a small leak on the hoses/pipe that feed the turbo. If its such a small amount I wouldnt worry about it.
- Good upgrade choice for your car as well. Its probably the best bang for your buck.

Welcome to the board.



P.S a blown head gasket would have you creating a nice cloud of white smoke at start up and if its bad enough while you drive.........