So heres the skinny . Like most folks , I hate engine problems that are not obvious and im coming up empty on my hunt for this tick . My old pink 4 door 55 has been getting ran pretty hard lately . a few guys heard it was " quick for what it is " and ive been defending her undefeated title a bit more lately . Saturday was no exception when a duramax said he was gonna get the better of me . Long story short , smoked the diesel and Ive developed a tick in the engine . Normally , when hot , this engine idles smoothly at 15bs of oil pressure and no noises . Well after that run . It no idles at 30-35lbs oil pressure and this ticking . I had a friend suggest that I may have stacked a rod bearing . I pulled plug wires one by one to see if it lessened without a load and no go . Checked the lash on all the valves and everything is right up to snuff . I grabbed the stethoscope and I cannot pinpoint this sound . Nowhere does it stand out , I hear it best believe it or not when I use the stethoscope on the distributor cap and the timing cover. Pulled the dist and all looked well . The only thing I have not checked yet " without tearing the engine out of the car " is the flex plate/torque converter. Its a slow tick , doesn't sound like it is as fast as the crank but it is in rythem and rises with the rpms' I just cant pinpoint it and the rise in the oil pressure at idle has me a bit perplexed . Any help is greatly appreciated.
I wonder if you did tweak the flex plate or torque converter... Also, does it change speed in different gears, which would indicate more of a U-joint/driveshaft problem? Otherwise, the rise in oil pressure would indicate an oil flow obstruction somewhere, stacked rod bearing could be it, but I'd be suspicious of it raising pressure by 20PSI. Wow! With no rod knock, I'd lean more toward a transmission or timing problem.
Oil pressure rise and stethoscope loudest at dizzy cap and cam cover but not really there. What's on the other end of the dizzy cap ? The oil pump. What's on the other end of the cam cover ? The oil pump I'd say an oil change and filter first, Cut the filter too
Sounds like you may have a broken return spring on the fuel pump, causing the fuel pump push rod to cause a tickin' noise. check it by unbolting the fuel pump,then firing the engine momentaraly. If the sound goes away, thats it.... good luck, Bowtie40.
I was going to suggest the fuel pump also.I had a ticking that drove me crazy.A friend nailed it the first time he hear it.The change in oil pressure is worrisome however.
My suspicion is that a broken piston would probably cause more problems/noise than ticking? As far as the oil pump, I like the idea, but a rise in oil pressure would mean the pump has a better efficiency, no? I thought a damaged oil pump causes loss in oil pressure. A clogged oil journal or tighter clearances on the rod bearings would cause an increase in oil pressure. Just speculation, anyway...
A partially spun cam bearing now blocking part of the supply hole could cause a rise in oil pressure.
I'd check the fuel and oil pumps. I once had a 289 ford drop apiece off the fuel pump spring. It somehow made it through the pickup screen on the oil pump, locked the gears and twisted off the oil pump drive shaft. If it is the fuel pump spring loose it should be very loud there with the stethoscope.
If I get the time after work today I was planning to check torque converter and flexplate so I can rule that out .Next step will be to drop the pan . It sounds like a fuel pump rod lightly ticking but I can put that stethoscope all over the fuel pump and you can hear general engine noise and the ticking sounds very very faint , like a sound off in the distance if that makes sence...... There has been nowhere ,that when stuck with the stethoscope , just stands out as the culprit . You can hear it better actually without the scope . I pulled all plugs wires one by one with it running thinking that if it is a wristpin or a rod bearing then it would lessen the tick by taking the load off but there is no change . and I should have stated . Its not the original 283/265 . Its a 1970 350
I had a tapping sound that drove me nuts. I swore it was a cracked piston skirt, until I pulled the belt off. It was a cracked waterpump pulley!
Don't think this could happen all of a sudden. But I had a ticking I could not find in a 350 Chevy. Changed all the lifters,pushrods,checked the rocker studs etc. turned out was one badly worn valve guide. Ago
The noise follows rpm but not at crank speed. Ok Anything moving because of the cam will be at 1/2 crank speed. That's leaves the lifters and valve train, the oil pump, fuel pump, and dizzy. That's what you look at then. The noise has no definite "hot" spot of origin. But can be heard on the stethoscope best at cam cover and dizzy. Well that leaves basically everything except the oil pump. What Else is going to make a audible noise that can't be pinpointed, its submersed in oil and the oil is transferring the noise everywhere and muffling it at the same time, the sound will travel thru the closest connections to the oil pump and that's the dizzy and cam, cam at timing cover. So that's pretty much pointing directly to the oil pump as the noise generator. Now you need to figure why its making noise. Two reasons, its fucked up, or its trying to pump against a restriction and bitching about it. The first is a problem of singularity, the pump. The second is a problem of multiple factors, the pump and a restriction. Take those two options and chase them down Can something happen to a pump that actually makes it both make noise and put out more pressure. Sure there is. But eventually it will fail to do both. Is a pump likely to bitch about pumping against a restriction. It's possible only because you can't say that its impossible but I don't say likely. Either way it can't be taken off the table. The restriction can come from any one of a 100 or so different places. It's going to require taking the engine down and hopefully the restriction is obvious. Rod and main bearings are going to make plenty of detectable noise, and lifter restriction should make those lifters beyond the restriction noisy, And this is why I say start with an oil & filter change and be sure to cut open the filter.
Aren't you the same guy that says spray down an exhaust manifold with starting fluid to find a leak? Might just blow yourself doing that
Have you checked that one of the bolts of the flex plate is not backing out just enough to be hitting something and making the ticking noise? Just to be on the safe side I think I might also drop the pan and check the bearings. Jimbo
I agree that things do point to the oil pump as the cause of the noise. But since you have to be under the car to drop the pan, go over the converter bolts first. Bob
Its not impossible that its a wristpin but as i pulled wires it SHOULD have diminished some when i removed the load from the effected cylinder but there was no change.. Posted using the Full Custom H.A.M.B. App!
Im leaning towards the oil pump. The slight spike in pressure cant be ignored. From a 15 psi hot idle to a 30 lb hot idle. 20-25 when it drops on gear . Absolutley no miss or effect on performance or banging. I cant even hear it when im in the car . Posted using the Full Custom H.A.M.B. App!
Exhaust gasket leak. Use the hose trick described in another thread. Check around the head. Something easy to check.
The tick is ............. well , Its gone . So I get home from work . Fire the car up and there it is . tick tick tick tick . I run back over with the scope , jack it up , go all over that engine and cannot pinpoint it . So before I climb underneath I hit one more easy spot as someone suggested in this thread and I dropped the fuel pump to eliminate that possibility . Drop the pump , fire it up " TICK TICK TICK TICK " so I reinstall the pump . Put my fan belt back on and before I go under the car I bump the starter one more time . Now it is a little out of time from rebuilding the distributor last night so it kicks back ,, binds and sounds horrible and then fires up ..... Tick is COMPLETELY GONE ! absolutely no signs of it , I cant pick it up on the stethoscope , no ifs ands or butts GONE ! ... After the binding and all the bumping I figure im probably missing some teeth on the flexplate so I am going to go ahead and get a new flexplate and starter since I noticed a tranny pan gasket leak after being under there. Also going to do what 31Vicky Suggested and do an oil change and cut the filter to inspect. A friend of mine that builds engines for a living made a statement . He asked if I was beating on it hard before it happened to which i said " of course " He then said I know its a long shot and sounds really strange but he has seen a chunk of carbon come loose before after really thrashing on one and have it do something similar until it finds its way out ... I don't know fellas , im glad its no longer ticking and running fine but I hate the fact that I didn't find it . Who knows , its just a small block chevy I robbed out of an old grain truck and got lucky because it runs strong . When and if she blows , we'll just to it all over again.
people have given you pretty good advice.I have had the fuel pump spring break and because it is driven off the cam it would tattle tail behind timing cover and at distributor base as cam is what they have in common.as to the carbon there is a possibility with good compression you may be able to remove plugs and if small enough piece it may blow out plug hole with cranking.I dont like most know what caused oil pressure rise.good luck meant to add dont try to find it with starter fluid LOL
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