HELP...Valvetrain noise after engine is shutoff

Ten seconds or so after I shut off my motor I hear this ticking noise, similar to a lifter tapping. Upon further inspection I can feel this ticking when my hand is against the middle of the driver side valve cover(this is also where the noise is coming from). I've never heard of any valvetrain movement or anything after the engine is shutoff...Anyone know what the heck is going on?

By the way, it's a stock Chevy 350...

 

Oh...it only does it for 5-10 seconds after it's shut off.

 

Something got hot when you were driving it and it's contracting now that it's cooling off. This usually happens with exhaust systems... could be its happening with something else in your engine.

If the engine ain't runnin'... your valve train ain't movin'.

 

I agree with CJ abot the contracting clickas.
Hydaulic lifters bleed down when engine is shut off but, they don't normally make noise.
Smokey

 

everything hot must cool down; in doing so it contracts and makes noise. my Dad used to let the Mustang idle (68 289 fastback) for a few minutes after driving (he never drove anything EASY he was fond of the loud pedal) to help dissipate the heat. still listen to my cars cooling off after i get out. it's that one BIG "bang" that you wonder about.....

 

I guess i'll add some more to my conspiracy theory... i'm pretty damned sure it's your exhaust or headers contracting... so it's possible the vibration is echoing up the exhaust pipes in the heads/valvetrain via the exhaust ports and it's enough to where you can feel it.

Could also be aliens fuckin' with your head.

 

Did you ever find the cause? I have a 350 doing exactly the same thing. With the valve covers off, you can feel the peck in the valve train with you hands.

 

No sir I did not. Just ignore it now. Hahaha


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You should hear a Harley get to "tinking" when you shut them off.

 

Could something be blocked and forcing an excessive amount of heat and exhaust into the exhaust cross-over? That would lead to hotter-than-normal conditions and may have compromised a valve spring or loosened a head bolt.

 

You have mouse skeletons fucking under the valve cover! Does it sound like skeletons fucking on a tin roof, but smaller and quieter?

 

Hydraulic lifter leaking down.....

 

Yes.

 

No......

 

ghost in the machine

 

It's the Chevy time bomb ticking. When it stops....BOOM!

 

I'm with Wolfcreek-Steve, Skeletons!! Pete

 

My 355 Chevy did exactly the same. It has a Edelbrock Performer RPM cam and lifters, headers, Edelbrock 64cc rpm heads. I had camel hump toes on it before and it did it aswell. My best guess was the hydraulic lifters bleeding off and the valves snapping back harder than usual because of the harder valve springs...
but might be the sceletons aswell, hahaha

 

eeeek Of course ,I meant camel hump heads, what the heck was I thinking?

 

We know what you were thinking!

 

There is no other reasonable explanation.

 

I believe it is the valves are adjusted too tight. When the lifter loses oil pressure after the engine is shut off, the piddle valve is seating in the lifter due to valve spring pressure.
When I shut my engine off it clicks for a few seconds. I pulled the valve cover and rotated the engine. It clicked again. Thjats why I think it is the lifters. I am going to loosen the preload on the lifter and I'll keep you posted.
Thanks to the comics too!

 

If this was true hydraulic motors would be noisy the next time it was started up

 

This your only concern? Does it run fine? Temp normal when running?

 

Oh yea, it's been all over the country no problems. Haha


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My engine runs great also. Just the clicking when I shut it off. I have a lot of engine experience, this is new to me.

 

A while back I replaced the cam/lifters in my DD truck 283 with a cheap (Jegs $100) mild combo. Broke it in as specked, and for the first week when I shut it off I could hear the plink, plink, plink of the lifters unloading. Apparently once some of the crude circulated around in the oil the noise stopped. Has about 9K miles on it since then.

 

It's the exhaust system and other hot stuff cooling off. Lifters bleeding down leak slowly, really doubt that you'd hear them. And good ones will take a whole lot longer than the 10 or so seconds that the OP mentioned. More like hours or days. If I went out in the shop and heard clicking several hours after I shut the engine off, I'd be more inclined to believe the mouse skeleton scenario than the lifters.

 

Not exhaust! When you pull the valve cover you can feel it in the valve train as it clicks.

 

Put your hand on the exhaust and you'll feel it as well. Actually, if you press a screwdriver tip hard against the exhaust, you'll feel it in the handle. The click you feel can likely be felt anywhere on the engine. After all, it is a fairly solid piece of metal, and vibration travels quite well through solid metal.