Ticking noise

[bobbytynsky]

Hi. I am new here.
I have a 1980 Chevy Custom Deluxe. I'd like to restore it or at least fix it where it will run properly. It recently started making a ticking noise while the engine is running. The ticking noise increases and gets louder as I accelerate. The truck burns oil or leaks it and it also looses coolant. Do any of you know what could be causing this?

[GmtGmt]

Blown Head Gasket or Cracked head

[jared87350]

it really sounds like a rod to me.
dosent sound like lifters or any other quik fix.

[MR .T]

Might be an exhaust leak.

[Slonaker]

On mine it was a bent flexplate hitting the starter snout. It could be a cracked flexplate, also. I have seen several people with that problem on this board over the years.

Slonaker

[Silence86]

mines doing the same thing. is it coming from underneath the valve covers?

[Damien]

Originally Posted by Silence86

mines doing the same thing. is it coming from underneath the valve covers?

It could be a loose rocker or possibly a stud pulling out. maybe not, noises have a tendency to travel. Both of you should have someone local to you look at it. It could be darn near anyone of the things we are suggesting.

[old Rusty C10]

its really hard to diagnose over the internet... could be any of those or more... any chance you could post a video with sound?

[bobbytynsky]

Thanks for the responses.

I am trying to upload a video to youtube but for some reason it's not working. I'm gonna try some different things and see if I can get it up there.

[old Rusty C10]

if youre losing coolant and oil do you see white or blue smoke out the exhaust? water in the exhaust? water in the oil?

[dieseldr4]

i know it sounds stupid, but if your truck burns oil , check the level first, youd be suprised how much noise a lifter will make.. im not tryin to be a smart @ss, but ive seen it a time or two.. hope this helps

[bobbytynsky]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g4jXwQuIc_M

[82chevy350]

sounds like an exhaust leak or a lifter ticking to me

[Mr.Chevy4x4]

Like Bob said, it's hard to diagnose without being there, but I did listen to the audio. I'm hearing an exhaust leak, and what sounds like rocker arm noise. Pull your valve covers and check the rockers. This doesn't explain the coolant loss, but that could be something as easy as a water pump.

Mike

[82chevy350]

yea if your oil comes out good and no steam burning in the exaust its prolly just a leak like your water pump or hose or even the heater core you should pull the valve covers off and wiggle each rocker then turn the motor over and wiggle them again and so on

[mosthatedk5]

ok heres what you do...
pull of both valve covers, if you can see that a rocker is off then theres your problem but if the rockers are all on..... start your truck with the valve covers still off, get a 5/8th socket and a ratchet and start on a rocker and work your way through all of them checking to see if any are loose... and if you find the loose one tighten it up till it stops clicking and then go half a turn...
but thats only if its a loose rocker

[spinem]

sounds like exhaust leak, maybe stuck valve, or like said before, loose rocker. def. valve train, pop the valve cover, start it and dodge the oil!

[spinem]

is there any burns around the header on the head? (obvious sighns of an exhaust leak)

[82chevy350]

i always use a piece of cardboard and put it on the bottom of the head and bend the sides of it to keep the oil in the motor

[bobbytynsky]

Thanks everyone for your input. I'll check it out this weekend.

[westofb]

I made splash guards out of a set of old valve covers by cutting out the center of the valve cover with a cut off tool, the year I had actually had a raised rectangluar shape down the center. glued on a set of cork gaskets, install on the engine, fire it up and start adjusting. I won't keep all the oil in the engine but sure cuts down on the mess.

one other thing, i usually start by loosening the rocker still it starts ticking, tighten it till it stops, then give it a 1/4 turn more. after running them all in this manner, if they are still a little noisy, give them all an additional 1/4 turn. be sure you have it warmed up good when you start doing this, adjusting a cold motor will more than likely need adjusting again afters its warm...so get her up, to operating temp first.