Bad lifter? Ticking video

Road_Runna · Apr 24, 2019

I have a ticking noise coming straight from spark plug #1. The ticking does NOT get louder with the increase of rpm's.
I used a homemade stethoscope out of rubber hose, and an ear plug on my other ear to zero-in on the noise.
So far; i have retightened the exhaust header bolts, the spark plug bolts (new plugs) making sure i have no leaks in those areas.

While taking video (i apologize for the vertical view), I pressed my end of hose to my phone's audio port. At the end of the video you can tell i pulled the hose away from the phone.

Im thinking i have a stuck lifter, or bad injector, but any other ideas from anyone would be welcomed on what this ticking can be.

ttocs · Apr 24, 2019

did you get gas recently? A bad or dirty batch can cause this. If you do not know do NOT fill your tank if you pull in and the tanker truck is there filling their tanks. They stir up all the debris that normally collects at the bottom after years of use and if your filling up at the same time you can suck up all that crap.

Road_Runna · Apr 24, 2019

ttocs said:
did you get gas recently? A bad or dirty batch can cause this. If you do not know do NOT fill your tank if you pull in and the tanker truck is there filling their tanks. They stir up all the debris that normally collects at the bottom after years of use and if your filling up at the same time you can suck up all that crap.

I've had the car sitting for a while, with not that much gas in the tank, i suppose gas could have gone bad. i added 3 gallons of fresh gas before i started her up. So my question now; lets say it is dirty gas or really old gas, why would it only affect one and not all spark plug areas?(combustion chambers)?

07GtS197 · Apr 24, 2019

It sounds like the bottom end due to the frequency of the sound. I’d do a compression check just to be safe. I don’t see it being bad gas if it only affects 1 cylinder.

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Road_Runna · Apr 25, 2019

07GtS197 said:
It sounds like the bottom end due to the frequency of the sound. I’d do a compression check just to be safe. I don’t see it being bad gas if it only affects 1 cylinder.

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Ill

07GtS197 said:
It sounds like the bottom end due to the frequency of the sound. I’d do a compression check just to be safe. I don’t see it being bad gas if it only affects 1 cylinder.

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Your comment has me perplexed. I checked

07GtS197 said:
It sounds like the bottom end due to the frequency of the sound. I’d do a compression check just to be safe. I don’t see it being bad gas if it only affects 1 cylinder.

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I've had that pondering in my mind for a while. Would not the noise be coming from the front of the oil pan in that case?
I've checked for noises from the pan and couldn't hear any.
Coincidently, i conducted 3 compression tests done back to back about 2 months ago, tests seemed fine, but ill do another before i tear things out looking at those lifters.

07GtS197 · Apr 25, 2019

Not necessarily, noises can echo all around the block. Another thing, have you checked oil pressure? Like with an oil pressure gauge?

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3.14159 · Apr 25, 2019

Sounds like mis-fire + exhaust leak. You should also not talk when we’re trying to hear.

Road_Runna · Apr 26, 2019

3.14159 said:
Sounds like mis-fire + exhaust leak. You should also not talk when we’re trying to hear.

Lol. I'll keep that in mind next time.

07gtss197... Oil pressure test will be coming soon.

I really appreciate the comments. Ill keep updating this to the end. Including video when i find the ticking culprit.

3.14159 · Apr 26, 2019

The header/manifold is most likely cracked from many years of heat cycling. They do that.

07GtS197 · Apr 26, 2019

While I dont disagree I’ve never heard of a manifold cracking except on v6’s and its caused by the accumulator dripping water on it while its hot. Could even be a snapped exhaust stud for all we know.

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3.14159 · Apr 29, 2019

Or a blown gasket. Still sounds like exhaust leak to me.

Adfalenski · May 1, 2019

Take your car and a friend to a very dark area at night. Remove any under hood lights. Have your friend run the engine under load if possible while you look under the hood for sparks or Coronas from the plug wires or the plugs. Plug wires do wear out.

ttocs · May 2, 2019

Adfalenski said:
Take your car and a friend to a very dark area at night. Remove any under hood lights. Have your friend run the engine under load if possible while you look under the hood for sparks or Coronas from the plug wires or the plugs. Plug wires do wear out.

as he said it could be a bad plug wire but it didn't really sound like it to me in the video but its hard to hell. Its more of a electrical popping noise then a tick though and it would also be running rough

Road_Runna · Jan 19, 2020

Update.
Ended up being incorrect plugging of the spark wiress. 1 and 4 were swapped, Im sure I was looking at a different 5.0 timing of the spark plug perhaps from an f-150?
I noticed my spark plugs ends bent in (1 and 4), obviously hitting the Piston (ticking noise), I will re-check compression in the spring, perhaps I will be doing a cylinder head swap during that time, if the comp tests come out good. Really doubt I did any harm to the top of my pistons. But it will be good to double check tho.