jvog

My engine has been ticking for a couple months and I wasn't sure if its common or if something might be wrong so I figured I'd check with you guys. its a 2002 Mustang GT. The noise seems to be coming from the heads not the timing chain. Its not like obnoxiously loud but enough that you notice it. I recently changed the oil and used part synthetic but I am pretty sure it was ticking before that. The reason I used part synthetic was because I wasn't sure what oil was used before I got it and I didn't want to just jump straight to full synthetic oil. I would also like to add that when my car is idling the car and engine shake a little...anyone who gets in my car notices it. Not sure if thats a problem or not either. Any ideas

MoKo_04GT

your car sounds exactly like mine....from the description anyway. obviously i havent actually heard it. but mine ticks as well....not loud like some of these vids you see around here with the mustang tick...but noticable to me.

i have taken it to several places and all with the same results....it went something like this...

first place was an exhaust shop b/c i thought perhaps i had an exhaust leak....since thats what the tick kind of sounded like. well they confirmed i have no exhaust leaks.

the next place was a local certified mechanic shop.....one of the workers there is also a police that drives 4.6's all day. they confirmed that the noise is normal and that it isnt the start of a problem. the cop said some of their 4.6's do it and some dont...and some do it worse than others....but its normal 4.6 noises.

still not a believer i took her into a forde dealership and dropped her off....they later called telling me to come pick my car up....they checked it over and there is nothing wrong and everything is normal as is should be.

so....more than likely the noise is normal. (as long as it isnt a loud ticking). i mainly notice mine at idle...and especially if im next to a wall with the windows down. what i ended up doing is buying a can of seafoam and poured 1/3 of it into the crank case and drove for 300miles....changed my oil, then added the rest of the can into the new oil as per seafoams instructions. i can honestly say the seafoam helped A LOT. the noise is still there...but even more quiet now and basicly un-noticable.

1sloblckgt

Check your spark plugs to make sure they are tight... From everything I hear, 99-02's are prone to blow the spark plugs out of the threads and when people starting hearing ticking it happened.

jvog

ok.ill mix some sea foam with the current oil and change it and add the rest. ill also check the plugs. thanks for the info guys. i

Lombardo05

1sloblckgt is correct. this just happend to me 2 days ago. my car is still at the shop. it had been ticking for about 2-2 1/2 weeks and i was driving when boom pop pop pop and my spark plug ripped the threads out of the head and the spark plug blew through the coil pack. result so far $350 and still climbing

jvog

well thats what my warranty is for

Crowder

ouch, thats crazy. And for the ticking noises have you adjusted the valves lately. They might need an adjustment

1sloblckgt

huh?

Derf00

I think the valves on the OHC motors (fords) are all self adjusting or no adjustment..could be wrong on that.

Also, if it sounds like it's coming from the head, check for an exhaust leak. Since he switch to sythetic and new plugs, it's possible all of the other background noises went away so the ticking is just more obvious, not louder.

jvog

welli only switched to part synthetic and i havent changed the plugs. he just told me to check them