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I purchased an 88 5.0 from a mechanic who supposedly bought it from a guy who worked at a machine shop. yea right! When i first got the car about a year ago i noticed a ticking sound coming from the top end. Its was quiet and i didnt really pay any attention to it because the car was fast and it didnt really bother me. Months down the road it has become a problem because i cant seem to find out what it is, iv noticed a power loss, and the sound has gotten considerably louder. Iv changed the header gaskets and roller lifters last month didnt do anything. a speed shop owner told me the lifter bores are warn and i should have put over sized lifters in, but i told that to a machine shop owner and he said thats ballony and that it probably has the wrong size pushrods in it. please help!!! keep in mind it has gt40 heads from a 96 explorer and things in the engine bay do seem kind of slapped together, but none the less i at least want the motor to run right. can anyone solve my everyday stress? aaaahhhh!!!
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im going through the exact same thing. every once and awhile i would start my car and id hear a loud valve noise and it seemed to have fairly loud valvetrain to begin with. but this week i did a nice burnout and was bouncing it off the stock limiter and after i did that it stayed loud...mostly on the passengers side. so i pulled my valve covers off and all the rods are tight because i thought maybe it was a loose valve.
please help both of us. haha. i have stock E7's instead of gt40's and the engine was supposedly rebuilt this past Christmas as its spotless with all new gaskets
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Sonic Blue 89' LX Notch. zero options. t-5, stock 2.73 posi bbk equal shorty's, o/r h-pipe, magnaflows, hurst short throw, lowered 1.5", full polished typhoon intake, 75mm tb, 75mm egr plate. GT seats. 17x9 03' machined cobras. MUCH more to come
I had the exact same problem after purchasing my 88' GT. I drove it for about 4 days and noticed the ticking sound. I was told it sounded like a Lifter sticking and I ran some Lucas through it, along with some Seafoam but to no avail. I eventually ended up completely rebuilding the engine, and we couldn't figure out what the problem had been. After finishing the rebuild I pulled the car out for a drive. Got out to clean up the tools and noticed a long rod, which had been twisted to look like a drill bit.
Oil Pump seized up, Oil Pump Drive Shaft twisted and snapped off at the distributor.
Just some imput. Maybe check the oil pump, just in case.
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88' Mustang GT
- BBK Shorty Headers
- BBK Cold-Air Intake
Bald tires, Power Steering leak, Paint chips, Dent in Fender, Suspension in dire need of new, Breather went MIA while driving, exhaust cut off at mufflers; Work In Progress.
yea the rockers are bolt down and i when i changed my lifters i torqued the rockers to 22 pounds. i thought maybe trying to change the oil pump and pickup tube. i got the pump just need to get the pickup tube. ill let you know how it goes when i change that! idk what else to do. im buying a 70mm throttle body this weekend, she runs rich and i think the air/fule mix is way off since it should have a 65 on it to match the explorer intake.
Ticking can be a very frustrating thing to chase, I am not a professional builder but I do have some experience, here are some of the ticking things I've chased on the three mustangs I've owned:
1 ticking noise tracked down to be the belt tensioner, easy to check start up the car with the serpentine belt off.
2 ticking tracked down to be alternator bearings, same check as #1.
3 more ticking, this time it was an exhaust leak, check header gaskets and header to h-pipe connection and use locking header bolts. I like the totally stainless ones but opinions vary.
4 yet more ticking, this one was hard to find, current mustang has GT-40 heads and I had the heads overhauled before installation. Turned out there was a missing thermactor plug. You can't see it but if you stick your hand between the back of the heads and the firewall you can sure feel it.
5 improper valve train setup - includes making mistakes on setting lash and improper length pushrods.
Have not experienced an oil pump shaft making a ticking but I suppose it is possible, replace with an ARP shaft if you go to the trouble, then you do not have to think about it anymore.
Generally a ticking noise that gets louder over time is not good, especially if it is rpm dependent.
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Im going to kill myself or the car!!
from a 96 explorer and things in the engine bay do seem kind of slapped together, but none the less i at least want the motor to run right. can anyone solve my everyday stress? aaaahhhh!!!
bbk equal shorty's, o/r h-pipe, magnaflows, hurst short throw, lowered 1.5", full polished typhoon intake, 75mm tb, 75mm egr plate. GT seats. 17x9 03' machined cobras. MUCH more to come 
