alright well i got off my lazy *** a few weeks ago to check out my ticking sound. checked all the rocker arms, re tightened them, knock. pulled off all the caps and main caps, checked all the bearings and the rods, everything. perfect.

had a oil galley plug in the pan, so i replaced it.
put it all back together still the same sound but not as bad.

it sounds almost exactly like this car

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O_cOFPKbl9Y

but quieter... so.. i'm guessing, i never took off the top end, so could i of bent a push rod, or did a lifter collapse? someone said the cam could be going south but before i put in my new rocker arms i pulled all the lifters out and checked the cam and everything was fine..

what else should i look for?

 

Piston skirt failure is common on SB Fords. If the bore is a little worn the pistons start trying to tilt and the skirt can eventually break. I tore down a 351W that was running and the #1 piston was missing one side all the way up to the oil ring. The customer thought it was a rod knocking. The sound they make early is more a scrape than a knock. Like something is to tight in one spot.

 

There are a couple other things to check.

Header/manifold gasket for a small exhaust leak. A small exhaust leak can sound like a ticking noise.

Worn valve guides will cause a ticking noise also. Any white smoke on first start-up after the car has sat for awhile?

Dave

 

no white smoke, nothing. no leaks either, brand new heads, brand new roller rockers, lifters etc.

the only thing i saw when i was under there was on #4 halfway in the bore there was a shiny spot and a little scrape but no gouges , nothing like that, no silver in the pan, no metal, no nothing. just that oil galley plug, so... ih ave no idea whats going on there.

 

I'd focus on the top end. Normally a bottom end problem is more of a deeper "knock". Ticking noises are more likely to be head related (valves, lifters, push rods, exhaust leak).

With the recent head work, are you 100% positive that it's not an exhaust manifold leak? It's not uncommon to have a blown out header gasket and can happen very quickly.

Dave

 

i was thinking of the top end, always. it sounds like both heads. like i said, i've heard rod knock before, it kinda sounded like it, but it somewhat goes away with more revs, i let off.. it comes back. quieted down a little once we popped that galley plug back in to oil everything.

i thought maybe i screwed up a pushrod or a lifter at the track, it ran great there, blasted it 1-2-3 @ 6k and ran great then as i was going back to the staging lanes i heard it. i ran again thinking it was a rocker, like meh. but anyway

i'm positive it's not an exhaust leak, we triple checked everything and as much time as i spent under it the past 2 days i checked everything. the only thing i didn't do was personally look at the valve springs or anything when my father re adjusted the rockers thinking it was them.

someone mentioned to me, with dual springs, the insulator on it can break and rattle about, but i don't get it. how would i know if a lifter is trashed when i take it out? also bent rods wouldn't make the sound right?

i just drove it about 50 miles today to see if it'd go away and it didn't but it ran great and when u stepped on it, it moved.. so i'm at a loss here and i don't wanna plow $$$ into a new motor or something if it's something silly.

 

What happens when you put the car in gear, step on the brakes (hard) and give it some gas? With a manual trans. it's harder to do, but you need to be creative with your footwork. What you're trying to accomplish is to place a load on the drivetrain. Normally, a bottom end noise will rear it's ugly head under these circumstances. If this checks out fine and the noise stays the same, pull a rocker cover off and inspect/listen while the cars running. Are all of the rockers getting oil? Stuff like that.

Dave

 

when you gas it just in park it gets louder - same with popping it in gear and holding it

 

Try isolating the noise by putting a long screwdriver to different parts of the running motor and up to your ear. You will be surprised how well the sound carries. Start with the valve covers.

 

+1

as said above exhaust leak. when the exhaust manifold gasket or header gasket is leaking it sounds _exactly_ like valve ticking. not similar, the exact same.

Kalli