Tap, Tick, Knock... Whatever it is, it sounds bad.

[engineer_gregh]

Nick how long did you let the truck run with the Hyperlube? I would let the truck run for at least 15 minutes or so and if you are comfortable driving the truck I would drive it 10 miles or so. The Hyperlube works it way through all the oil valleys and can actually creep through clogged ports. My advise for the next logical step is to pull the valve covers and do a physical inspection of the rocker arms. If nothing is obvious I would start the engine cold with the valve covers off and look closely at each rocker arm to see if maybe one or two needs adjusting. I use old towels to catch the oil thats going to run down the block by running the engine with the covers off. Its way easier than changing header gaskets or some of the other possible culprits. Keep us posted and pm me if you like.

[cleszkie]

I just located the source of a small tick that I was hearing from the valve train area of my SBC. It was driving me crazing trying to find the source. Turns out one of my park plug boots had split, and the voltage was shorting to the engine block right where the spark plug screws in. I could actually see the small arc as it made the tick sound. Just something to consider.

[n33k0]

Originally Posted by engineer_gregh

Nick how long did you let the truck run with the Hyperlube? I would let the truck run for at least 15 minutes or so and if you are comfortable driving the truck I would drive it 10 miles or so. The Hyperlube works it way through all the oil valleys and can actually creep through clogged ports. My advise for the next logical step is to pull the valve covers and do a physical inspection of the rocker arms. If nothing is obvious I would start the engine cold with the valve covers off and look closely at each rocker arm to see if maybe one or two needs adjusting. I use old towels to catch the oil thats going to run down the block by running the engine with the covers off. Its way easier than changing header gaskets or some of the other possible culprits. Keep us posted and pm me if you like.

I ran the truck for a bit yesterday, and I drove it to work and back (±10 miles). No luck eliminating the noise, it still happened this morning when I started the truck.

Originally Posted by cleszkie

I just located the source of a small tick that I was hearing from the valve train area of my SBC. It was driving me crazing trying to find the source. Turns out one of my park plug boots had split, and the voltage was shorting to the engine block right where the spark plug screws in. I could actually see the small arc as it made the tick sound. Just something to consider.

I had a similar issue that I corrected a few months ago, worn spark plug wires and boots were all replaced to cure a misfire. It wasn't ticking in my case, but I can see what you mean about the plugs arcing to the block.

Up next, pulling valve covers and replacing header gaskets! Maybe I'll find some free time to do that before the weekend.

[n33k0]

I finally managed to get a couple hours set aside to work on the truck this past weekend. I had the header gaskets in hand so I decided to replace the old gaskets before removing the valve covers, since it would be an easy swap. Turns out that the flat plate that bolts the header tubes to the heads is broken into three pieces on the driver side header. I've opened a whole other can of worms with this exhaust system now . I bolted the headers back up as best I could, but they definitely leak now (I'm convinced they weren't leaking before).

Anyway, aside from the exhaust problems, I started the truck and ran it for 5-10 minutes and still heard the original ticking noise. It was easy to tell that the exhaust leak was not the cause, and now the exhaust leak is adding more unwanted noise under the hood. I'm going to pull the valve covers as soon as I can.

On an unrelated topic... any suggestions on replacing the old rusty banged up long tube headers I have now? I'm thinking of switching to ramhorn manifolds, but I'm worried they will quiet down the truck too much (I like the way she sounds now). The alternative is to buy new headers, preferably a pair that has easy access to all the bolts and spark plugs.