Valve tick under load?

[acolella76]

So my M20 has a pretty bad tick. I haven't really noticed this until after I put a 885 head on my car. I've done everything to quiet the tick... valve lash adjusted, 20w50, fuel treatment for the noisy injectors, and nothing has worked. I know they are supposed to be noisy but this is LOUD. A friend was driving my car at an autocross and from the other side of the lot about a football field away I could hear my valves over any other car on course.

It is also load dependent. It idle's quiet and will cruise quietly at any RPM, but when the more load there is the louder the ticking is. This isn't the case with any other M20 i've driven, so what gives? Also the ticking does not go away when the car warms up.

Just wondering if anyone else's M20 is like this. This is just the first time I've seen one this noisy.

[Varinn]

Exhaust leak, replace your manifold and flange gaskets and enjoy the relatively quiet running

[5Toes]

My car has the same issue, sort of. It started after hooning my car in a parking lot practicing drifting.

It sounds like one valve or something is terribly wack. I thought I had a broken rocker arm! The car idles a little louder than normal, but the noise is the loudest right at 2k rpm. 2500 not loud at all.

I pulled valve cover to inspect the rockers. All looked good, I am going to do a valve adjustment soon just to double check. (although I did one in May).

I am starting to think I bent a valve, but Im not sure.

Sorry to sort of threadjack

[kamotors]

+1 to exhaust leak at the exhaust manifold, it basically sound like valve tick but 100x louder and is only noticeable when under load, for example going up a hill or accelerating.

[acolella76]

Just looked from under the car at the manifold and there is a lot of black soot around the header flanges. Shitty ebay things are probably warped so when I take the engine out in the next couple of weeks I'll take a look at them. But for now there's no reason to pull them. Thanks for the help guys!

[devon.818]

My car has the same issue, sort of. It started after hooning my car in a parking lot practicing drifting.

It sounds like one valve or something is terribly wack. I thought I had a broken rocker arm! The car idles a little louder than normal, but the noise is the loudest right at 2k rpm. 2500 not loud at all.

I pulled valve cover to inspect the rockers. All looked good, I am going to do a valve adjustment soon just to double check. (although I did one in May).

I am starting to think I bent a valve, but Im not sure.

Sorry to sort of threadjack

stopped reading here!
wtf?

[5Toes]

wtf as in what? I was being a dumb teenager and kind of getting sideways in a big ass parking lot in the middle of nowhere.

Also figured out one of my injectors is bad or a plug is fouled or something... my car blows white smoke so much when idling. It aint coolant either..

[acolella76]

If you think you bent a valve, do a compression check. It doesn't sound like you have a bent valve though if your tbelt and rockers are all okay so you are probably fine!

[5Toes]

Yup, because the noise is only at certain rpms. If a piston was hitting a valve... well it would be at rpms.

Im going to do a valve adjustment, Im thinking maybe a rocker slipped and got REALLY loose??? Also my low oil pressure light is coming on, so I am going to change the sensor and if that doesnt work well pull the oil pan and check the oil pump screen

[Sagaris]

Andrew, I am thinking your oil pump is toast and is not generating adequate oil pressure to keep the engine lubricated. The clacking noise could be rod bearings.

[5Toes]

Thats what I was thinking too. I have babied the thing since the problem arrived.

I hit a patch of ice and hit a curb so I need to redo all of my front suspension, but at that time I am dropping the oil pan and inspecting.

When I put my intake manifold back on, a 1CM square piece of old gasket paper fell in the bitch tube hole. (I couldn't get it out). I did do an oil change the day before this problem arrived though, I forgot to check the oil filter though if the gasket paper wound up in there.

[acolella76]

Yeah that gasket could have been sucked up into the pickup. I changed an oil pan gasket for a friend and when I took the oil pan out, I found 3 12mm nuts stuck in the oil pickup. It was pretty lulz worthy!

[5Toes]

Yeah the low pressure light only comes on at idle. My car has vac leaks galore too right now, but it idles at 900 (I blocked off the ICV pretty much). It flickers lightly at 900, sometimes it is full on. When revved slightly the light goes off.

I have read that sometimes the sensor goes bad so I will try that first. But dropping the pan wont be too hard since I am re-doing pretty much all of my front suspension.

EDIT: But I am getting a real job soon, and am going to 24 valve swap. So I am really just hoping my m20 can last until like August. lol so I dont want to dump loads of money into this damn engine

[Sagaris]

acolella76, another +1 for an exhaust leak near the manifold

....going to 24 valve swap.

You have drank the kool-aid.