Hi I have a 95 camaro z28 157k miles on it and have recently developed a ticking sound above 1400rpm but it is not ticking at idle. I have pacesetter long tubes and the other day 2 of my header bolts were loose on the driver side. I tightened them and I can see a little crack in the gasket on the middle of the driver side. Do you think this could be my ticking issue? Or is it valvetrain related. I used the ****ty gaskets on the headers which came with it. I just ordered a set of Felpro 1406’s which everybody said we’re good. I’ll be installing them this weekend so hopefully that fixes my issue. The tick does seem to be coming from the driver side where the bolts were loose. I also haven’t noticed any decrease in power.

 

Tick can be the result of an exhaust leak, and the fact you can see a crack in the gasket would seem to consistent with the tick. A leak like that can also cause the engine to run rich.

 

That probably explains why mine is running a bit rich due to an exhaust leak, from the scan data. I've been chicken to tackle that (swapping both stock exhaust manifold gaskets), and R&Ring the gas tank with a reproduction one.