i picked up a ticking.there is a popping through the exhaust that seems to go with it. it sounds to me like a loose rocker arm up front. i have adjusted them many times to try and get rid of it. seems to be coming from the passenger side. what does this sound like? could it be an exhaust leak on the passenger manifold to head?. it doesnt do it for about 5 minutes when i start it in the morning.

 

Make sure its not your injectors and not your valvetrain.

 

its way louder than an injector. it can be heard usually with the hood closed. and also inside the car when the radio and heater are turned off. it is loudest at about 1500 RPM?

 

could a collapsed lifter cause a popping through the exhaust?

 

my car does a smiliar thing you an hear the motor ticking a good 15 feet away, especially w/ the cutout closed. Its not arocker cuz I took a screw driver to all of them trying to hear. The only thing I could think of was noisy injectors or a ticking lifter.

 

Have you checked your pulleys, I had a ticking noise that could be heard from 10-15 feet away, and I thought it might have been an exhaust leak, but I found out it was the upper most pulley on the passenger side (guessing power steering not sure). Check that out, mine was bouncing up and down a bit causing a really annoying ticking noise. Good Luck

 

pulleys are fine.it is too loud to be an injector.is there any way to test lifters before tearing the whole top end apart?