Hi everyone,

The engine makes a ticking sound when reving in neutral or under moderate all the way to full throttle acceleration. It is barely noticeable at idle.

It sounds like it is coming from the exhaust port closest to the alternator, which leads me to believe it is an exhaust leak. I have tightened all exhaust bolts and this is the only place there is a ticking sound. If it is a leak can i replace the gasket to fix it? I used Fel-Pros.

Could the ticking be the alternator itself? my car is holding charge normally so i dont think it is that though.

My dad thinks it could be the valvetrain. Could something be bad making a ticking noise right above the exhaust port?

Oh yeah, it started about a month or so after i installed the headers so im pretty sure its an exhaust leak. I can also smell gassy smell when stopped at lights for a little while. I haven't noticed a big decrease in power and my gas mileage seems to be the same so i don't know whats going on.

Ok sorry for the long post but any help is appreciated!

 

if its a rocker pull the fill cap and it should get louder,
to find a leak pure a little trans. fluid in the intake while running kinda hard on these engines but it will start to smoke really bad and you should see smoke coming from that area, if you can try to feel for exhoust leak also.

you can also take your belt off so the alt. wont turn and eliminate that.

its prob headers leaking.

oh yea, the fluid wont hurt the engine, and the smoke clears up within a minute