Ticking sound
 

Hello,

I hear a ticking sound from the left side of my 3800 that I only hear when the car is moving. It sounds like a lifter tick tick tick but I don't hear it when the car is idling in drive or even in neutral.

Aside from that, car runs great. It's a 1996 with only 70,000 miles.

Any thoughts as to what it could be? And if it is a stuck lifter, is that something that should be addressed? I really don't want to invest money in an engine rebuild on this thing and I can live with the noise if it's not that dire.

Thanks in advance for your insight!

Re: Ticking sound
 

"Ticking" can be due to an exhaust leak. Have you checked that possibility out?

Re: Ticking sound
 

Y'know, I'm glad you said that because I thought of that. Maybe an exhaust manifold gasket. I'll look into that. Thank you!

Re: Ticking sound
 

If its not exhaust, in my old v-6 I had changed the fuel injectors and noticed a tick sound. It ended up be natural for those fuel injectors but I only noticed it because I tend to listen hard after you fix something and that sound was always there but I was just noticing it then.

Re: Ticking sound
 

My 3800 has a tick on the passenger side. I thought maybe it was the pcv valve in the upper intake.

Re: Ticking sound
 

If the ticking increases with engine speed, it's probably not the PCV.