Hey all,
Been a long time since the last post :) My car's been going well, but, ever since ~6 months ago when i went to QLD for a holiday (1200k's each way) my car sounds like it has a valve ticking, or *something*, occurs mostly under load, 2000rpm-4000rpm or so and the more load, the more obvious it is, it's pretty darn loud, isn't getting any better either. When i went for the QLD trip, i had to use "cheaper" oil than i normally do, and well, was doing ~3000rpm+ for 4 hours at a time pretty easily :) Not good for the engine i'm sure.... Mind you, it DID handle the speeds well...... I noticed the noise when we arrived to QLD, and were doing 60k's an hour....... not the usual 110+.... So, after that description :) Can anyone tell me what it might be and what i can check? it's not an injector AFAIK..... however, it only sounds like it is one valve, not all of them, it's an individual ticking......
Thanks :)
Aaron
Merry xmas :)

It could only be two things. one. if you have never had your valves looked at you may have worn tappets. these are the little discs ontop of the valves. if one is worn it will cause a great deal of clicking. two. for whatever reason one of your valve spings is lose and rattling around. Hope this helps

Aaron,
Have a close look at exhaust manifold gaskets it sounds like a leak from one or two ports, this will give a ticking sound under load.
Turbo's are good at it.
Also it is a good idea to install new studs if possible.

Good luck.
Ian, Forster. nsw

If it occurs under load, give some thought to combustion chamber deposits. Deposits can cause knock. Try a bottle of Techron or premium-grade fuel system cleaner in the tank along with petrol with a good detergent package. Give the car a good run with this.

Hmmm..... maybe possible.... I find the engine a little noisier than ever before now too, i'm *pretty* sure it isn't an exhaust leak, although, thats next on the list to check!!! Hmmm, what are the squishy rubber things you put on top of the valves or whatever they are called? I can't remember what they are called, but i was wondering if one of those had "broken off" as such?
Aaron