Unnerving ticking noise under load, may be getting worse
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Unnerving ticking noise under load, may be getting worse
My car seems to have developed a ticking noise that's got me worried. The engine is a pushrod 3.4L V6 with some custom parts on it (Truleo and such). Within the last few weeks, it's developed this noise. I only hear it under load, and usually only if I've giving it a decent amount of throttle. It started out as a ticking noise, but it sounds worse today.
My highly calibrated ear doesn't think its pinging, as it sounds more like ticking, not popcorn. I don't think its the beginning of a spun bearing, but I'm not sure there either. My best guess at the moment is an exhaust leak, though I haven't found it yet. I ported my stock exhaust manifolds years ago, though I thought I was carefully to only remove the lip and not grind into the welds. I also installed a weatherstrip to keep water off the front manifold, but it could still have cracked anyway.
I'm concerned now because it started to sound worse today. It's gotten a bit louder and more pronounced, to the point where the car is starting to sound like an old truck almost. Under decel in first gear (I was in LA city traffic) it did some popping as well that it hasn't done before. Not full on backfires, but definitely a new noise.
Any thoughts? I was going to drive home for Thanksgiving in two days (~350 miles each way) and I'd rather not end up stranded somewhere. There's no indication of trouble on the gauges and only an intermittent Code 32 that's been off and on forever. Only work done recently was an oil and filter change, as well as a fuel filter change. It was making the noise before that. The engine has about 80,000 miles on it.
My highly calibrated ear doesn't think its pinging, as it sounds more like ticking, not popcorn. I don't think its the beginning of a spun bearing, but I'm not sure there either. My best guess at the moment is an exhaust leak, though I haven't found it yet. I ported my stock exhaust manifolds years ago, though I thought I was carefully to only remove the lip and not grind into the welds. I also installed a weatherstrip to keep water off the front manifold, but it could still have cracked anyway.
I'm concerned now because it started to sound worse today. It's gotten a bit louder and more pronounced, to the point where the car is starting to sound like an old truck almost. Under decel in first gear (I was in LA city traffic) it did some popping as well that it hasn't done before. Not full on backfires, but definitely a new noise.
Any thoughts? I was going to drive home for Thanksgiving in two days (~350 miles each way) and I'd rather not end up stranded somewhere. There's no indication of trouble on the gauges and only an intermittent Code 32 that's been off and on forever. Only work done recently was an oil and filter change, as well as a fuel filter change. It was making the noise before that. The engine has about 80,000 miles on it.
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- Shaun41178(2)
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I think its an exhaust leak too, but I haven't found it. I'll just have to keep looking. In the event that it is an exhaust leak, should I be concerned? If its upstream of the O2 sensor, I could see it messing with the engine management (stock). Should I not be driving it until its fixed, or is it not really going to hurt anything? I'm reaching the end of my patience with this car, so I don't care all that much about fixing it unless it's necessary to keep it running until a suitable replacement can be found.
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- Shaun41178(2)
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It will not change your a/f ratio, or your gas mileage. The only way it could happen is on cold start, where it runs rich, and it will take it longer to get into closed loop. But you'll still be in closed loop by 10 minutes after startup, easily.CincinnatiFiero wrote:I saw my mixture richen up with an exhaust leak and craptastic gas mileage but you're not really hurting anything.
88GT 3.4 DOHC Turbo
Gooch wrote:Way to go douche. You are like a one-man, fiero-destroying machine.
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An exhaust leak CAN screw up your gas mileage. The exhaust system can actually pull air in between pulses. The O2 reads lean and the ECM compensated by richening the mixture, which causes the backfiring. Closed loop control only works when the whole loop is known.
Do you still have the stock V6 exhaust? Backfiring in the old exhaust can pop the muffler apart.
Do you still have the stock V6 exhaust? Backfiring in the old exhaust can pop the muffler apart.
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Broken piston skirt would do it, too...
Dunno if you have 'em locally, but Acklands Grainger parts/supply has a borescope (sorta) for $149... Oil-proof and submersible.
I'm trying to bully my boss to get one for me
Dunno if you have 'em locally, but Acklands Grainger parts/supply has a borescope (sorta) for $149... Oil-proof and submersible.
I'm trying to bully my boss to get one for me
"Oh, this is too good. She thinks you're a servant... Cause you're black! This is greatest moment in my miserable life... Sooo-ey! I LOVE RACISM!"