This is baffling to me. I have what clearly sounds like lifter tick, but only when the car is not level. Oil pressure is good, 40 when cruising and 25 -20 when idling warm. 10w30 oil. When I first head it I was backing out of my driveway which is at an angle. Any ideas? 69 350 in a Skylark with 72 heads oiled thru lifters, hydraulic lifters and stock cam. Stock TH350 trans ****Got some good vids for you, found no cracks in the flexplate, the three flexplate bolts are tight, not even teeth missing on the plate.. But the sound seems to come from that area... Hope we can get lots of eyes on these vids maybe someone knows? Its at the speed of the crank turning. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gc7yEgsuXl4 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=knisVkwFfDc https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jYRD4KxQ23E This time it was clicking each time I throttled while driving on flat ground too, but not on light acceleration. I couldnt get that on vid too much wind noise.
Headers, all bolts present. How come exhaust would leak on a slight incline? Doesnt seem to be an exhaust leak.
Car body/frame is probably twisting in turn twisting the exhaust causing a small exhaust leak. You can find it if you listen with the hood up and use something like a feather or piece of paper and move it along the header/manifold where it meets the head. When you find the leak it should blow them around. You may also see some carbon blowing on the head leaving a black soot mark. Another way to listen for it is with a mechanics stethoscope that the needle unscrews from "snap-on", the bell where they screw together works great for listening for such leaks.
I can go from level to not level in my garage driveway and make it do it, theres no tilt there. Oil level good before and now that its been just changed too. So is the consensus lifters dont do that? Sometimes from not level to level it will continue for a bit after on level ground. I have a quart of Marvel Mystery oil in with the oil change in case there is something in the oil system that needs a light cleaning, but my oil is generally clean and the oil that was in it only had agout 1k on it and was fresh in April. Mostly I want to be sure I am not causing damage driving it, and seeing if it is a life, that it cleans stays free of sticking. One thing I thought of is if the oil pick up is loose or angled or something in the pan, but if it god tipped so it wasnt picking up enough oil wouldnt pressure drop?
As many have stated it may be an exhaust leak, they often make little ticking sounds that are noticeable when near a wall that will reflect the sound back towards you. The best thing to do is to get a mechanic's stethoscope (or make one) and truly identify the source of the tick. I once had what I thought was an exhaust tick that turned serious one afternoon of pleasure cruising far from home. It was a rod knock and it got louder the further I went. Fortunately I made it home without further issue.
So you have actually watched the oil pressure when on uneven ground? Can you make it do it if you jack up the car when running? Very peculiar problem.
Yep the oil pressure is unchanging with the terrain. I havent kacked it up while running yet I could. We'll see if I get time to do more checking soon. One more noticable development is a vibration on deceleration when not in gear. This concerns me a bit.
One other thing to check is the flexplate. Make sure it isn't loose or cracked. The noise can range from a low knock to tick and might account for your vibration. 350's are known for cracked flexplates.
Shute could be. The first thing I looked for was if the flexplate was hitting the shroud, but loosening the shroud bolts and moving the shroud away from the flexplate didnt seem to change it. (I couldnt easily remove the shroud entirely because of my headers, if I take the starter off it will come off). I suppose that would cause a vibration wouldnt it. What can a cracked one hit? How does one inspect a flexplate? Thanks!
You should be able to get the cover off without unbolting anything, I can with my MT headers. It takes a bit of wrestling with it, but it comes off. After you get it off, cracks will be very obvious if you look. They typically crack between the bolt holes and openings. I went through 3 flexplates when I owned my 72 Skylark 350. One time, a piece of the flexplate broke loose and got caught between the teeth and the cover, made a hell of a racket and tore a hole in the cover. The engine vibrated also. Mine would have a low pitched knock that would come and go at idle speed in Park/Neutral, and then become a tick in gear. Was worse when the engine was cold and running a bit rougher. Also check the converter to flexplate bolts, and flexplate to crank bolts.
Also check you harmonic balancer. Had one that the bolt didn't tighten right and was bouncing on keyway. better to know its good
Got some good vids for you, found no cracks in the flexplate, the three flexplate bolts are tight, not even teeth missing on the plate.. But the sound seems to come from that area... Hope we can get lots of eyes on these vids maybe someone knows? Its at the speed of the crank turning. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gc7yEgsuXl4 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=knisVkwFfDc https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jYRD4KxQ23E This time it was clicking each time I throttled while driving on flat ground too, but not on light acceleration. I couldnt get that on vid too much wind noise.
In the 3rd vid it gets a lot louder as I get closer to the tranny, the sound comes from down there. The shroud is plastic. I can inspect closer but doesn’t seem like it. Since its not lifter tick I will put the vids in "the bench" for more visibility.
