Can you guys list off possible causes for a ticking sound that seems to be coming from the bottom of the engine on the drivers side? Havent had a chance to pin point the source, but I'm thinking its a pulley or one of the accessories, the ticking sound increases with engine speed. It is a much more pronounced tick when engine is cold, but after a long drive its not very noticeable. 146K, oil changed every 5K. No loss in power, or any other issues.

 

my ticking sound sounds very similar to this video I found:
Although, for me the ticking sounds like its coming from the lower part of the engine. I'll try and record a video. According to the comments, that guy needed a valve adjustment. Is that common for these engines?

 

Could be a valve clack due to low oil. How are you doing on oil level? Any consumption problems?

 

Oil level is topped off regularly, the lowest I've seen on the stick is half a quart low. Consuming about 1/2-3/4 quart between 5K change intervals. Seems normal from what I've read with my mileage. Been using Mobil1 syn 5W-30 and M1 filters since 20K miles.

The noise comes and goes which makes me believe its not internal engine noise. The ticking/tapping is much louder from under the car, seems like its coming from the lower/bottom part of the engine.

 

I have the same ticking noise on the passenger sometime, but it never gets louder when I rev it up. I noticed it comes from my fuel injector area.

 

Search google for the fuel damper tsb. People have fixed this tick with this. Sometimes this noise is also heard as clunks or ticks.

 

ticking tapping could be an exhaust leak.

 

Changed the oil this past weekend, did some listening around, noise is coming from the drivers side valve cover. I'm pretty convinced I need a valve adjustment.

Is this one of those things I can learn to ignore? I really don't care to drop $1000+ into this car, as I'm looking for a replacement in the next 6 or so months.

 

Yes, look into heavier weight oil or German Castrol (?) 5w-30.. it's heavier than Mobil 1

 

if its not always there or misses ticks, its the fuel injector or something not to worry about. I have the same thing.

 

I agree, OP if you're moving on to something else in 6 months I'd ignore the noise and just enjoy the G while you have it.

 

is it possible it could be one of the spark plugs? In that YT video I posted, one of the comments said it was a loose sparkplug, and the sound of it arcing makes a ticking/snapping noise. I searched for "spark plug engine noise" and behold I found other videos with a nearly identical ticking noise I have.