ticking noise

[Justin081]

My car has been making a weird ticking noise lately when idling. i was searching on here to try and figure out what it could be and found a thread that said it could be oil leaking into the spark plugs causing a misfire and some ticking. i looked at mine to see if there was any leaking and i think it is. Im not sure if this is my problem or not so i took some pics. let me know what you think.

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y154/something_dumb/DSC00350.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y154/something_dumb/DSC00351.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y154/something_dumb/DSC00352.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y154/something_dumb/DSC00353.jpg
My camera wouldnt take a good pic of my spark plug so this is the best i could get...
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y154/something_dumb/DSC00358.jpg

[03MNAlero]

not sure exactly but it could also be your timing chain getting a little loose or your timing chain tensioner. that would create a ticking noise at idle

[brheller]

It's a bomb!!!

Could be valve chatter also, is it more noticable when cold?

[cherrington17]

i noticed my car does this too... but only when its cold, and the key is turned to "on" w/o the car running. kinda sounds like its coming from where the throttle body is....

...but i have the 3400.. so i assume what i'm talking about is totally different.

[Spilner521]

^^Probably the fuel pressure regulator making noise when you turn the key to 'ON' and the pump pressurizes the line for a second.

[03MNAlero]

try to see if u can tell which end of the motor its coming from, either just the top end in general, which would prolly be valve chatter. or if its from the passenger side id check the timing chain

[cherrington17]

^^Probably the fuel pressure regulator making noise when you turn the key to 'ON' and the pump pressurizes the line for a second.

under the hood?? i thought that was back near the gas tank? and its intermittent. clickclickclick....... clickclickclickclickclickclick every few seconds, for like 3 seconds worth of rapid clicks.

[Justin081]

it does it when its cold and when its warmed up. whenever the car is idling. i was trying to listen to where it was coming from and it doesnt really seem like its on the top. i heard it more lower like around the throttle body or lower. once in a while when im sitting in a drive threw or something idling i feel it a little shaky and the rpms go up and down a little like from 700 - 1100. it only doesn that sometimes tho.

[NickAlero2000]

new spark plugs and boots it is then!
i had this same problem when i first joined the forums.
that should take care of it...the RPM bouncing gave it away, and someone should make a STICKY of RPM BOUNCING PROBLEM
seems common around here these days

[Justin081]

well the plugs are new. i just put them in about 3 weeks ago. i never changed the boots tho. should i just change the boots and that should do it? will that just fix the rpm issue or is that the problem with the ticking too?

[NickAlero2000]

ive never heard the ticking, that very well could be your timing chain.
has it gotten to the point where your SES light blinks?
Mine got that bad...misfiring like a bastard, and we won't get into the time I didn't put my IDI cover on right...lol.
The RPM jump should be taken care of by the new plugs and boots...if that doesn't work my next step was to replace the IDI cover coils...but the boots should work.
How many miles are on your Alero?

[Justin081]

i dont think my ses light is on because of that ... but i wouldnt really know because i already have the ses, anti lock, and trac off lights on for my wheel hub. but i will get new boots tomorrow and try that. what do you mean put the idi cover on wrong? i thought there was only one way to put it on.

[Justin081]

oh and the car has 92000 on it. how big of a deal is the timing chain to fix and how much $$$ would that be to fix.

[NickAlero2000]

shouldn't be too bad for the timing chain...idk how much exact though
when i put the cover on I didn't cover one of the boots all the way so I had crazy amount of misfiring going to school one day, one of my friends heard me and thought I was a Mustang lol.
I wish I took sound clips of that day....
And Yes...the bad idling WILL throw the SES light on, replace the wheel hub first though...do that one ASAP because its not safe to drive on a bad hub.
Have your codes read, or better yet go buy an OBD II scanner...$100 bucks and its already paid itself off for me...

[Spilner521]

under the hood?? i thought that was back near the gas tank? and its intermittent. clickclickclick....... clickclickclickclickclickclick every few seconds, for like 3 seconds worth of rapid clicks.
The FPR is under the hood at the end of the fuel rail.

What you're describing I've actually heard on a few cars. When you turn the key to 'ON' it clicks rapidly for a few seconds then stops. It does that on my Evo. Not sure what it is, but I'm pretty sure it's normal.

[Justin081]

so i put in the new boots today and it seems to have fixed my idling issue. it seems a lot smoother now but there is still that little ticking. i have noticed a lot of other cars doing it too so im not so worried anymore but i will eventually look into the timing chain fix. thanks for all the help

[cherrington17]

yeah, thanks everyone. (i also had questions answered) :lol:

[Spilner521]

so i put in the new boots today and it seems to have fixed my idling issue. it seems a lot smoother now but there is still that little ticking. i have noticed a lot of other cars doing it too so im not so worried anymore but i will eventually look into the timing chain fix. thanks for all the help
The spark plugs themselves make a slight ticking noise every time they fire. That's probably what you hear, which is 100% normal.

[Justin081]

The spark plugs themselves make a slight ticking noise every time they fire. That's probably what you hear, which is 100% normal.

ya that probably is what im hearing. a friend of mine told me about that today. he works in a garage and i had him listen to it and said it could be the timing chain but he thinks there is a better chance that it is just the plugs firing.

[GoldStar611]

My camera wouldnt take a good pic of my spark plug so this is the best i could get...

You need to turn on macro mode to get a good picture that close. It usually looks like a super mario bros flower

http://www.susanchambers.com/images/learn/macromodeset.jpg

[Justin081]

oh ok.... im surprised i didnt try that. i was switching threw all the different settings trying to figure it out. Thanks I will remember that for the next time i have to take a close up pic.

[GoldStar611]

Yeah, took me a few cameras, finally rtfm and got it myself :) Sorry if I could help you on your car problem though. :P

[Justin081]

thats ok ... that problem is pretty much figured out anyway ... you just helped me with a problem i didnt even know i had. lol