loud tick on fresh rebuild barely 500 miles

[Cesar_559]

So I barely got my motor rebuilt at my local machine shop and I got the long block and 12000 mi warranty and I'm barely at 500 miles broken in and I already have a major ticking sound. I got the head rebuilt valve job, new rockers, pistons, rings,bearings and all new gaskets and I don't know why its ticking so loud. I checked the oil and the level is perfect. So I'm stumped. I also don't put cheap gas I last filled at shell.

Any of u guys have an idea y it would be making this super loud ticking already

[Cesar_559]

Forgot to add its a 1989 240sx with a ka24e

[DisEpyon]

what kind of tick sound is it? sing, double, many loud ticks? Who did the valve clearance job, you or the shop? does it go away when the car warms up or gets worse? when you rev the motor does it still occur?

Try this, with the motor running, unplug each spark coil one at a time to see if the ticking noise stops. It actually might be a exhaust manifold gasket leak making it sound like its coming from the valve area of the head.

check your chain guide, i cant remember if these motors allows for adjustment for them or not, but this would usually make a rattle sound than a tick.

[Cesar_559]

Everything internally is new and the ticking is through the rpm range. and doesn't go quiet when it warms up or when cold .

[Cesar_559]

Just one constant tick

[Cesar_559]

The valve clearance job was done by the machine shop

[DisEpyon]

Sounds like you have the same problem as me with the 240z datsun.

I am missing a stud on exhaust runner 1 and over time the manifold at that part slowly warped and now i have the ticking sound. I had no luck getting the snapped stud out so i said fuk it and left it alone, now about a month ago the ticking noise occurred. My reasoning for thinking its that is because when i unplug spark plug wire for piston 1, the ticking noise goes away, meaning that there is not enough flow of air moving out the exhaust port and out of the leak to cause the ticking noise. If the noise were to occur in the valve area or piston, it would still cause a ticking noise even with out ignition. I also have good compression. My spark wires are good because i replaced them and i have new spark plugs. I checked my valve clearance and its right where it should be.

So i say do what i told you and also check compression because that can tell you a lot about your piston rings and valves.

[Cesar_559]

I am missing one bolt on the exhaust manifold but I don't think it would make that loud of a noise. I'm'll check my compression tomorrow.

[DisEpyon]

I would check the valve clearance just to make sure or just take your car back to the shop and tell them to figure out whats wrong. They shouldnt charge you, that would be wrong.

[DisEpyon]

I thought the same, i didnt think it would make a loud noise, i can hear it inside my car with the windows up, and it only gets worse when the car is warmed up. My brother was the one to tell me about this because he had a similar problem on his altrac celica.

[iveexcaped3]

are they oem rockers or aftermarket mechanical lifters? if its oem their hydrolic there is no clearance between the valve stem and the rocker arm. sounds like you need to pull of the rocker arms and bleed them. rocker arm bleeding guide (http://www.nicoclub.com/archives/ka24e-ticking-lifters-repair.html)

[Cesar_559]

There OEM lifters that are brand new

[iveexcaped3]

if their brand new i can almost guarntee they didnt bleed them before installing them. had the same problem had a tick did this and bam it was gone

[xh3nry]

I would just take it back to the shop and have them fix the problem. If they don't then that's just messed up. BTW Chevron 91 octane is the way to go. Chevron gas has Techron in it which helps remove engine deposits. Trust :D

[iveexcaped3]

i only run shell 91 but chevron 91 is next in line. you should take it to the shop but tell them they need to bleed the rocker arms. those things are so easy to tick if any air gets in them, its a very common KA-E problem

[Cesar_559]

Ok yeah it's not a exhaust leak so it has to be the lifters.

[Cesar_559]

Yeah I'm pretty sure they didn't bleed them because when I got there the lifters were bone dry. Like freshly removed from the boxes

[89JDM240sx]

Sounds like your lifters need to be re- bled

[DisEpyon]

Heheh silly me, i forgot those engine heads use hydraulic lifters. Like everyone else said, that is most likely the cause. Very easy to bleed, i remember bleeding them on my sr i used to have.

[iveexcaped3]

Ok yeah it's not a exhaust leak so it has to be the lifters.

dont quite fully rule it being the problem start with bleeding them then if it contines let us know and we can go from there but its probly 90% your issue

[DisEpyon]

Thought i would update this with the problem i had. Not OP.

So I managed to get my snapped stud out of my head and took the exhaust manifold into the machine shop to get resurfaced. The gasket i had was still good, only about 2 weeks old. I put all that crap back on with a new bolt in place of the stud. Yet i still had that ticking noise. So the exhaust was eliminated from my list. I took the head off this morning to give it a closer inspection and found out that i have a worn rocker arm and lash pod for the exhaust valve for cylinder one. It was causing my ticking noise. To make sure it was that, i adjusted the valve lash clearance one size smaller, put everything back together and started her up. No ticking/clicking/knocking noise what so ever. But when the car warmed up it began to make that noise again, not as loud but still noticeable. Now i am going to replace with a new rocker arm and lash pod. Hopefully that will fix my problem.

[iveexcaped3]

Thought i would update this with the problem i had. Not OP.

So I managed to get my snapped stud out of my head and took the exhaust manifold into the machine shop to get resurfaced. The gasket i had was still good, only about 2 weeks old. I put all that crap back on with a new bolt in place of the stud. Yet i still had that ticking noise. So the exhaust was eliminated from my list. I took the head off this morning to give it a closer inspection and found out that i have a worn rocker arm and lash pod for the exhaust valve for cylinder one. It was causing my ticking noise. To make sure it was that, i adjusted the valve lash clearance one size smaller, put everything back together and started her up. No ticking/clicking/knocking noise what so ever. But when the car warmed up it began to make that noise again, not as loud but still noticeable. Now i am going to replace with a new rocker arm and lash pod. Hopefully that will fix my problem.

What motor is this?

[DisEpyon]

its for my datsun 240z stock l24 engine.

[iveexcaped3]

Thought i would update this with the problem i had. Not OP.

So I managed to get my snapped stud out of my head and took the exhaust manifold into the machine shop to get resurfaced. The gasket i had was still good, only about 2 weeks old. I put all that crap back on with a new bolt in place of the stud. Yet i still had that ticking noise. So the exhaust was eliminated from my list. I took the head off this morning to give it a closer inspection and found out that i have a worn rocker arm and lash pod for the exhaust valve for cylinder one. It was causing my ticking noise. To make sure it was that, i adjusted the valve lash clearance one size smaller, put everything back together and started her up. No ticking/clicking/knocking noise what so ever. But when the car warmed up it began to make that noise again, not as loud but still noticeable. Now i am going to replace with a new rocker arm and lash pod. Hopefully that will fix my problem.

To be honest it sounds like you got a weak spring. Is this an interference motor or no?

[DisEpyon]

I really dont fully understand what a interference engine is. I just know they use timing belts instead of chains i think and the valves extend further into the cylinder chamber and timing has to be nearly perfect.

The l24 engine uses a timing chain.

So here is a vid i made yesterday showing how loose the rocker arm is to the spring. For some reason the vid wont embed so here is the link.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ageYcen1mkA

You may be right, the spring might be worn. But id figure i would try the rocker arm and guide replacement first. Now keep in mind this is after ive done the correct gap adjustment for this valve and its still loose.

The red arrow points to the rocker arm for the exhaust that is causing the clicking noise.

http://i696.photobucket.com/albums/vv327/BrentWP/IMG_1019.jpg

http://i696.photobucket.com/albums/vv327/BrentWP/IMG_1024.jpg

http://i696.photobucket.com/albums/vv327/BrentWP/IMG_1025.jpg

http://i696.photobucket.com/albums/vv327/BrentWP/IMG_1026.jpg

http://i696.photobucket.com/albums/vv327/BrentWP/IMG_1029.jpg

http://i696.photobucket.com/albums/vv327/BrentWP/IMG_1034.jpg

http://i696.photobucket.com/albums/vv327/BrentWP/IMG_1035.jpg

http://i696.photobucket.com/albums/vv327/BrentWP/IMG_1037.jpg

http://i696.photobucket.com/albums/vv327/BrentWP/IMG_1040.jpg

[ShadowMan]

^An interference engine is one whose pistons and valves would come into contact (bad) should the timing chain/belt snap. The valves that are open are going to get hit by its respective piston when it comes up resulting in bent/broken valves and/or holes in your piston.

[Cesar_559]

forgot to update. one of the lifters had no oil through it so the machine shop replaced it