2L TE ticking (1 Viewer)

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Joined
May 10, 2020
Threads
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101
Location
Victoria, BC
My engine has started ticking. Would love to hear your thoughts.

Sounds like a typical metal on metal click, like a fast turning ratchet. It’s loud enough to hear it while driving. There’s no tick while at idle, but it starts as RPMs increase, gets louder and stops once RPMs get to around 2100.

Engine seems to be otherwise performing normally. I haven’t put many miles on it, literally on my second tank of fuel.
 
Turbo?

Maybe the impeller is hitting something.
 
Can you provide us with a video? What is the history on the vehicle? How has it been running otherwise? How is cold starting? Is it going through any oil or coolant?

Ticking can be a number of things, and I'd recommend not driving it until you figure it out.

One thing that sometimes happens is people use too thin of a headgasket when they put a new cylinder head on these engines (you're supposed to measure piston protrusion and use a specific thickness). Too thin a gasket causes the valves to impact the pistons. Over time it takes out the big end rod bearings and destroys the bottom end of the engine. Ticking/knocking can be a damaged rod bearing. That's sort of the worst case scenario.

I've found that if I use 10w30 I do get a bit of a tick out of the engine. But it's only at idle. Similar noise to the 1HDT tick people complain about.
 
Did you or the PO remove the EGR System? I had a "ticking" and it was a bad design block off plate at the rear of the exhaust manifold in combo with the OEM gasket flapping. If you re-used the OEM gasket, take it out and use 1/4" block off plate with a bit of RTV. Not saying this is your "ticking", but it could be.
 
Did you or the PO remove the EGR System? I had a "ticking" and it was a bad design block off plate at the rear of the exhaust manifold in combo with the OEM gasket flapping. If you re-used the OEM gasket, take it out and use 1/4" block off plate with a bit of RTV. Not saying this is your "ticking", but it could be.
Looks like the EGR is untouched. Thanks for the info, I plan to remove it.
 
Can you provide us with a video? What is the history on the vehicle? How has it been running otherwise? How is cold starting? Is it going through any oil or coolant?

Ticking can be a number of things, and I'd recommend not driving it until you figure it out.

One thing that sometimes happens is people use too thin of a headgasket when they put a new cylinder head on these engines (you're supposed to measure piston protrusion and use a specific thickness). Too thin a gasket causes the valves to impact the pistons. Over time it takes out the big end rod bearings and destroys the bottom end of the engine. Ticking/knocking can be a damaged rod bearing. That's sort of the worst case scenario.

I've found that if I use 10w30 I do get a bit of a tick out of the engine. But it's only at idle. Similar noise to the 1HDT tick people complain about.
I don’t really know much about the history. I got it from auction in Japan. Odometer reads 162000km, looks to have been relatively well taken care of. Has service sticker from timing belt at 144km, transmission fluid change at 130km, oil at 150km. Has 2.5” exhaust. The shop who did my import inspection said my coolant looked great, oil was quite dark though.

I’ve had it on the road about four weeks, hasn’t lost any coolant or oil. No coolant in oil or vice versa. Cold starts have been fine, I’ve never had to try twice and it’s not too rough when it’s cold. I have no aftermarket temp gauges yet but I haven’t seen the stock one over half. Nothing of note from the exhaust. Overall it’s been running great.

Luckily I have a work vehicle so I’m able to park it in the meantime. Unfortunately this started when I was almost two hours from home.

As for oil, I have 15w40 in there. Initially I had put some Lordco in and didn’t do the filter. Just to help and sort of rinse out the black. Since this happened I went ahead and put on a new filter and Rotella T4. Dipstick is clean but noise remains.

I will get a video first opportunity. I’ll also figure out how to make it visible to others.
 
I don’t really know much about the history. I got it from auction in Japan. Odometer reads 162000km, looks to have been relatively well taken care of. Has service sticker from timing belt at 144km, transmission fluid change at 130km, oil at 150km. Has 2.5” exhaust. The shop who did my import inspection said my coolant looked great, oil was quite dark though.

I’ve had it on the road about four weeks, hasn’t lost any coolant or oil. No coolant in oil or vice versa. Cold starts have been fine, I’ve never had to try twice and it’s not too rough when it’s cold. I have no aftermarket temp gauges yet but I haven’t seen the stock one over half. Nothing of note from the exhaust. Overall it’s been running great.

Luckily I have a work vehicle so I’m able to park it in the meantime. Unfortunately this started when I was almost two hours from home.

As for oil, I have 15w40 in there. Initially I had put some Lordco in and didn’t do the filter. Just to help and sort of rinse out the black. Since this happened I went ahead and put on a new filter and Rotella T4. Dipstick is clean but noise remains.

I will get a video first opportunity. I’ll also figure out how to make it visible to others.

Well sounds like you're doing everything right.

Have a listen to the sound clip in the first post of this thread. Is that what you're hearing? The 2LTE's can make that same ticking noise when they get a fresh oil change. Will happen most when the engine is warm. In fact I just changed my oil and I'm getting that sound right now. Tick noise after BEB change

I see you're in Victoria. Once this COVID stuff is less of an issue I could probably help you out a bit.
 
@Cascadia , I'm not trying to sound like a know it all, but before you starting digging around further, it may be worth an hour of your time to remove the EGR tube at the back of the exhaust manifold. You will see a "layered metal gasket". If it looks like this one (cracked), that is the source of your "ticking". I had this same problem, and guess when it started? Above 2000 RPM. If you were already planning on removing that system, mind as well do it now. Nothing lost. Let us know.

08A99FD8-6743-43E4-9803-B0C6705EB146.jpeg
 
@Cascadia , I'm not trying to sound like a know it all, but before you starting digging around further, it may be worth an hour of your time to remove the EGR tube at the back of the exhaust manifold. You will see a "layered metal gasket". If it looks like this one (cracked), that is the source of your "ticking". I had this same problem, and guess when it started? Above 2000 RPM. If you were already planning on removing that system, mind as well do it now. Nothing lost. Let us know.

View attachment 2304935
Indeed it’s probably the best place to start. Worst case scenario I get something off the to do list. Should be able to find time on the weekend, will keep posted. Thanks for the reference picture, cheers.
 
@Cascadia , In the posted photo, behind that gasket is a piece of 3" flat bar 1/4" thick. Just trace out that gasket and you will have a perfect block off plate. Just use RTV, do not re-use the gasket. I trust you will solve the issue or at least have a better fuel-air system! Cheers!
 
Well sounds like you're doing everything right.

Have a listen to the sound clip in the first post of this thread. Is that what you're hearing? The 2LTE's can make that same ticking noise when they get a fresh oil change. Will happen most when the engine is warm. In fact I just changed my oil and I'm getting that sound right now. Tick noise after BEB change

I see you're in Victoria. Once this COVID stuff is less of an issue I could probably help you out a bit.
I think what I’m hearing is a little different from that. More of a rapid staccato sound. Similar to what you would get moving an object into some fan blades.

I appreciate the offer. Might take you up on that once all this stuff subsides. Even if my problem is resolved, I wouldn’t mind picking your brain about these trucks.
 
I think what I’m hearing is a little different from that. More of a rapid staccato sound. Similar to what you would get moving an object into some fan blades.

I appreciate the offer. Might take you up on that once all this stuff subsides. Even if my problem is resolved, I wouldn’t mind picking your brain about these trucks.

I think @Dprio34 is on the right track with exhaust related stuff. In addition to EGR the noise could be from the manifold or down pipe. I've had belts make strange noises before too. Check that your belts are in good shape and tension-ed properly. Again, if you're able to make a video and upload to youtube or something, that would help us a lot....

Sure, happy to chat about L78's when life is back to normal.
 
Update on the ticking, sorry for the delay.

Did an EGR delete this weekend, unfortunately the sound remains. All good just the same as it needed to be done, plus it gave me an excuse to buy a new angle grinder. Lots of build up in the intake, nice to get it cleaned out. Gaskets all looked okay though. Thanks @Dprio34 for the suggestion, like you said, nothing lost.

@GTSSportCoupe I made a short video to check out. Not sure if it’s much help. Recordings always sound so different from the real thing. In the recording it’s quieter, or more balanced with the normal engine noise.
4D92634A-552E-4E1D-A971-4D459E8077F5.jpeg
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@Cascadia , I’m sorry that didn’t solve your problem, but one item off the checklist. From the short clip you just posted, it sounds worse at idle than at higher RPM. I was thinking a much higher pitch “ticking” when I made the recommendation. Just curious, did you also remove plate inside the intake manifold and rest of the emissions system? If you didn't I would. It may not solve your ticking issue, but you are already half way there. In the video, it sounded more like rough idling, than ticking. But like you said, sometimes it is hard to tell from these soundbites.
 
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Wow, the video makes that noise sound terrible! Can you tell roughly where it's coming from? Buy a cheap automotive stethoscope if you can, and poke around with it while the motor is running (stay away from the belts tho!).

So my suggestion is: Check tension of all the belts. Feel all of the idler pulleys, crank pulley, alternator, PS etc. for any play or worn bearings. Listen to hear if the noise is coming from inside the timing belt cover - maybe things are falling apart in there! If the noise is not from those areas (front of engine), try to identify if it's coming from the cylinder head, or engine bottom end... Let us know if you can narrow down where the noise is coming from.

I might be working from home a day this week. If you can bring the truck by I could have a listen (while remaining physically distant etc.). I have a busy life with kids etc, so I'd only be available to do this from around 9:30am to 2:30pm or so. Not sure if you can work with that.
 
That's exactly what I thought of when I listened. You should definitely take Nick up on that offer to get this identified. I can't identify that one,but it's pretty terrible sounding. It would definitely help to figure out what area of the engine it's coming from.
On a good note @Cascadia ,sometimes a terrible noise can be tracked back to a pretty mundane cause. Hopefully that will be the case here.
At idle I would almost blame it on an exhaust leak because of how percussive it is. But, it's really hard to tell in a video due to no depth perception to get a feel for it's location.
 
On second thought, don't drive it to my house that way! If you're in the great victoria area I could drive to you instead.
 
@GTSSportCoupe I really appreciate the offer. I’m working days however. Friday is a possibility, usually the lightest day. All that said, I’m a little ways out there. Ardmore Drive, North Saanich. Probably safe to assume that’s a little too far. I was going to take it to my usual mechanic (Anderson Precision) so he could have a listen but don’t like the thought of driving it anywhere right now.

I’m thinking it’s from the front of the engine. Initially I thought the fan blades were hitting something but they spin free by hand. I climbed up and had my ear practically on to valve cover and don’t think it’s from there. Tension on the belts seems okay, I’ll take a closer look at my pulleys later tonight.
 
Hi folks,

I am having a similar ticking sound and rattle from the engine after a timing belt change and some other maintenance items. The noise started off very low in volume (i thought it was plastic bag in the wheel well at first) and got louder.

Looking forward to Cascadia and GTSSportCoupe's findings!!

 

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