WW7

I was wondering what kind of noise an inner valve spring that's broken might make...Would it be a "tick tick" that is fairly loud one time, then maybe quieter the next time you start the motor...Or would it be something more dramatic...I know the outer valve springs make one hell of a racket when broken and the motor misses, but never heard an inner spring noise talked about....WW

John A. Marker

Not on the Vette. But is will sound like you describe.

cv67

Yup, i have. sometimes would tick louder than others

WW7

Thanks guys for the response..... The reason I ask this is because for the last 2 years I have had a tick under the valve covers, nothing real load, just irritating..The tick can be louder one time , and when I restart the car later it may be much quieter....
Earlier this year I pulled the intake because of a small oil leak, while I was in there I decided to replace the lifters with Cranes and also replaced the rockers with Crane Golds ...I thought this would take care of the problem because I was almost certain it was a lifter causing the ticking ..Well, the problem is still there, and the only other thing I can think would cause a ticking would be a broken inner valve spring...Theres nothing else under the valve covers that would make this intermittant noise that I know of.The motor only has 34,000 miles since new ..I tried looking at all the springs with a mirror and light but I can't see inside the outer spring very well to see the inner spring...I guess I'll just have to buy a cylinder air pressure attachment and a valve spring compressor and find out if the spring is the problem..Anything you can add would be appreciated.........WW

PS..I wasn't throwing parts at the problem, I wanted to replace the lifters and rockers with Cranes soon anyway, because I wasn't really sure what was in there.....

cardo0

I doubt u have double springs on a 218/226 duration cam WW. I imagine those inner springs are really dampners. As far as noise u need a auto stethoscope to locate the source. Cut open a vlv cover to use as a splash shield and use the stethoscope to find the source w/eng running. I dont expect a vlv spring dampner to break and make noise but there is always a first time. More likely the rockers where not clearanced and hitting the vlv spring retainers or smacking the stud. Could also be the dreaded wiped cam. But unlikely for a roller lifter camshaft. Yes the unthinkable and easily denied by the best of us. If u are running a flat tappet cam u can mark the p-rods and check for p-rod rotation w/engine running.

Other infrequent noise generators are p-rods and guide plates and even exh manifold leaks can make a ticking sound.

Hope this helps.

DanielRicany

I broke the stock style valve spring inner dampers on my 85 Corvette when I went with a bigger cam. Sounded like a mild chatter.

WW7

I made sure the rockers weren't hitting the cap or the stud when I installed them, made sure I had sufficient space through full travel , the original rockers weren't hitting anything either but I still had the noise...I doubt it could be the cam because it's been doing this for a little over 2 years and 18,000 miles, if it was the cam it would of gotten worse or failed completely and it hasn't..It's making the same amount of noise as it did 2 years ago...I also looked down the bores when I installed the new lifters and the cam looked fine....As far as the duel spring issue I just emailed my builder to ask him what springs he used.....thanks WW

WW7

I just heard back from my builder, and he confirmed that my motor does infact have duel springs and not a single spring with a dampener inside...I'm starting to think the inner spring being broken is where the ticking is coming from..I guess I need to get my butt in gear and start checking things out... ..If it does turn out to be an inner valve spring would I need to replace all the springs or could I just replace the bad one?..I would have to figure out the spring pressure.......WW

cardo0

With 34K mi on high press springs i would definitely change all of them. Lighter springs and low pressures i would just measure them but spring testers are not cheap.

Churchkey

My 89 with stock l98 heads had a tick from #5 cylinder it was a bad exhaust valve guide.
But 100K on that motor.

70's ford 240 6 cylinders + 351 V8's were notorious for worn valve guide ticking. The problem stemmed from the higher percentage of recycled iron used at that time.

Worn guides are easy to check, lever the spring retainer toward the intake & watch the valve stem. If the stem moves it will move the same amount in the other direction. It will need guides.

DanielRicany

I would find out first what the coil binding measurements of the springs were and then what your total valve lift is with your cam and rocker arms.

New valve springs don't usually break without being binded by a cam that is too large, by over heating, or by spinning the motor too high. Although there is the possibility of a manufacturer defect.