I've got a tick
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Intermediate
Joined: Aug 2011
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I've got a tick
I've got a 78 350 w "summit racing" heads with a not real loud but distinctive tick . Appears to be loudest by the distributor. Could it be the oil pump? Not sure I have a problem or not. What should I be looking for or checking?
Le Mans Master
Joined: Oct 2006
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From: Gladstone MO
C3 of Year Finalist (appearance mods) 2019
Pop the rocker covers and take a close look at the pushrods where they disappear thru the head. If the tick seems to speed up with RPM there have been cases of the pushrods hitting the guideplates or the heads.
This may seem silly, but also check your distributor cap. I've seen a couple that were not seated correctly and the engine ran fine, but the rotor was hitting the cap. How long they would have run like that is a question, but they did tick.
Ckeck your plug wires too- a spark jumping somewhere it's really not supposed to can sound like a tick also. Usually accompanied by a miss, but not always. I've seen a few coils that were arcing inside and while you couldn't see the arc, you could hear it. I've found, for secondary ignition, that a spray bottle with water and a couple drops of dish soap makes a good tool for finding leaks.
This may seem silly, but also check your distributor cap. I've seen a couple that were not seated correctly and the engine ran fine, but the rotor was hitting the cap. How long they would have run like that is a question, but they did tick.
Ckeck your plug wires too- a spark jumping somewhere it's really not supposed to can sound like a tick also. Usually accompanied by a miss, but not always. I've seen a few coils that were arcing inside and while you couldn't see the arc, you could hear it. I've found, for secondary ignition, that a spray bottle with water and a couple drops of dish soap makes a good tool for finding leaks.
Last edited by TimAT; Nov 27, 2012 at 09:55 PM.
Le Mans Master
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From: Oxford MA-----You just lost the game!!!!
If you take a piece of old heater hose and stick one end up against your ear, you can use the other end to do a pretty good job of tracking down where a noise is coming from.
Scott
Scott
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From: Palm Harbor, Florida
