Lifter tick??? Exhaust leak Tick???

[Sinclair159]

The ticking seems to be coming from the drivers side of the engine bay. it doesnt tick when im at idle so i dont think it is the lifters.. i recently installed pacestter headers so do u think maybe the gasket maybe is bad??? or there might be a leak in one of the welds maybe?? the ticking gets faster as i accealerate but when im just at a constant speed or idle you cant hear it...

 

[GTM]

The ticking seems to be coming from the drivers side of the engine bay. it doesnt tick when im at idle so i dont think it is the lifters.. i recently installed pacestter headers so do u think maybe the gasket maybe is bad??? or there might be a leak in one of the welds maybe?? the ticking gets faster as i accealerate but when im just at a constant speed or idle you cant hear it...

Most assuredly you need to rule out this noise is coming from a damaged timing belt.

When you have little back pressure in the exhaust it's hard to get a pronounced leak at idle since the exhaust gas is not in any hurry to be forced out. About the best way to isolate this is to use a listening hose. You will need to get the rpm up to where you can hear the sound then using a 3' long section of a semi-rigid hose like a garden water hose, press one end to your ear and then inspect all the suspect areas where a leak could exist. Heater hose can work but because it's soft will absorb a lot of sound and harder to hear sounds "crisply" when you arrive at the source. You may have to change the angle of approach like blowing across a coke bottle whistle to help isolate leaks.

If you have some help you can take a water soaked rag and have them hold it in place against the end of the exhaust pipe to increase the back pressure. You will need a stick or long screwdriver for it will get hot fast and you will get burned.

Keep us posted of what you find.

Cheers,
GTM