Ticking noise

Hey everyone

Iam 17 years old and I own a fiero, it has been a project car for a year and iam getting close to finishing it, I have learned alot about fieros there hard to work on and even harder when you dont have anyhelp from anyone... anyways my ferio is an 86 2m6 2.8L My car start up beautifuly! when i accurate is makes a ticking noise sooo i firuge is has to be an exhast leak iam right or wrong here? anyways when i start my car and try to find the leak ( i think it is around the manfolds) the damn thing gets to hot to put my hands back there... so i got a pieace of white paper and tryed to use that and the paper just started to burn a bit anyways can anyone help me out i dont know what to do, iam out of ideas sorry i coulnd ask my dad cause he doesnt know anything about cars if i dont get rid of this it can't pass saftey please help me i really want to drive my car.. it took me a long time and lots of money i bought the car for $450 canadian I love it!

Fieros are known to run on the hot side, so those manifolds are gonna get pretty toasty. An exhaust leak, loud as it may be, would not go tick tick tick*
There could be something loose that is bumping against something else, but Murphey's law usually dictates otherwise. Listen carefully to the engine.. if the noise is comming from inside there someplace (if you hear any kind of reverb or echo to it, it's probably comming from inside.)
you're in trouble. Valve train problems such as worn lifters or rockers as well as loose piston pins will go tick tick tick while problems in the rods and main journals will usually go knock knock knock. In the end the engine will probably have to come out and come apart. Sorry, dude, I know this isn't what you want to hear after all that hard work but it's better to catch it now then when you have a hole in the block with mangled parts hanging out.

PS - This is kinda obvious but - check the oil - if you're less then a quart low the valves start making noise.

*the exhaust system on any car does tend to make a very slow ticking noise AFTER you shut off a hot engine... it's just the pipes contracting as they cool down, but this doesn't happen when the car is running. It's perfectly normal and not an issue.

Hey Ragtop_Renegade Thanks for you post iam really greatfull some one acually tired to help me!!!

"An exhaust leak, loud as it may be, would not go tick tick tick* "

Iam not sure that is correct. After sreachin the internet i have came across this http://www.fiero.org/text/dittmer.txt

Its says here i might have "cracked manifold" Like I said before i have a tickin noise sounds like it is coming from the engine around the manifolds anyways to summarise it says

"Common symptons for a cracked manifold can be a loud engine exhaust sound,similar to a bad muffler. Other symptons can be a ticking sound from the engine. This sound can give you the impression that the engine itself has an internal problem. In reality, the engine is fine, but the exhaust leak through the crack somehow causes the engine to tick"

There is a huge story and a " How to repair Guide" Looks like this guy had the same problem on his fiero.

"my engine had a sewing machine sound to it when
accelerating. Someone on the net thought that it could be an exhaust
manifold leak"

anyways I think this is my problem as well and iam going to take the mailflods off and get the cracks re-welded ( if there is any) which in this case i hope there is.


Thanks again Ragtop_Renegade for you comments if u have any advise please post.... If there is a probalem with my engine should i have it rebuild or something it has 240ks on it

if you are going to get the manifolds welded make sure you know someone who can do it good.....tell you the truth i would get a rid of those shitty stock mainfolds and go and get the sprint headers at the fierostore.com....but that is just me

Hey Midnightryder Thanks for your advise i took a look at the fierostore they have alot of cool stuff....... i Looked at the headers they were $549.00 american ... which i cannot afford iam only 17 and work at a car wash Plus iam canadian and to top that off i will be paying $280 a mouth for car insurance so u see the pickle iam in. Life sux right now and if i cant get this fixed iam going to be upset... 1 year wasted Lol i know a good welder so ill just be going with that thanks anyways... thanks for the help thou this is the only fourm out here that i got replies.

Hey, you learn something new every day.... there looks to be a lot of sense in the whole manifold bit. I'm not sure WHY it would tick, expanding metal maybe? I see the guy mentioned the header tubes on his GT are stainless steel, I'm not sure if this was a GT only feature or was common on all V6 engines (my stock 4 bangers have a good ol' fashioned one piece cast iron manifold) But if yours does have stainless tubes mounted to steel plates they must be TIG welded. Standard stick electrode ARC welds and wire electrode MIG welds on stainless steel will NOT hold. Let's hope it's leaks and cracks in the exhaust making the noise but you should still try one simple test. Run the engine and remove the oil cap - put your ear near the hole (but not over... you'll get a nice slippery ear full of oil mist) and if the tick is louder through the valve cover the tick is in your valve train.
240,000 Kilometers is close to 150,000 Miles - That's quite a bit.
Depending on how the car has been treated in it's life, you could be looking at early stages of engine failure - worn bearings, weak oil pump, loose timing chain, overspec or oval cylinders, worn piston rings, leaking valves, rounding camshaft. If your engine seems weak, uses (burns) over 1 quart of oil per 1000 miles ( about one liter per 1600 kilometers ) makes low tone knocking sounds, has no low end take off power or the car's top speed is much lower then it used to be it's time for a rebuild. My advice is to start setting money aside so when the time comes you can afford to rebuild your engine and toss in some performance goodies too. Meanwhile, take good care of your Fiero by flushing the cooling system once a year, changing the oil every 3 months or 4,800 KM and checking it often, and not beating *too* hard on that engine. Like most 18-year-olds now days, it's not dead but it is pretty burned out - :lol:

Did you find your problem yet?

I have an exhaust leak where my exhaust manifold gasket has a little section burn out (on the cylinder on the passenger side, rear bank) and it makes a ticking type of sound that is louder when I accelerate.

Thanks Ragtop_Renegade for the feedback, Yes this car has been treated badly. you should of seen it when i got it. Yes I'am going to take you advise and start saving for a rebuild.

86FieroGT
I went on reading about exhast leaks last night and discovered that fiero's often have this problem , it's not rare. anyways to answer your question about finding my leak yet the anwser is no i didn't have time yet, I' am planing on removeing the manifold which is suppose to be a bad job this weekend, or if i have a couple of days of work which i hope. But i will keep this post updated and tell you when i have found it and repaired it.

I had a ticking noise once and found out it was the distributor shaft causing it. Replaced the dist and Bingo !!!!!!!!!! Gone