valves ticking?

since i've owned my 02 2.4L there has been a ticking noise coming from the general area of the block, it sounds like it's coming from under the plate that says 2.4L DOHC. my mechanic said the cooling fan was loose. could this be right? is there another fan besides the radiator fan? also its not a slow tick, it sounds like a valve or two ticking every time it opens or closes.
oh and when i run my fan (with or w/out heat/ac) i hear a ticking in my glovebox. mechanic said it was because the fan comes on when i turn that on
any help would be nice, especially before i pay to get it fixed

since i've owned my 02 2.4L there has been a ticking noise coming from the general area of the block, it sounds like it's coming from under the plate that says 2.4L DOHC. my mechanic said the cooling fan was loose. could this be right? is there another fan besides the radiator fan? also its not a slow tick, it sounds like a valve or two ticking every time it opens or closes.
oh and when i run my fan (with or w/out heat/ac) i hear a ticking in my glovebox. mechanic said it was because the fan comes on when i turn that on
any help would be nice, especially before i pay to get it fixed

Don't know what your mech is talking about!!!! If you think it's coming from under the idi plate then it could be a vale or a bad boot on one or more of the lplugs or just no on correctly and the sound could be an Arc!
Does it sound like when you try to fire up a gas grill with an electric start? The spark arc'ing across to light the gas? It could be that or it could be cvalve trouble. Get a screwdriver and place it on the velve covers for every cylinder and then put your ear on the end (handle) and list to see if it's louder for any ot the cylinders. it should sound worse through it also.

yeah that's kinda what it sounds like, only faster. i guess i'll check all my plugs tomorrow. might as well change em while i'm at it.

yeah that's kinda what it sounds like, only faster. i guess i'll check all my plugs tomorrow. might as well change em while i'm at it.

change the boots too. They're fairly hard to get the plate on just put the boots on the plate prongs and quide them slowly down. The power steering lines and throttle cable(s if cruise) make this little harder! Good luck. The boots could be missing or just not attached causing an arc but you'll find out!

alright, so i changed my plugs. nothing's different. and it was a bitch to get that plate back on, but i did and i'm positive it's on right. i listened to the sound again and it's coming from the front cam. and it sounds like it's coming from the passenger side of the cam. now that we've ruled out plugs/boots, anymore help would be great. oh and the car seems to be running fine, no black or white buildup on the tailpipe or anything

alright, so i changed my plugs. nothing's different. and it was a bitch to get that plate back on, but i did and i'm positive it's on right. i listened to the sound again and it's coming from the front cam. and it sounds like it's coming from the passenger side of the cam. now that we've ruled out plugs/boots, anymore help would be great. oh and the car seems to be running fine, no black or white buildup on the tailpipe or anything

Does sound like a valve prob then. It could be abent valve, a broken valve spring incorrect cam timing causing a piston to strike a valve. the fron cam is intak so tak the intk off and run the motor with the TB naked. Make sure nothing falls in there and the IAT sensor is connected still. Run the car and then get someone to shut it off. If smoke comes out of the TB then you have a valve that isn't seating properly!

since i've owned my 02 2.4L there has been a ticking noise coming from the general area of the block, it sounds like it's coming from under the plate that says 2.4L DOHC. my mechanic said the cooling fan was loose. could this be right? is there another fan besides the radiator fan? also its not a slow tick, it sounds like a valve or two ticking every time it opens or closes.
oh and when i run my fan (with or w/out heat/ac) i hear a ticking in my glovebox. mechanic said it was because the fan comes on when i turn that on
any help would be nice, especially before i pay to get it fixed

If the car is actually running fine, don't sweat it. Even your mechanic can't find a reason to tear your engine apart. Also, if it has been there since you got the car, why are you worried about it?
It could simply be the fuel injectors running normally. Don't stress too much about it & listen to another 2.4 for comparison. There's no shortage of those kicking around. Once you have performance problems or major fuel consumption or other changes, start to worry.

yeah, i'm not too worried about it. but since i got it with the problem, how do i know if it's not performing as well as it should be? i've never driven another z24. and i gotta wait like a week now before i do anything. i got smashed into a couple hours ago and gotta get some body work done. whole new door and possibly fender too! sucks major monkey balls!

yeah, i'm not too worried about it. but since i got it with the problem, how do i know if it's not performing as well as it should be? i've never driven another z24. and i gotta wait like a week now before i do anything. i got smashed into a couple hours ago and gotta get some body work done. whole new door and possibly fender too! sucks major monkey balls!


I'd have it looked at if it a valve being struck it'll do some serious damage! Testing for a broken valve spring can take time or can be as easy as taking off the cam cover. Try getting a compression tester (Autozone will probaby do it free or lend you it!) and check all the pistons. This will let you know if a valve isn't seating properly at it will differ in that cylinder. they have to be within 25% of each other!

yeah, i'm not too worried about it. but since i got it with the problem, how do i know if it's not performing as well as it should be? i've never driven another z24. and i gotta wait like a week now before i do anything. i got smashed into a couple hours ago and gotta get some body work done. whole new door and possibly fender too! sucks major monkey balls!

Sorry to hear about the damage. Hope you get things sorted.

well, it's gettin there. body shop said like 3 weeks. it needs a new door, fender and rocker panel. plus there's a small crack in the windshield, so i need a new one of those too. and i can't do the work myself cuz it has to be pulled. but things could've been worse. if i'd gotten hit a foot further in either direction it would've messed up either my engine, or me. so i'm just glad my girlfriend and me are ok

sounds like it could be a timing chain noise .

Now Im not sure if the Z motor is the same as the 2.0 DOHC that was in my Dodge Avenger (mitsubishi made motor btw) but if anything, and I mean ANYTHING goes wrong with that setup... it ruins damn near the whole valve train. I would definetly look into it before it does break.

Though if you got hit, and the other persons insurance is paying for the damage... tell the shop that it never made that noise before you got hit. As its directly happened from the car hitting you... well their insurance would have to pay for it being checked/fixed. *shrugs*

considering this was originally posted over 6 months ago, it's probably fixed by now