Okay so I need some help here identifying this sound that cropped up over the past week.

Started noticing it in the enclosed space of the garage right before I would pull out in the morning to go to work – at first I thought I was just hearing things. Finally realized I could hear it coming from underneath the car (a rythmic 'tapping') stopped at a light next to another car, with the radio down I realized I could hear it ‘bouncing’ off their car.

When I got my first S197 at the end of 2004, and my brother and his wife got theirs, I learned that these 3 valves can be ‘noisy‘ and they have their own unique sound running with the hood up. Well to me, this sounds like that sound amplified – a light metallic ‘tapping’ or ‘tak-tak-tak-tak’.

The sound is there at idle (starts about 1 second after the engine turns over) and increases and decreases with the rpms.

Initially I thought it was from underneath the car as I said, because you can clearly hear it standing next to the car at idle. Last night I popped the hood while it was running in the garage and listened, comparing the passenger side to the drivers side – it is obviously coming from only the drivers side and back by the firewall (general location of the #8 cylinder I guess although its hard to hear exactly with the SC spinning.)

Only things changed on the car recently was the HT0 sparkplug install back around 4th of July.


This has been going on all week and the car has shown no signs of driving differently – power is the same, no stumbles, etc…. (which is why I ruled out the sparkplugs)

It’s obviously something I need to have looked at in a shop but I wanted to get people’s impressions and if they have had anything similar occur.

Below is a quick vid I took last night starting from under the car and then into the engine bay – you need to try and tune out the clatter from the Saleen in the engine bay but once you do, the sound (clicking) is evident. And in person it is definitely louder than it sounds on the video.


http://s66.photobucket.com/albums/h242/Burke0011/?action=view&current=MVI_3255.flv

 

****, that is loud? Bad injector?

 

Wow that sucks , I hope it's something not too bad ! Maybe an injector like adrenalin said ...

 

Sounds normal to me. The modular V8s have always been noisy engines. If you can hear it clearly from inside the car with the windows rolled up, you might want to have it checked out. It could be a busted timing chain tensioner.

 

Sounds like a bad injector, I'm sure you've seen the bad injector for the new ford diesels?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v36MCcRPRTc

[yt]v36MCcRPRTc[/yt]

 

Here's my 07 GT when it had less than 100 miles:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eGmGmkPbl2U

 

Noisy is one thing and I definitely know that about these engines

But this is WAY different - it is WAY too loud for the normal sound
if it was 3 before on a 1-10 scale, this is a 7 or 8
(and like I said - the video does NO justice to how loud it is)


So far ideas thrown my way are bad injector or possibly the sparkplug not being seated correctly causing an exhaust leak which I was told would make a rythmic tap-tap sound like that

I can't watch vids here at work so I will check out those youtube vids when I get home - thanks for the headsup on that

I am also going to remove the coil pack and pull that number 8 sparkplug tonight and ensure that it is seated correctly

I REALLY hope its something I can do myself

 

I just listened to your vid again. Are you referring to the ticking sound or the sound of marbles rattling around in a metal can?

 

the TICKING sound

the other sound (distorted) is the regular sound of the Saleen Series VI rotors in the supercharger

 

sounds to me like valvetrain noise. NOT good. Maybe a broken lifter?? pull a valve cover to see whats going on inside..

 

Dave, take it to a shop. The trying to diagnose something like this over the net just doesn't work. It could be a number of things.

 

D A M N I love when things actually come together

The answer is?

Exhaust leak - through the number 8 plug

Pulled off the coil pack, slide the socket and extension down there to run thye plug out to check it

Turn the extension to the right waiting for it to thread onto the plug - it just turns.......

WTF?

Slide it out and slide a finger in there - touch the top of the plug - it wiggles the tiniest bit

Torque it to 25lbs like the Haynes manual says

Reconnect coilpack and injector - fire it up

NORMAL engine noise

No tapping



MAAAAN was I worried it was something major - yet (and I am no expert) all the evidence seemed to point towards some sort of exhaust leak and that was it

THANKS so much to everyone who posted to lend a hand!!

I'm goin drivin this afternoon

 

Oh oooooo I know what it is

 

 

Did whoever that installed the plugs forget to torque it? Did you do the install? Might want to check the other ones.

 

great!!!!!

 

Great news ...

 

Close call Dave, glad it was just a loose plug.

FYI, that's similiar to the sound of a spun bearing, but a 10 on your sound scale.

I was told by the shop that the #8 cylinder (in our 3V 4.6's) is the one that typically goes south when it blows.

This is what my motor sounded like minutes before it grenaded. link

 

let's NOT talk about that word (the G word) shall we?

Yeah I am glad it was something simple (for once)

how's the rebuild coming anyways man?

 

Rebuild is complete, just waiting for my shop to throw the motor back in the car; it's taking them forever!