OH NO! A tick... again

[Centori]

Hey all,
I think my 96 hates me I really do, in my ignorance waaaay back in the day (99 I think) I heard a tick and not knowing then what I do now I simply just lived with it... till Boom! you know what.. Cam weil #1 fast forward 2 years I am living out of state my parents are using the SHO in my absence, they hear a noise and they have no clue on the issue, so... ignore it till Boom #2... SO here we are again... cams all welded this time, heads re-done new valves new plugs all that a a seafoamed top end. Recently (and granted it has been cold) when you start it up it litterally sounds like a diesel under light throttle till warm then it's gone... Currently using Valvoline 5w30 and idea what could be causeing this? the car has 61K on it currently... The noise seems to be coming more from the lower passenger side and is more noticable inside the car (radio and HVAC off) then outside... No oil lights... no low oil... no burning oil... no smoke... just a insistant tick

 

[BodylessSHO]

How far apart are the ticks?

 

[Centori]

Evenly spaced fairly rapid... gets faster with acceleration till warm

 

[Centori]

Oh yeah.. the other odd thing as of late the gas milage sucks ***... maybe 230 a tank... maybe

 

[BodylessSHO]

Sounds like it's just ignition noise, but let someone with more experience chime in before you take my word on it.

 

[Mr Anonymous]

It's probably one of (or a combination of) three problems: first, you're probably hearing some valve train chatter on startup until the oil starts flowing freely at the top of the motor; second your main timing chain tensioner might be a little lazy and takes a couple minutes to fully pump up; third you may have a faulty coil or injector causing a miss (which might also explain your poor fuel economy).

The noise is no big deal. We hear it in a lot of cars. But, since you're also having a fuel economy problem, you should probably look at it more closely.

 

[MilTownSHO]

These cars do tick alot, you can hear the injectors while sitting inside the car.

 

[DavidT]

your description sounds a lot like my old 90 model sho... possible worn timing chain/tensioner. Definitely a SCARY noise
Have you tried Castrols newer oil: "Start-up". I haven't, but it does look interesting.
I used Lucas oil stabalizer in my 90. It helped a little, I think.

 

[JSIL1]

Oh yeah.. the other odd thing as of late the gas milage sucks ***... maybe 230 a tank... maybe

Damn, I get that kinda milage once in a great while. I think I average 190, my best milage was the first cross-country trip i took, I got 320-350 a tank. Then again it can't help that I have an addiction to going fast and live in Denver, huh?

 

[Mr. SHO]

Damn, I get that kinda milage once in a great while. I think I average 190, my best milage was the first cross-country trip i took, I got 320-350 a tank. Then again it can't help that I have an addiction to going fast and live in Denver, huh?

:withstupid:
I'm VERY happy when I get to 200 before the light comes on. Of course, I do nothing but city miles and I can't drive slow. On the highway, I'm always amazed because I'll get 375-400 miles a tank.

 

[stephen newberg]

If you fill the tank completely, which takes a long time of dribbling in the last 20 liters (5 gallons) because of the shape of the tank and filler neck being different for the SHO than a normal Taurus, and are driving at fairly constant highway speeds for long distances, such as on the praries, the consumption rates are really good. On our cross continent trek of September and October, we got some remarkable numbers at times. As an example, one run actually came in just a tad shy of 30mpg (11.9 km/l). Our average was closer to 28 mpg, though.

The tank is 80 liters, or about 20 US gallons, if you fill it all the way, so you should be able to make in excess of 500 miles on a single tank. I was not bothering to even look seriously for a gas station until the trip meter was up to 800 km.

pax, smn

 

[RoadSHO]

I had experienced some great fuel economy this summer. During the convention in Vallejo I recorded a tank that got 30 mpg and another to Lake Tahoe that got 31.4 mpg. Although, on the low end I got 6.4 mpg at the Thunderhill race course, priceless.

 

[SHOspazz92]

When me and my dad are driving the SHO ( ) We get between 13-15 mpg, when my mom is driving...About 23-24 mpg

 

[MilTownSHO]

The tank is about 20 US gallons

Neither of my V8's are, they are both 15-16 gallons. That includes filling up the fill neck because I've had it spill back out before.

My light usually comes on between 230-260, usually more towards 260.

 

[stephen newberg]

Neither of my V8's are, they are both 15-16 gallons. That includes filling up the fill neck because I've had it spill back out before.

My light usually comes on between 230-260, usually more towards 260.

That is interesting. What year is yours? A normal Taurus tank is 66 liters, which is just a tad over 15 US gallons. Has yours ever been changed for a new one, to your knowledge?

I should point out though, that what trips the gas pump auto fill, or even a by hand filling, is the push back of gas that then spills out if you are at speed on the gas pump, and in fact, yes, that happens on my '98 SHO at about that point, that is 15 gallons. If I then dribble it in, at very slow speed (and even then it will overfill and spill a bit every now and then and you have to wait for it to go down and start again, still at very slow speed) I will get in another 5 gallons before the filler neck gets all the way full and gas accumulates where you can see it, no more being willing to gurgle its slow way down.

Doing this takes a lot of patience, and an extra few minutes at the pump, but is interesting. I first noticed it when doing a gas milage survey during a long trip and wanting to be sure I had the exact same amount of gas in the tank each time, rather than the variance from when the pump shut itself off on pushback, so I ran her down to just fumes for the start of the trip and then pulled in and I filled until gas sat unmoving at the top of the filler neck and got in just a bit over 20 gallons, which accounts for a touch left in the tank that rolled me in and the filler neck also, I suspect.

But just because it pushes gas out the neck at you to spill a bit does not mean the tank is really full, on my SHO anyway.

pax, smn

 

[Ian Macoomb]

Stephen, you need a calculator.

1 US gallon = 3.7854 liters.

My owner's manual says my tank is 68L which is 17.96 gallons (close enough to 18). I've only once ever bothered to squeeze that much in it.

 

[stephen newberg]

Who needs a calculator?

Lets see, if I can get a bit over 80 liters into an almost empty tank, at 3.8 liters per us gallon, my HP says I get 21 US gallons, rounding the lesser digits since I do not remember how much over 80 liters it was. So I think that still makes for an 80 liter tank, plus some good length of filler neck. Of some minor interest, IIRC the spec sheet in my owner's manual says 66 liters. Next time out in the car I will check.

Perhaps there is a difference with different model years?

pax, smn

 

[MilTownSHO]

That is interesting. What year is yours? A normal Taurus tank is 66 liters, which is just a tad over 15 US gallons. Has yours ever been changed for a new one, to your knowledge?

I have two, a 97 and 98. I know the 98's has not been replaced and I'm pretty sure the 97's never has.

 

[SHODWN]

Its winter, that explains your poor fuel econo..cold weather will demand alot more gas, it also increases performance as well. The ticking your hearing is more then likely just the injectors clicking.. all of the V8's ake that dieseling noise if in the you listen closely enough while in the cabin.


One cheat to get a bit better milage is to disconnect the IAT from the air box and take it out of the stream, just let it sit in the engine compartment. helps just as bit.. I extended mine and tied it to a heater hose when I still had mine.

 

[Mr. SHO]

From what I've heard, squeezing every last ounce (or centiliter ) into the tank tends to saturate the carbon canister. I don't know if that's good or bad. Of course, I don't know how anyone can be so bored that they spend 10-15 minutes gassing up their car.