Ticking when driving

[advocate]

I can hear a ticking when driving, this is intermittant, and I have not been able to find it yet. It has happened since I got the car. Recent searches have scared me into thinking it may be a TOB, diff pin, valve/shim out of spec or rod bearings.

Car runs just fine. Noise is not there all the time. It is very annoying when there though. It seems to be near the pedals is the best that I can describe where is is coming from. Pushing the clutch in does not make a difference. It makes the noise with the car in nuetral and the ticking gets faster as the car speeds up and slows down as the car stops. There is no noise when the car is stopped. I have used my foot to isolate the pedals when driving and it does not stop it.

I have tried doing the "clutch adjustment" by pulling up on the clutch then pushing it down and back up slowly and have never heard the click for the auto adjuster. Could this be a possibility?

Has anyone else came across this before? I am going to keep looking under the dash for things that may be causing it, but I am doubtfull to find anything.

TIA

I'm just worried about the annoying noise for my trip across Canada that i will be taking in a few weeks and having something break on me when I'm in the middle of nowhere.

 

[DavidT]

cam chain tensioners? or stretched chains?
Does it sound like a deisel or a baseball card in the spokes of a bicycle?

 

[advocate]

the sound is like a baseball card in the spokes of a bike... Thing is I have never heard any noise from under the hood when working on the car or just playing around. Only happens sometimes with the car in motion.

Thats a great explanation of the sound though

 

[DavidT]

hmmm.
My old 90 did that. The sound was sickening!
Only diff. in your description is that WHEN it made the noise (didn't do it all the time), as I slowed down to a stop it slowed to. Sometimes it would linger for a minute or two in idle. Other times it would do it on STARTUP and eventually dissipate away.
Do a search on cam chain tensioners and/or timiing chain tensioners... there had been a lot talked about on this subject.
Listen real closely next time its in idle with the hood open. Listen specifically under the valve covers on the sides closest to the throttle body.
Good luck!

 

[AutoSHO]

If it only does it while the car is moving, inspect your CV joints and wheel bearings.

 

[advocate]

That's another thing that I was thinking it may be. I will have them checked this next week when I get my oil changed.

Any other ideas? the engine has been looked over pretty good, all but the rod bearings. Compression is:

1 - 193
2 - 195
3 - 195
4 - 195
5 - 196
6 - 197

So the engine looks healthy, but the noise i think must be either brake or cv or wheel bearing related. Wierd thing is I only hear it from the inside of the car as though it were something inside the car :headbang:

 

[fred79]

well if you hear it when the tranny is in neutral and engine running then its not a diff pin