FormerH22a4

yup, that is what I have, can't tell at idle.
Can't tell by driving beside a barrier.
Can't tell by having the hood open and neutral reving the engine.
However, at 3000+rpm to 5000rpm, slight tick tick tick, faint, need top up and windows up to hear it.

I'll update on how it goes, I'll drive until my next oil change, then I'll change the injectors. If it isn't the injectors then on to the next part to replace.

Jsmply

Well that is almost me, but I CAN hear it when next to a barrier. It is most obvious when I drive next to a wall or another car or something like that.

Its constant, it does not go away or depend on hot/cold, but it does go up with RPMs. It's also very fast, sounds like someone doing morse code on crack. Definitely in rythm.

FormerH22a4

how long have you had this noise?

Jsmply

I first started noticing it about 3,000 miles ago (the car has 8,000 miles on it), but honestly I guess it could have been there all a long and until I noticed it I wasn't listening for it? I'm not really sure though b/c not its very easy for me to hear, but like eyou said in your first post my passangers never do (even if I let them drive).

Danfotoman

Hmmm....

Jsmply

Agreed, lol.

FormerH22a4

Anyone has more insight into this?
Mine is pretty quiet when it is cold but when the engine is fully warmed it has that faint speedy tick around 3200rpm to 4500rpm. After that it is too loud to notice.

It isn't the timing chain aut tensioner.
Not the serpentine belt

could be 4th injector..
any other possibilities?

Jsmply

FormerH22a4,

I'm really starting to think it may be more normal and just more noticeable than we believe. Could it be some cars have more noisy injectors or valvetrains? Honestly I've done searches with keywords "tick, ticking, tapping, fluttering, ticking noise, etc" and found SEVERAL threads of owners reporting the same symptoms we are between 3000 to 5000 and almost everyone says the same thing (can hear it echo off buildings, very faint, can't notice at high rpms, etc). I really think that if it was something terrible the car would have died by now. I mean if I was hearing the pistons kissing something or the valves kissing something, would the car still be driving the same for several thousand miles? I know I've been noticing it for at least 3,000 miles.

Maybe Xviper or one of our other top mechanics can chime in here.

Bassem

I only noticed mine after I swapped the header out. I was told the thin walls in aftermarket headers allow you to hear more valvetrain noise...which makes sense.

I realize this is useless if you still have the stock header on

Bassem

xviper

I was the one who listened to Former's car with a mechanic's stethoscope. I've also gone on a good test drive with him. That noise is definately new since he got the new short block. I listened to almost everything that ticks and all were pretty normal mechanical sounds that our engine makes except for that #4 injector, which made a more pronounced sound. I'm still not convinced that this is a problem. It may just have gotten sticky from having been removed from the car and left sitting on the bench for a while. I'm hoping that he tries the concentrated fuel injector cleaner and see what happens after that.
The mechanic at his dealer said he couldn't hear anything out of the ordinary, but I have not idea if he used a stethoscope or just listened with the hood open. You can't really hear it that way. You need to be inside the car and driving at those precise rpm's. On the other hand, they may simple not wish to spend any more time and money on it at this time, especially if the ticking is not severe and the car is running pretty good.