Since I rebuild my 87 GT (almost stock 2.8 V6) some time ago it has been running great but has had a clicking/ticking noise. It is very pronounced when the engine is cold/ just started up. It rises and falls with changing RPMs. When the engine warms up is goes away pretty much completely.

I did a search and came up with these possibilites:
- exhaust leak
- noisy injectors
- valves
- lifters

Anything else? What's most/least likely? What's the possible danger to the engine for each possibility?

[This message has been edited by yellowstone (edited 11-08-2009).]

my 2.8 did that, turned out to be the exhaust manifold closest to the front of the car. seems it cracked on the manifold nearest the transmission. I thought I had a bad lifter by the sound of it. It's a fairly common issue with fiero 2.8's.

My guess would be an exhaust leak.

Had a similar condition on my GT. Turned out to be a crack on the inside (firewall) exhaust manifold.

Cajun

But my complete exhaust setup is brand new. Sprint manifolds and Y-pipe, Borla cat-back...

your running roller rockers arn`t you ??

they do make duke like ticking noises ok not as loud as a duke but they are ticking .

hypereutectic pistons are noisy when cold
they have alot of thermal expansion, so they are a bit small when cold, and give some piston slap

another thing which changes from cold to hot is the thickness of the oil, which could cause changes in how quickly the lifters "bleed down"

No, I bought them but never installed them and ended up selling them on eBay...

quote Originally posted by Fieromaniac: your running roller rockers arn`t you ?? they do make duke like ticking noises ok not as loud as a duke but they are ticking .

The ticking is likely one of two things, an exhaust leak around your exhaust manifold gasket, or a rocker arm that needs adjusting.

Arn

Your where stating above that your manifolds are new .
What kind of manifold bolts did you used ?
Because of the changing temp.conditions and some material stress you need special bolts (like
headbolts) normal bolts will/may fail .

@Fieromaniac: I didn't use bolts for the manifolds but studs..

http://www.fierostore.com/P.../Detail.aspx?s=88100

what type of oil are you using?

I think I used 15w30 or 5W30... would have to double-check to be sure.

[This message has been edited by yellowstone (edited 11-10-2009).]

Is it Synthetic oil?
Unfortunately it's one of those things that's hard to pinpoint without seeing and hearing it. Some injectors can be louder than others but I'm not sure how heat would affect them. If you are sure it's not the exhaust then I'd lean towards either a lifter going bad or a rocker needing adjustment but that's just a guess. If it is one of those 2 I’d replace/adjust asap, only going to get worse not better. BUT, tearing apart the top end only to find it's something else isn't any fun either. I guess what you want to do is try to pinpoint where the noise is coming from. Figure out if it’s the front or back half…or both. Cover the injectors with something and see if it gets quieter, tounch a valve cover, can you feel the "tick", try inspection mirrors to double check the headers too. I’ve even seen stethoscope type tools that you can use to pinpoint vacuum leaks. That might be helpful to pinpoint the noise. Don’t know, again hard to tell without seeing/hearing it. Good luck.

No, I used mineral oil. That was recommended to me after the rebuild. Problem is that I currently don't have anywhere to work on the car and would have to take it to a mechanic for almost anything...

YS, its quite normal once you start your engine that the lifters will make noise upon start-up for a few minutes. Once the lifters gets oil and the engine warms up, the noise will go away like you mentioned. It oil needs to get in the upper part of the motor to lubericate those components. By the way, DON'T rev the crap outta engine eithier to speed up the process.

I see alot of people do that, and they wonder why their engine doesn't last long. I always warm up my engine 5-7min before hitting the road. Once you have your engine / fiero at normal operating temp. you can rev all you want....but be realistic. Not red-lineing at every shift or street corner. I've done this for 10years, and never blew or damaged and engine. As for winter, I don't use my fiero.

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fierogt28

88 GT, loaded, 5-speed

I would say its an exhaust manifold gasket leaking. My 2.8 just started the same thing last Sunday. Startup and it spitzz-spitzz until the engine gets warm. Once warm the metal expands and seals the leak somewhat.

While the engine is still cold and leaking the gasket will get worse and eventually it will spitz or tick all the time.

I been sitting on a pair of manifolds already ported for an event like this. By the way this happened at 78K

Spoon

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Two yeast spent their entire life "about 2 days" discussing what the purpose of life could be and not once did they even come close to the fact that they were making champagne. Quoted by: Unknown

YellowStone, I followed your rebuild thread when you did it and normally after all that work I assume you installed new manifold gaskets, right??

I don't understand why manifold gaskets would be already worn out or need replacing after such a short time frame. I can't see someone do all that work and not replace those (2) gaskets...that's why I vote the lifter oiling start-up issue. (which is normal after a motor being started once cold)

Yes, of course I installed new manifold gaskets to go with the new Sprint manifolds.

I had the ticking noise pretty much since I did the rebuild. Let's hope it's the lifters. I have to listen to other 2.8s more often... :-)

My car also hesitates in the first 1-2 minutes when I depress the accelerator. Is that also normal? I really can't remember if it did that before the rebuild.

[This message has been edited by yellowstone (edited 11-12-2009).]

Well yes...the engine is cold. BTW, I have always used 5W30 oil in a fiero V6 engine. You don't need to rev it....let it warm up at idle.

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fierogt28

88 GT, loaded, 5-speed

I would still suspect the manifolds and/or manifold gaskets. I replaced manifold gaskets on a 66 Mustang a few years ago to fix a ticking noise. After I drove it for a week, the manifolds needed to be re-torqued. Since then, I have not had any more ticking noises.

got this ticking sound myself 2 weeks ago it got louder and louder

......cracked front exhaust manifold .... grrr
gonna weld it today i guess .

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1984 Fiero Sport
1987 Fiero
1984 Fiero SE
1999 Chrysler Grand Voyager 3.3 LX LPG
SKYPE: Fieromaniac
*** nuclear winter cures global warming ***

Another possibility (but far less likely) is piston slap. I have had that happen to two of my engines. However, in a 2.8 this is very unlikely. Much more common in the 3.1 due to the shorter piston skirts. I agree that it is probably an exhaust leak or valve lash setting.

Valve lash is very possible...not tight enough can make that noise and too tight can ruin your cam. The guy that did my valve lash and many that I spoke to set the fiero V6 lash is 3/4 of a turn once the rocker tip stops turning (this is done with your fingers) Once the push rod doesn't move, go from there and tighten 3/4 turn.

The GM manual says 1 1/2 turns. That sounds very tight. Its double than what most folks set them at. Mine are set at 3/4 of a turn and my engine doesn't have any ticking noise, and my manifold gaskets are new too....

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fierogt28

88 GT, loaded, 5-speed

[This message has been edited by fierogt28 (edited 12-03-2009).]