Ticking Noise After Warm Up - '04 GXP
 

For the last three weeks I have noticed that after I drive for about 20 minutes when I stop and put the car in park or neutral an intermitant ticking noise is coming from the engine. Weirdly, on short trips even when the motor is at full temp it doesn't do it and the motor sounds perfect. When it is acting up you can't hear it from the front of the car, only in the front wheel wells. When I rev up the motor it doesn't seem to follow the RPM increase but after the RPM's decrease you can hear the frequency of the ticking has gotten a little quicker. Again it is not constant, the car could run for 5 to 10 seconds and nothing but then it will thow a couple of ticks at you. My dealership looked at it and their head mechanic said he didn't think it was anything detrimental or anything major to worry about.

Also, it is not the carbon build-up I know what that sounds like and this is different. It also stops immediately after I turn the motor off.

Any ideas guys? Could it be a spun bearing in the alternator? I have no idea.....

try pinpointing where it is coming from. Exhaust manifold, Lifters, spark knock, ect.. then we could help u a little more

A spun bearing will be severe and you'd know it for sure.

Being a 32 valve engine, it could have some light valvetrain noise. Next time you change your oil, put in a quart of rislone engine treatment. Its very highly regarded among many forums and many car owners for resolving ticking noises.

The alternator wouldn't make that kind of a noise to my knowledge. It could also be a pinhole exhaust leak. Could be a number of things. I'd start with the engine treatment with the oil change and go from there.

Mine does the same sometimes!!! and im sure it's the same thing that everyone else here that has mentioned something about it in the other thread, but since i use a full synthic oil could i use this "rislone engine treatment" also?

I think i have found a very simple fit to the Ticking issue!!!!! Well in my GXP i have... I switched to Quaker State 5w-30 Full synthetic oil and a Bosch oil filter alittle over a month ago and i didn't realize that the ticking was gone until about 2-3 days after the oil change and the only thing i remember doing is switching to Quaker state synthetic oil.. I have used Mobil 1 and Valvoline syn oil before, but I can say that after putting in QS oil i haven't heard it make the ticking sound not even once!! and i even let it sit and run for about 5-10 min in the morning before i take off to work just to see if it will do it!!

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Could very well be the injectors ticking away as they pulse... if thats what it is it it completely normal.

I wouldn't worry so much about a tick, I would worry about a knock !

Lol, I would worry a LOT about a tick if its loud enough. My last L27 died because of a tick. I thought, oh, no big deal, its just a small tick. Turned out that tick was the lifter cracked and the cam slapping the roller around until it split open, and left shards of metal through the oil and the needle bearings all over the place. Engine was toast 2000 miles later. I swapped the L67 in right as the old engine started making some very strange noises. I have pictures of the damage.

That being said, the dealerships have told me that with the Northstar, some slight tick is normal. An oil additive such as rislone engine treatment (which has been universally recommended), or a different type of oil that contains elements for reducing engine noise may help quiet that tick down.

Pretty strange. An alternator bearing, doesnt fade in and out in that manner. They squeal, not tick. They in the first stage of failure can quiet a bit and noise return, but that occurrence doesn't go long before it's a sure fail.

Valve ticking usually would be constant, usually easy to know, and it would totally follow RPM's. Up and down. I don't agree with the GmTech's assesment to X that it's a normal N* occurence. The clearances and coatings in manufacture make it one of the quietest engines around. Not to say some dont wear early, but as a rule,.... naw. I've been around a few 4.6's and more of the 4.9's that are quiet as babes. I have 50k hard miles on mine, still runs quiet and smooth.

Have you had the car since new? Are you running 5W-20, and do you know the history of the engine. Oil changes done religiously? A slightly loose cam chain or a almost clogged oil passage could be a possibility. Really hard to sit here and read whats been offered and make an "arm chair" statement.

I wouldn't use an additive. Mechanics in a can aren't real answers to problems. Best it will do is clean/foul the oil and filter in place. And altering the viscosity of close tolerance engine is never a way to fix something. Often you creating other problems trying to quiet another one.

I would bring the engine to temp, add a pre-dump cleaner (Seafoam is a great one) to the oil, take it for a short drive, dump, replace with only 5w/20 oil (Synthetic or Dino) and a good filter. Nothing wrong with OEM. Please stay away from the cheap Frams with the clockspring of death. If a general cleanup and fresh oil can fix it, this will do so. Otherwise it's a mechanical issue with some variables we really can't pinpoint from our monitors. Ya, it needs to be fixed. But as you state, the Dealer couldn't figure it out and they actually saw the car.

An erratic injector tick could very well be an explanation as well. But I dont see that coming only from the wheel well. Techron is a good injector cleaner I have had a degree of success with. That should be ran for a full tank of gas and the oil dumped, using it really fouls the oil. It did an amazing job on my old V-Star that sat all winter each year.

John, last time I checked, the Bonneville GXP requires 5W-30. I suspect that what I was hearing was not a valve tick as it was not constant. Come to think of it, I haven't heard it in 30k miles.

I wouldn't call Rislone engine treatment a "mechanic in a can." Its a far cry from stop-leak type additives that are a sure way to destroy an engine. It has come highly recommended from both Ford, Chrysler, and GM enthusiasts as a way to loosen up sludge and buildup while quieting down the engine. I might not necessarily use it on a GXP because of the close tolerances you mentioned, but it has a very high reputation.

Nice catch X, and TY. Got to many 5W/ vehicles in the driveway, The GXP is 5w-30, my bad.
I have nothing against Rislone or its products. But have hard alot of bad reports of using products that clean and build viscosity to quiet wear in close tolerance engines of which the 4.6 is very much so. I just feel the safer way is to use a good cleaner, get 'er done and dump it. Change to fresh oil and filter. Something that may help the situation, and certainly won't hurt.