[supermachone]

so i used a pool noodle as a stethoscope and the tick appears to me coming from what i believe is the crankshaft balancer, number 5 pulley on this diagram



any ideas what to do next?

[brokenweasel]

Make sure its on tight, possibly buy a new one? Do you have underdrive pulleys?

[supermachone]

well i thought about replacing it but i just took the belt off and ran the car for just a tad bit and the tick is still there

so now im assuming that means the sound is coming from inside the engine?

i thought about purchasing U/D pulley's if i had to replace it

ive had this issue for quite awhile, it all started when ford tried to program my computer to the 4.10 gears (they said they could but failed)

ever since then its been on and off, after i replaced the idler pulley and tensioner assembly it went away for about 2 days but came back

i was hoping i would be able to fix it myself but it looks like im just gonna have to take it to a shop and get ass raped in charges

[brokenweasel]

Is the pulley on good and straight, and not clipping anything? Does the ticking increase with RPM's?
You can check other things that would tick - spark plugs starting to loosen and the accompanying exhaust leak would be one thing, but since you are pretty sure its down by the pulley I can't really say.

[zinc-vert02]

maybe you need new timing chains?

[supermachone]

Originally Posted by brokenweasel Is the pulley on good and straight, and not clipping anything? Does the ticking increase with RPM's? You can check other things that would tick - spark plugs starting to loosen and the accompanying exhaust leak would be one thing, but since you are pretty sure its down by the pulley I can't really say.

yes the ticking accelerates with increasing RPM

i havent checked my plugs yet but I have a feeling it has something to do with the timing chains as zinc mentioned

ive read somewhere they could have slack in them and can actually be making contact with the something inside the engine

fucckkkk

[brokenweasel]

Originally Posted by supermachone yes the ticking accelerates with increasing RPM i havent checked my plugs yet but I have a feeling it has something to do with the timing chains as zinc mentioned ive read somewhere they could have slack in them and can actually be making contact with the something inside the engine fucckkkk

If the guides break the chain can rub against the timing cover, but that shouldn't be a tick. That exact scenario happened on my truck (which is also a timing chain and plastic guides) - one of the plastic guides broke but rather than a tick it was more like weird grinding noises at certain RPM's in certain gears. Also possibly a timing chain tensioner? You can pull the valve covers and shine a light down there and see whats going on, that would be the next easiest thing to do I suppose but it won't necessarily tell you if the tensioner is going bad.

Timing the 4.6L SOHC Engine

[zinc-vert02]

check your plugs, they will tick then go POP like mine did lol

[zinc-vert02]

then if after that pull a valve cover and see how loose the chains are

[supermachone]

Originally Posted by brokenweasel If the guides break the chain can rub against the timing cover, but that shouldn't be a tick. That exact scenario happened on my truck (which is also a timing chain and plastic guides) - one of the plastic guides broke but rather than a tick it was more like weird grinding noises at certain RPM's in certain gears. Also possibly a timing chain tensioner? You can pull the valve covers and shine a light down there and see whats going on, that would be the next easiest thing to do I suppose but it won't necessarily tell you if the tensioner is going bad. Timing the 4.6L SOHC Engine

now that you mention that i have been experiencing the same thing in 5th gear around 40 mph, sounds like this sporadic grinding and its been happening for awhile as well (never really put the 2 together and i thought it sounded more like it was coming from the transmission) but i know our mustangs are prone to weird noises so i just started avoided putting it in 5th as early

hopefully i can dig into the issue today while i have some time (and nice weather), after i reinstalled the belt the other day the tick went away again, but of course this morning its back

[PRODUCTIONMAN]

the fact that you pulled the belt off and the tick was still there doesn't eliminate a possible isue with the harmonic balancer as that ALWAYS turns when the engine is running as it is directly connected to the crank. Make sure it is tight, and with the belt on watch it to see if it has any wobble. If those are OK, a timing (cam) chain issue would be my next guess.

[bullitt02875]

These engines are notorious for timing chain issues, mostly the tensioners seize and the chain eats through the guide and into the tensioner. Take off v/c and shine a light down and check out the guides. It's not too bad of a job to do timing chains anyway so while your there you could do a set of cams...

[mcqueen]

Pics of your using a pool noodle as an automotive stethoscope, now

[KV007]

broken timing chain tensioner, so common

[bulloch27]

Originally Posted by bullitt02875 These engines are notorious for timing chain issues, mostly the tensioners seize and the chain eats through the guide and into the tensioner. Take off v/c and shine a light down and check out the guides. It's not too bad of a job to do timing chains anyway so while your there you could do a set of cams...

These motors are so not known for timing chain issues. I've been inside a shitload of these motors and they are pretty damned close to bulletproof.

Balancers tend to not make any noise, especially a ticking noise when failing.

My money is on the tried and true collapsed lash adjuster if its actually an internal failure.