My truck has a ticking noise that has came, went and come back. Truck runs excellent.

It's a constant ticking that sound like a plug or injector on the left front of the engine. It speeds and slows with engine RPM, warm or cold. It's not very loud, but it's something. I have yet to check the plugs to see if any are loose. Oil level is good and clean. It seemed to develop out of no where for no reason. Any thoughts from experience to what this may be is appreciated.

FF

 

Make sure you have all the exhaust manifold studs and nuts are accounted for. I'm betting it is a lifter but I do recommend making sure you don't have a plug getting loose.

 

Defiantly not a manifold leak, could be a lifter though. Thanks for the tip.

 

Mine started that ticking noise and it definitely turned out to be corroded/broken bolts on the exhaust manifold.

 

I'll take a look.

 

You probably have a laminated exhaust gasket, and once they start to rust out, the smallest leak will cause a ticking noise. It's really hard to see sometimes, unless it blackens the head a little. Of the the ones I've seen/repaired, if it is an exhaust gasket leak, it's the loudest when the engine is cold, and lessens as it warms up.

Dave

 

The truck is gone now, but i noticed with a little added throttle it would fade away, only to come back slowly as the idle settles.

 

Could be cam phaser, cam tensioners or a plug getting ready to eject.
Check them all, doubt it is exhaust.

 

It was all the above with mine. Good luck.

 

A little bit of a clue would be corroded off manifold bolts/nuts. If it is a gasket leak, it'll be close by. Could be a spark plug, but they usually blow out fairly soon after being that noisy.

Dave