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TICKING Noise.....

10K views 50 replies 17 participants last post by  MLEO 
#1 ·
Im trying to figure out what this ticking noise my V is making. Unless this is normal i really dont recall it making the noise before. It seems to be coming from under the car, maybe the tranny?

Its really annoying, usually i cruise in and out of the neighborhood in 2nd gear @ about 2000RPM (because i like the sound of the exhaust) but now i hear that ticking noise and it annoys the crap out of me.

It ticks pretty quiet when its idleing, It ticks when the clutch is pushed in or left out, in gear or out of gear. The ticking will speed up and get a little louder with RPMS.

I looked around on here and couldnt find much except for someone with a loose spark plug. SO i changed all my spark plugs considering im at 60k and not one of them was loose. No idea what the noise is but its drives me nuts and the caddy dealer will probly tell me its "Normal" and then hand me a bill.

The only other thing i think it may be is a loose exhaust connection, i had my Cat replaced over the winter by the dealer.

Am i just crazy or is this ticking not normal? my tranny also sweats like crazy, i was wondering if thats normal too. It leaves a wet trail when i pull into the driveway and drips quite a bit when i park, but it seems to be only condensation?

Thanks guys.
 
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#4 ·
Yes thats exactly where it drips from. Now, if it was a noisy lifter would the sound be coming more from the top of the engine? Because its deff coming from underneath. If this noise ends up being an exhaust leak from when the dealer installed my new cat than its time i find a new caddy dealer. They Litterally cant do anything right
 
#9 ·
Had some extra time this weekend so i jacked up the car (still havnt brought it to the dealer) no noise coming from the exhaust junctions which was what i was hoping it might be. Like yours the ticking was coming from the bell housing area...

The noise hasnt got any worse though which i guess is a good thing. car only has 60k miles
 
#10 ·
My car also has a ticking. While it was still under warranty they even changed the heads. Supposedly all the lifters checked out ok and everything else looked within tolerance. I have personally taken the transmission off and changed clutches/flywheels. Running it without the transmission on it was quiter. My noise will now come in go depending on when I start it, it will be throughout the drive or not. It does not change with temp. I found a 06V at a dealer and took it for a drive and it also had the noise they also had a GTO with the 6.0 same noise. I am less worried about it now all though it is annoying. I am also running 10W40 oil now which may have improved it some. Next oil change I am going to 10w30 but this will be right before I put it away for the winter. Check out my videos is it the same?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=of6_AP9RFJ4&feature=email&email=comment_received
 
#12 ·
Im thinking that is a similar noise as mine, my exhaust is pretty loud so you cant hear it that clearly only at certain RPMS. Its the loudest usually around 2 grand, still does it at idle but a little quieter. Do you have any videos under the car while its idleing? Il get some videos of mine up soon.

Does make me feel better that others are having the same sound, but with no negitive feed back other than an annoying sound. could be the nature of the engine/tranny....
 
#13 · (Edited)
I have the exact same problem too! I can hear the ticking slightly at idle but more so at 2K RPM+ and the ticking increases speed with the RPMs. It happens when in gear driving or just sitting idle. It does sound shitty, it makes my V sound like its ragged out. I first noticed it a few weeks ago driving through a parking lot in 1st gear with my windows down. I can only hear it if my windows are down...if my windows are up I cant hear it inside of the cabin. My exhaust hasnt been touched except for a muffler swap.

I'll try and get a video up this weekend.
 
#15 ·
YES. Without hearing a video that 100% describes mine. Still post a vid, il try and get a vid up this week. Has anyone had this noise and changed a lightweight flywheel with any improvements?

PS. took a ride in my buddys 02 corvette 5.7, 3" exhaust high flows and headers......you could hear it slightly on his car too, alot quiter though.
 
#17 ·
It's piston slap and valvetrain noise, and all LS6 engines have it to some degree. Mine became a lot more noticeable when I did headers, and I drove myself crazy trying to find it- two sets of new manifold gaskets, welding up the connections in the exhaust, pulling heads, etc.

Quick Google Search for "Piston Slap LS6"
 
#20 ·
Pretty much all of the LS series engines (LS2, LS6, LS1, etc) have it to some degree. Some are better than others, and it seems to become more pronounced if you take off the stock iron manifolds.

Your noise might not be what mine was, but it's far too common to overlook as the potential cause.
 
#21 ·
Sounds just like mine. My cats had also been replaced before I got my car. I had pulled the cats and found that one had a little bit of pipe above the flange all though we fixed this it did not make a difference. I would take off the exhaust and check the gaskets one of mine did have a leak and made the noise even louder. There is something common here and hopefully it will be figured out eventually I would love to get rid of the noise completely. I think the noise is actually echoing into the bell housing and transmission that is why it was louder when I had the LS7 clutch on it.
 
#22 ·
Got a video of the ticking this afternoon. RPMs were at 2k, then 2-3K so you can hear that the ticking increased speed along with the RPMs. The ticking sounds horrible when the sound bounces off something IE: wall, passing a car etc. I tried getting the bouncing sound on video but you cant hear it like you can in person so all I could get is the rev.


 
#23 ·
That really sounds like a rod. But it could be a number of things. How's oil pressure.
An old school way to rule out a rod knock was to pull one plug wirewhile at a time while the engine was running. If the tick/knock went away then it was that cylinder that had the issue. Not sure if that would screw with the computer or coil ,maybe someone else can answer that.
 
#24 · (Edited)
I just went out and made some more videos but I forgot to see what the oil pressure was. :banghead: I'll check tomorrow.....













Im in no shape, form or fashion a mechanic so forgive my ignorance but if it was a rod knocking wouldnt it get worse and louder over time? Its not that loud and its been making that sound for almost 2 months now, probably longer than that and I dont baby it, I do drive it hard.

My Tundra had almost the same sound and I took it to 2 different Toyota dealers and they said it was normal. I even took both of their head mechanics for a test drive so he could hear the noise bounce off of the wall. Some other Tundra guys had the same noise and everyone on the Tundra site said it was injectors or a leaking manifold, which the 1st gen are notorious for having. I just though it was loud injectors......
 
#30 ·
No updates on this yet? I really need to bring mine to the dealer and see what they say, I just have no other means of transportation which means i would have to take time off work and sit there with the car....

Sad part is 90% of the people on here probably know the problem more by listening to one of these videos than a caddy mechanic will by seeing/hearing it in person. morons......
 
#31 ·
When looking at youtube there was a Z06 that has the same noise as mine. Turned out for him at least, it was an exhaust leak and a spark plug. I dont know what the problem is. I took off the valve covers last night and didnt see any damaged rockers or springs.

Ive heard it could be alot of different things from exhaust leak, bad lifter, rocker arm, spring etc. and Im not paying a shop to start replacing parts until the ticking goes away because theres a guy with a GTO that say he replaced alot of stuff and the ticking is still there!!? In case you didnt see my thread on the other site ---> http://ls1tech.com/forums/cadillac-cts-v/1477884-ticking-noise.html

Ive put over 4K miles on my engine since I heard the tick and its hasnt gotten any worse or louder. I have a recall I still need to get done on my V so I'll have the Cadillac dealer take a look at it and I'll probably take it by my exhaust shop and see if they can possibly find an exhaust leak. The noise does suck but I dont have any hesitation or loss of power so for now Im just going to keep on rollin!
 
#32 ·
Same here nothing seems wrong i just hate the sound and want it gone! Like you said though it hasnt gotten any worse and its been doing it since the weather was nice enough to put my windows down.

I also have a recall, the passanger seatbelt sensor or something? I will probably do the same - have them inspect the noise when i have time to get it in for that recall.
 
#34 ·
Same here nothing seems wrong i just hate the sound and want it gone! Like you said though it hasnt gotten any worse and its been doing it since the weather was nice enough to put my windows down.
I feel ya, I wish I could do something to make it go away too!


I also have a recall, the passanger seatbelt sensor or something? I will probably do the same - have them inspect the noise when i have time to get it in for that recall.
Yep, thats the recall. Let us know how it goes....I have to call my Cadillac dealer this week and see if they have the part in. I took it in about a month and a half ago for the recall and they had to order the part.
 
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