My '04 has "the tick," but the local shops don't want to work on my car?

[DeadStang]

It is bone stock with 11K miles and a very loud tick coming from the driver's side/back-ish part of the engine. The tick is louder when cold but never goes away. The engine runs great and seems to have plenty of power--it's mostly just annoying and embarrassing. So I took it to a recommended speed shop in hopes of fixing it and doing a cooling mod to prevent recurrence. Today, they call me and tell me to pick it up (at no charge)...they would have to pull the engine and it would take up too much shop time and space and they don't want to do it. So I called another shop nearby who said that if the car is stock with no plans to be modded or flogged at the track, I don't need to fix the valve guide/head at all.

So, does the engine really need to be pulled to swap heads (I have a set of the newer heads) or to fix the valve issue?

And...

Is it really OK to just "let 'er tick?"

 

[randoo]

Bring it to a Ford dealership if nobody you know will do it.

 

[me32]

Since you dont have plans to mod it ford may be your best option

 

[DeadStang]

I'm picking it up from the shop tomorrow and will be passing by the dealer who sold the car originally. I'll stop and talk to them but I'm always leery of dealer service on the "older" stuff as you never know who they actually have working on it.

Thanks for the input.

 

[speeddemon2000]

I would definitely fix it. It's an 11k car, sounds like a nice car. If you have the tick the head will need to be taken off the car and machined. You can do it with the engine in the car but it would be a pain in the ass. You are better off pulling the engine. The head will need to be machined. If you don't mind spending some money you might be better off with the 2005+ 9 thread heads. That eliminates another possible issue with the spark plugs.

 

[DeadStang]

I actually bought a set of the Roush ported 9 thread heads with the 05 DC casting last summer in anticipation of fixing the tick...I didn't realize it would be so difficult to find a shop to do the work for me. Local places don't want to use "customer supplied parts," so I have moved up to the shops around Portland/Vancouver. Today I picked it up from the first place and it ticked so loudly that I could hear the tick before I could hear the car as they pulled it around the lot. So then I drove over to the second shop for them to listen to--about 20 minutes of run time. Miracle of miracles (not really), the freaking tick was gone by the time I got there! Drove home, stopped at work for 45 minutes, and it was back as usual for the rest of the drive home. Anyway, the second shop wants me to video/audiotape the engine at start up and email it to them to hear. At least they didn't cringe at the thought of doing the work and were kind of receptive.

 

[toomanytoys]

Head tick at only 11k miles? A little unusual no? Sure it's not exhaust related?

 

[bubblehead93]

Mine developed the tick at around 25k... does not take alot of miles...

 

[Bdubbs]

Head tick at only 11k miles? A little unusual no? Sure it's not exhaust related?

No not really, it's hit or miss. In my opinion some people look for a very low mileage cobra and expect zero problems. That however is not the case some times.

 

[stangfreak]

Nothing unusual in having the head tick at low miles. It has nothing to do with that. my car ticks. I brought it to the svt dealer YEARS AGO and never fixed it. Long story I dont want to get into. There were guys running 11.2's 11.40's with just bolt on's and NO ported eaton with the head tick when it was first discovered. It did not hinder performance

 

[BadBlue98GT]

Ha! At this point, I wish the only noise my '03 made was a head tick! Well, aside from the whine of the Steg Stage 7 port on the blower!

 

[toomanytoys]

So what is it that causes the tick? Overheating? Bad oil? Why then do some cars develop it so soon while others never get it? What exactly is ticking? Is it too much valve lash or is it a worn valve guide?

 

[BadBlue98GT]

http://www.svtperformance.com/forum...Tick-What-causes-it&highlight=Cobra+Head+Tick

 

[DeadStang]

Here's a video of the tick from today...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PHAMMgGMVqY&feature=youtu.be

 

[The_Dude]

[video=youtube;PHAMMgGMVqY]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PHAMMgGMVqY[/video]

 

[DeadStang]

Thanks!

 

[LV_Ford_Fan]

I don't think the tick should be that loud, I mean that is why they call it a "tick". These cars have a somewhat noisy valve train. Mine seemed to quiet down a bit by keeping the oil at the midpoint on the dipstick - no higher. Strange but true.

 

[Bdubbs]

[video=youtube;PHAMMgGMVqY]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PHAMMgGMVqY[/video]

Sounds like you might have a couple things going on. I also hear a chirp sound which could be a tensioner or idler bearing, and that other "tick" is quite loud. Does the "tick" sound get loud when the rpms are raised?

 

[toomanytoys]

That motor sounds like a sewing machine. It's exactly the reason I'm considering selling mine. I really don't want to deal with something like this

 

[Bdubbs]

That motor sounds like a sewing machine. It's exactly the reason I'm considering selling mine. I really don't want to deal with something like this

Then what? Every car can have problems.