ticking noise from head cylinder one exhaust side
 

so i just rebuilt my engine and used a remanufactured cylinder head, it came complete and i never tore it down to chekc clearances or anything. there is a semi loud ticking noise from number one on the exhaust side, most noticible at idle noise goes away when rpm is increased to over 1000, seems a little worse when hot also, i removed the valve cover and checked all the valve lash within spec, seems highly unlikely to have a weak spring on a reman head? i will pull the cams and inspect the springs ect but i dont think im going to find anything obvious, has anyone ran into something like this before?

noisy cam?
 

Hi!
I had the same type of noise on my brand new car -the garage found it ( I complained every time it went for a service ) after 12000 miles of gently running in --PISTON SLAP!!!!!!!! this was due to a slightly undersized piston fitted at first build that would rock at each stroke ( figure of eight ) giving the impression that I had a noisy cam / rocker ( the engine was a 4 cylinder - centre cam -V - mounted valves operated by rockers ) The garage rebored it and ground the crank under warranty for me and cured the problem.

You sure it's not an exhaust leak between the head and manifold? The exhaust studs can loosen and let it leak past the gasket. It can sound just like a tick at idle. Look for black soot around the ports.

instead of a tick wouldn't it be a put put putt.. depending on the size I guess..

i highly doubt it is piston slap when using a stethoscope on the exhaust cam cover at number one cylinder it is most noticable, and definately not an exhaust leak, i have read some people have noticed a noise like this that goes away when the cam position sensor bolt is loosened off and have added a very thin shim inbetween the sensor and head, i will try and loosen it off to see but i really doubt it will do anything, although the cut on the cam gear on this reman head does appears far sharper than on my original head, i cant see it making much noise

i should also add that the noise seems to be more of a valvetrain frequency, and can barely be heard with the hood closed if your outside the vehicle, and cannot be heard inside the vehicle

noisy cam?
 

Hi!
Thanks for your feedback ,
My problem ( piston slap ) took the garage and me 12000 miles to find the problem and it was a complete surprise for everyone , as it sounded for all the world like a " gappy " rocker , and the fact that the car was brand new.
Questions? - have you still got your old cylinder head? - if so , has the cam worn on the " new " head's exhaust cam at the number one cylinder position ?
I remember seeing a camshaft where the nitriding had worn away and the cam lobes had started to dissappear ,this was a real metal-maker , are the lobes all the same? maybe worth a look.

It is tough to diagnose a noise from a computer screen, especially without a sound clip. Reading your above posts, it seems you are on the right track to finding the source of the noise. For what it's worth, I have yet to see a 7M that doesn't make some kind of little weird noise. Good luck.

An exhaust leak can make knocking or ticking sounds.

Have you checked the cam/shim clearances?

The cam lobes do NOT normally actually contact the shims except at startup... the only time you'll hear those ticking is if the clearances are off or the shim or cam surface isn't smooth.

Do a leak down test to ensure it's not a leaking valve and check for any signs of a sticking valve.