Unwelcome ticking, need some help
 

I just got home from a 50 mile drive and when I pulled into the drive, I got out and opened the door, I heard the tick. The exhaust is not one continuous note, you can hear it sort of burble (for lack of a better word). The ticking seems to not be transmission related as there is no change whether or not the clutch is in or out. You cannot hear the tick very well under the hood, it is most audible if you stand right at the back of the front tire. It is pretty much in audible at 800rpm (my car idles between 850-950, but sometimes drops to that), or over 1200. It sounds similar to what a set of lifters would sound like if they were not adjusted properly in a piston engine.

Just in case it helps, as I was driving back, I thought I heard the car beep at me. Just two short, very close beeps....but no warning lights or any indicators came on. I do also have to say a couple more things. Lately I have smelled antifreeze, I found the source to be the overflow for the reservoir was puking it out. I plan to get a new radiator cap and hope that that alleviates that problem. I have noticed the weird 'burble' at idle for a few days now, but with no check engine lights or strange noises I was only able to think maybe it was a carbon buildup or something similar. The final thing is that I did an oil change today. I put in the 3.7 qts that are supposed to fill it up, ran it for a couple minutes, then let it sit for 5-10. I checked it and it came to below the empty mark, I then put in another 1/2 quart and it was half way to full, so I put in the rest. It took dang near 5 whole quarts to top it back off after the oil change.

Sorry for the novel but please let me know what you think. I will go back out tomorrow morning and check the oil level to see where it's at.

Thanks

Metal, particularly in the exhaust system, expands from heat and then contracts as it cools, and it can make the "ticking" sounds you mention. If the ticking stopped after the car cooled down, that's probably what it was. Normal.

As far as the oil capacity goes, you did the correct thing in checking the oil level after replacing the drained oil with the "recommended" amount of new oil. Depending on how you drained the oil, it would not be unusual to need nearly 5 qts to refill to the top mark on the dip stick. My '04 always takes about that amount to refill because I tilt the car to make sure as much oil as possible drains out of the pan. BTW, make sure the car is on a level area when checking the oil.

I am not sure if this impacted it, but I decided to recheck all the stuff I had undone to remove the air box and find that coolant leak. The intake hose was not all the way tightened up so it had an air like where it attaches to the throttle body. After tightening that up, the 'burble' in the exhaust at idle is gone, and the oil was still at about 20% under full when fully cold. All seems well in the world of the 8, other than finding out why my coolant overflow is dumping for no reason (hopefully it's just the cap).

I changed my oil on a hoist, so it was level or very near level. I think it may have drained more because I let it sit and drizzle forever while I checked the fluid levels of the diff and trans, and looked for the leak. I was just glad I grabbed an extra quart :uhh:

BTW, the ticking was while running, so it wasn't the ticking you would hear from metal expanding and contracting. I am thinking it may have been due to a potential lean condition due to that intake leak after the maf. I am not sure, but does the car notify you when it goes into 'limp' mode or pulls timing?

mysterious ticking sound
 

rofl, I literally busted out laughing at work :lol2:

Does it change speed with RPM...it could be your alt or A/C belt

I had the same ticking noise...had the techs at my dealership look into it...come to find out it was a loose spark plug.....tightened it up...no more tick. Might look into it....mine was better heard from exactly where you said.