Mach 1 Oh Noes!

[Mach1Run]

I think i may have the dreaded tick. Going to have to have the dealer listen to it and pray they know what to do. Funny thing is it didnt show up until we started getting some much colder weather down here. No tick all summer, a few nights in the upper 20s and low 30s and now there is a sound that sounds like some one clicking a pen 4 or 5 times a second from the rear of the heads on both sides at idle and gets worse to about 2500rpm before the engine / exhuast get loud enough to drown it out.

Been doing some reading and some posts seem to indicate it could be the injectors but its bad enough I can hear it in the car with the windows up when I'm driving.

Le sigh ...

 

[Crzyhrse]

Bummer. But hopefully the new heads will do the trick if that's what it is.

 

[Ernad]

So what? Just drive it! And if it blows up, there's enough companies willing to help you out.

 

[Mach1Run]

lol ernad. If only the damn sound wasn't so embarrassing that might be an option.

 

[TR03Mach1]

I know this is going to sound stupid, but bear with me, you might save yourself some aggrevation.

The infamous "tick" is almost always limited to just the drivers side head, you're saying you hear it on both sides. I had a similiar situation happen a few months ago, and I went through the drill of returning the car to stock condition in anticipation of taking it to the dealer to have the problem looked at. One of the last items on the check list was to put the stock spark plugs back in. Low and behold, the third plug from the front, on both sides, had backed out! The one on the drivers side was basically just sitting in the head, while the one on the passenger side was holding on by 1/2 a thread! I went ahead and finished putting the stock plugs in, and bingo, no ticks! I went and put all my mods back on, put new NGK TR-6 plugs in, and haven't heard a whisper of a tick since! Now I check to make sure all the plugs are tight once a month. Just might be worth your while to check for that before taking the car to the dealer. Oh, and BTW, go to Pep Boys or some other auto parts store and pick up one of those mechanics stethescopes. They cost like 10 bucks, and can help you pinpoint where the tick is coming from just by holding it to the valve cover. That's what I used, and I swear by it now!

 

[sabrooks]

I know this is going to sound stupid, but bear with me, you might save yourself some aggrevation.

The infamous "tick" is almost always limited to just the drivers side head, you're saying you hear it on both sides. I had a similiar situation happen a few months ago, and I went through the drill of returning the car to stock condition in anticipation of taking it to the dealer to have the problem looked at. One of the last items on the check list was to put the stock spark plugs back in. Low and behold, the third plug from the front, on both sides, had backed out! The one on the drivers side was basically just sitting in the head, while the one on the passenger side was holding on by 1/2 a thread! I went ahead and finished putting the stock plugs in, and bingo, no ticks! I went and put all my mods back on, put new NGK TR-6 plugs in, and haven't heard a whisper of a tick since! Now I check to make sure all the plugs are tight once a month. Just might be worth your while to check for that before taking the car to the dealer. Oh, and BTW, go to Pep Boys or some other auto parts store and pick up one of those mechanics stethescopes. They cost like 10 bucks, and can help you pinpoint where the tick is coming from just by holding it to the valve cover. That's what I used, and I swear by it now!

my buddy is a mechanic he put a screwdriver on the valve covers to listen to my engine just quick way to listen for the tick

 

[Ernad]

I know this is going to sound stupid, but bear with me, you might save yourself some aggrevation.

The infamous "tick" is almost always limited to just the drivers side head, you're saying you hear it on both sides. I had a similiar situation happen a few months ago, and I went through the drill of returning the car to stock condition in anticipation of taking it to the dealer to have the problem looked at. One of the last items on the check list was to put the stock spark plugs back in. Low and behold, the third plug from the front, on both sides, had backed out! The one on the drivers side was basically just sitting in the head, while the one on the passenger side was holding on by 1/2 a thread! I went ahead and finished putting the stock plugs in, and bingo, no ticks! I went and put all my mods back on, put new NGK TR-6 plugs in, and haven't heard a whisper of a tick since! Now I check to make sure all the plugs are tight once a month. Just might be worth your while to check for that before taking the car to the dealer. Oh, and BTW, go to Pep Boys or some other auto parts store and pick up one of those mechanics stethescopes. They cost like 10 bucks, and can help you pinpoint where the tick is coming from just by holding it to the valve cover. That's what I used, and I swear by it now!

Good advice

 

[Reimann]

The dreaded tick? Sorry for not knowing what you guys are talking it. Sounds to me like some sort of Mustang Boogyman.

 

[Ernad]

Some DOHC had/have it. It's a ticking noise coming from the driver's side head. I don't know if it's the injectors or vavletrain parts. In any case, this was a problem in early 03 Cobras as well, Ford introduced a better head for them. Some Machs have the same issue. Supposedly it was fixed for 04. That's all I know.

 

[Mach1Run]

Well here is the update.

Took it to the local dealer and dropped it off. They did the TSB for shaker rattle ... even I could have told them that racket was not coming from the shaker scoop. Then they had it a couple more days and that didnt fix it so they decide its a motor issue and that since it was installed by a different dealer they wont touch it. They tell me I have to take it over to that dealer to get it worked on, even though its its under the 3yr / 36k warranty still. I get tired of arguing and just take my car home. This is after it sat in my garage for a week since I didnt want to drive it making that noise then sat at the dealership a week because I cant get over there except on the weekends.

So I look up the other dealership and luckily they post on the local mustang board. I PM one of the guys about the car and who to get me hooked up with to get it fixed. In the meantime I look up the dealership and its almost 70 miles away ... now im really pissed. I drop it off and go home. 4 days later I get a msg on the phone, Hi Jon, my service manager won't let us work on your car because we dont have a SVT certified mechanic ... click." Now I am livid. WTF are they selling cobras for if they dont have a SVT cert? After work I called the Ford line and got them to find me a local SVT cert mechanic, even though a mach isnt a SVT vehicle, and get the roadside assistance set up to have it towed to the 3rd dealer. Not 10 minutes after I hang up the Service advisor from 2nd dealer calls to tell me yeah we heard the noise and we're going to look at it some more this after noon.

me: "WTH? didnt you call last night and tell me you couldnt work on my car because you dont have a SVT cert. mechanic?"

advisor: " No I never got a chance to call you, this is the first time I have called since you dropped the car off ..."

me: "um in that case I apologise for the email I sent you this morning."

advisor: "hmm havent checked my email yet."

So i got that sorted out and cancelled the tow and figured out it was the ****heads at the frist dealer that called without identifying what dealership they were and 4 days after I had picked the car up. Any way they got the sound down and tore down the motor and discovered it was a bad wrist pin causing that awful rattle rather than difference in expansion rates of the metals associated with piston slap. They are going to replace the whole motor and I get her back in a week. yay! only 5 weeks to get it sorted out ...

Also got the history of the car. Turns out the guy that sold the car was the one that I pm'ed and that he still gets teased about that sale. The guy he sold it to apparently couldnt keep up on the payments and was trying to get ford to buy it back so it wouldnt get repo'ed and was intentionally boiling over the motors. Read me the oasis and poor thing had been in about 8 times and had the original motor replaced at 23k. This is going to be the third abd hopefully charmed time on the motor.

:crosses fingers:

 

[Ernad]

Damn, your baby has seen some bad times.

 

[S&B]

she'll be fixed up and blowin in no time