[Texas Jim]

It's a 305 ci chevy engine. It has a loud tick, can't say it's a knock as it doesn't sound like a bearing, and watching the rocker arms as it runs, the tick goes to the beat of the rocker arm (or valve), not to the beat of the rod. Also, some of the time, the noise stops completely and sometimes is only intermittent. I thought that maybe someone dropped a small bolt into the carb that got into the cylinder. I did notice that one of the rocker arms isn't moving like the others, maybe a bad lifter and hopefully not a bad cam lobe, but/and I can't say that the noise is coming from that cylinder area, and this noise doesn't sound like a lifter either. WTF??? Any ideas?????? I am going to pull the intake this week. Any ideas from some of the experienced motor heads would be appreciated. I've been around engines in great detail for some years myself, but this isn't a regular sound that I can make a "for sure" call on. Thanks in advance for any ideas you guys may have.

 

[EazyE10286]

maybe the oil pump is starting to go...similar noise on my brothers 65 impala with a 327...but the noise was the torque converter loose.

 

[concrete]

yea, t/c will make a loud noise if its loose. But it will sound like its comming from the bottom end.

yea, take off the intake. Maybe its a bad pushrod or something.

Hopefully the intake will be as far as you have to go..

 

[Texas Jim]

I was thinking last night, my '62 Ford p/u has the original 223ci which I rebuilt 16 years ago. (Still the original bore and standard bearing size. When America was making good product and things that didn't wear out or brake way before their time.) It had a very similar noise, and after researching, I found out that it was a bad valve guide causing the valve stem to spin out of center and the valve (face) to smack the seat not centered up, which is the noise you hear. It was so damn long ago that I had completely forgotten.

Thanks to all who helped me out with ideas.