*HELP* Diagnosing ticking noise *video*

[1hot281]

I have a ticking noise, heard loudest from under the car on the drivers side. Noise is present once the engine and oil are at operating temp (after 15-20 minutes of driving)

Noise is RPM dependent and is most noticeable at idle and light load/free rev. Not noticeable while driving. No loss in power or any drivability issues at all. Just annoying. Noise remains regardless if clutch pedal is pressed or not.

Car is a 2004 Saleen S281, non-supercharged... and has about 22,000 miles on it. Engine is stock except for the standard Saleen upgrades (underdrive pulleys, ECU tune). Has a drop-in Amsoil air filter in the stock airbox with the silencer removed. Bassani catted x-pipe and Bassani catback. Run on 91 octane Shell. Ford racing Oil filter. 6 quarts Royal Purple HPS 5w30 in the pan.

I'm hoping it's just the x-pipe leaking somewhere, as I'm planning on swapping the stock catted h-pipe on for smog sometime this month.

Mustang motor tick. Exhaust leak? - YouTube

Any ideas or comments?

 

[Dark02Pony]

Sounds exactly like my car did..I found it to actually be my driverside exhaust manifold..was nothing a trip to americanmuscle.com couldn't fix as it would have needed to be replaced.

Simple exhaust leak check is as easy as buying a can of seafoam and running it through your system. If your exhaust system is fine it will only come out the ass.

 

[KLeech]

Pull all your coil packs and check every single spark plug to make sure they are all still tight. Since these cars are notorious for blowing plugs out this could be a possibility. The only warning sign of it is what sounds exactly like an exhaust leak.

 

[1hot281]

Sounds exactly like my car did..I found it to actually be my driverside exhaust manifold..was nothing a trip to americanmuscle.com couldn't fix as it would have needed to be replaced.

Simple exhaust leak check is as easy as buying a can of seafoam and running it through your system. If your exhaust system is fine it will only come out the ass.

I'm really hoping it's an exhaust leak. The Bassani x-pipe is coming off soon, so if the spark plugs don't fix it, then hopefully the stock h-pipe will.

Pull all your coil packs and check every single spark plug to make sure they are all still tight. Since these cars are notorious for blowing plugs out this could be a possibility. The only warning sign of it is what sounds exactly like an exhaust leak.

Yeah a few people have mentioned this to me. I currently have the OEM plugs in (I believe Saleen used NGK TR55) with 22k miles on them. So if I get to the plugs to check torque, I'll probably just change them anyway. I think the Saleen maintenance schedule calls for them being changed every 30k.