I've finally put enough miles on the new 4.11 gears to break them in and drive a little more aggressively.

I opened it up on a stretch of straight road tonight and atWOT after about 2 seconds there's a very erractic, non-rhythmic, clicking that sounds like it is definitely coming from the engine bay. It sounds kind of like the tinging you hear when a hot engine cools down, but quicker, and as soon as I pull the throttle back, it's gone.

I have a Superchips and have raised the rev limiter and speed limit, but it's not even getting into the red when this happens. Anybody know what this could be? It definitely doesn't sound right.

 

it's a new day, new people, anybody else got an idea?

 

I would only be guessing if I offered anything, and nothing I can think of would have been affected by the gears. (bad plug wire shorting out, a loose piece of dry rotted belt flipping around, something loose in the engine bay that is being blown against something else by the increased amount of air from the radiator fan due to higher engine speed at WOT... I'll keep thinking.) These are things that I have come across in the past.

I do have aquestion for you though. During your breakin period, especially during the first 50 miles after the install, when you drove at around 65mph or so, did you feel / hear any low grown or soft vibration from the gears breaking in? Mine did that Tuesday night while I drove it home after the install of my new 4.56 gears. No issues at all until I got to 65mph on the interstate and it started. I immediately backed off the speed to 55mph and it stopped doing it as the speed dropped. When I would ease back up to 65, it started again. The stretch of road this took place on was less than 3 miles so there shouldn't have been too much heat build up at that point.

 

I did have some whine in the gears at 45MPH but I took it back to 4wheelparts and they doublechecked it. Told me nothing was wrong with the setup but it was definitely reduced after they "inspected" it. I still hear it a bit, but I don't know exactly what too much noise is, this is the first swap I've ever done.

Regardless of the gears, this isn't from the rear, this is high up front in the engine bay. Wires and serpentine bolt is brand new <1k. I'm wondering if I've got a loose cap and rotor. Possibly the hood blanket is blowing down on something or my electric fans might be flexing into the radiator,it just sounds farther back in the engine bay than that though.

 

The paper they gave me (4wheelparts) indicates that there would be "some" gear noise. When I called they said the same thing, so I won't worry too much. I just will continue to do short trips to warm and cool them for the remainder of the 500 mile period. I can hardly wait to see how much they'll perform on hard throttle.

Back to your situation. I was changing out my sparkplugs and wires yesterday and noticed that the #7 wire had a bad craked hole in it. What I mean is the cracks were kinda like an asterix, but if I bent the wire back, it opened up like a coin purse. I wasn't having any problems at all with ignition before the change, I was just changing everything because it was old. There was no reason for this type of damage except age, and I was thinking that under higher rpms this wire could short against the valve cover or something and cause a "ticking sound". If you haven't checked the wires, it couldn't hurt to take a quick look. I know some of the cheaper wires I've had in the past were shorting out by just laying up against metal and allowing them to short out. Looked cool at night and made lots of ticking sounds... I also read in the Haynes manual under troubleshooting note #14 the following:

Pinging or knocking engine sounds during acceleration or uphill
1) Incorrect grade of fuel
2) Fault in fuel or electrical systems - see chapter 4 and 5
3) Improper spark plugs. Verify correct plugs and check plugs and wires for damage
4) Faulty emissions system (Chapter 6)
5) Vacuum leak. Check as described in Section 9

I'll let you know if I think of anything else. I'm only a backyard mechanic at best so hopefully one of these professional mechanics on the forum will be able to help better.

 

I have heard ,maybe, that same noise you are talking about. There are times, not always, where I get on the gas that I hear this clicking / tapping sound coming from the engine bay like you described. Sounds like its right behind my dashboard from the drivers seat. I have been trying to figure out what this noise it, if it was internal engine noise or tranny noise or what.

My cap and rotor and plugs and wires are brand new and I think I may have had this noise even before those were changed. But it's weird because its not an everyday occurance. Some time i can get on her and hear only the engine and exhaust. But some days I will hear this sound.

This sound never is heard under normal acceleration tho. Just when you give her alot of gas going up hills or just bagg'n on it.

 

Hey aim4squirrels, have you had any luck on pin-pointing where your noise is coming from because I cant seem to pin point mine. I am at a loss right now trying to figure this one out. I wish I had a digital camera to make a audio vid of what we are talking about so others can hear it.

 

Actually, I took it out yesterday when I modded the crank sensor to test it out and I couldn't get it to click.

This is what I've checked:

1. Distributor - on tight, took it off and no obvious problems there. Rotor looks good, cap isn't scarred.
2. Engine hood cowl - mine's falling off the 3 front holders and one in the middle. It could be rubbing, but it didn't yesterday. I'd remove it completely, but i've heard the excess heat can peel the paint on the hood, I don't have a body lift, so there's no extra space under the hood for the heat to dissipate. I might look into getting another one.
3. Electric fans- Yesterday it wasn't hot enough for them to go on at all, even on the quick runs. The other day I had been driving morebefore I tested it, sothey might have been on. The front onemight be flexing against the rad as the ram air from driving fast pushes them back, but I don't know, it just sounds farther back
4. I have also heard ofguys having issues with lifters sticking that can cause a clacking sound but I haven'tever heard one to know what that sound's likeexactly. Running MMO was supposedly a cheapfix for this but I ran that for about 5K a few months ago just to clean out the engine, so I don't think that's it.
5. It could be some sort of timing problem that modding the cxrank sensor changed/eliminated. Too soon to tell as I only did it yesterday.

If it happens again I'll be driving with my tuner and I'll pull over to remove the prgram to see if that's it.

 

so i have a sound that is like that but i was told since my cat is bad(very bad) that the insides are bouncing around. i put it into N and it doesnt do it. only in drive and when i romp on it.

 

Cat was replaced just this summer, So I don't think that's it, but that is kind of the same sound.