Dreaded ticking noise, Not the vent tube

[Bee]

Hey guys
So my new (to me) Ridgeback has an awful ticking noise that is driving me nuts. I did a ton of research and found out about the tp vs s&s rocker boxes, vent tube rattling, pushrods, primary slap etc.
I am not familiar at all with big dogs and have never torn into an engine in the least. After hearing the possibility of the vent tube in the tank i checked that out. Took the tank off, let it run for a minute, and still the ticking. It sounds as if it is louder in the front head at first then in both after warming up When I give it gas the ticking volume and rhythm increase. On startup it is there I think, but not very noticeable until it gets warm. Since I have the tank off and hadn't seen the inside of the engine pulled the front rocker box just to see. Not sure if it helps but attached a picture.

My next course of action will be to adjust the push rods, and see if that helps any. Also I just changed the oil to M1 20w50. Ticked before and after no difference.
Need to get this nipped in the butt so I can take this Dog for a walk, hate to see it sit in the driveway! Thanks guys

 

[Keith S]

Welcome!!!!

Sounds like you are on the right track. Push rods would be next. I know that you don't want to hear this, but I ended up having to rebuild the top end. Hopefully yours will be much easier.

 

[gabe]

Welcome. Another possibility is that the sound is normal. I believe they all make a little bit of noise. Other folks much more expert than me will chime in but don't expect it to sound like a Honda :up:

 

[KaptinAmerika]

I've had a ticking in both my 117(TP Boxes) and my newer 124(S&S Boxes).
Never have been able to get rid of it and some people tell me I'm crazy because they can't hear it.

 

[Wills67]

Welcome from Texas! How hot is it where you are? Mine gets worse in the summer. Just get louder pipes :roll:

 

[Bee]

thanks for the replies guys. i took a quick video of it running and unless I'm super crazy i know other people can hear that noise lol does this sound like any of the rattling you guys have heard?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tknyeSeBbYo&feature=youtu.be

 

[Bee]

wills67, its been in the low to mid 80's here. low 90's on the hot days. The sound doesn't seem to change with ambient air temp. It sounds the same at night

 

[KaptinAmerika]

Sounds like a dying lifter to me, if the push rods have truly been adjusted right.
The procedure for adjusting the push rods is slightly different between lifters with the HL2T spacers and ones without.
Buy yourself a cheap stethoscope from Harbor Freight and locate the specific rocker that is making the noise. Pull the rod cover back for that rocker and have a look. Turn the motor to top dead center for that cylinder and see what kind of play is in the rod. If there is no play then you may be looking at a lifter replacement.

 

[Sven]

1. Exhaust header leak at the head.
2. Valve(s) too tight.
3. Check compression.

 

[JeffM]

Roller rockers seem to "tick" much louder than non-roller.
I had the same drama, so i got a stethascope and had a good listern before i got too carried away.
Curtis is correct S&S motors seem to be noiser than others.

 

[KaptinAmerika]

But in no way are they that noisy....LOL
Okay Sven I do respect much of what you have to say, despite all the brow beating you take here, but how in the hell does an exhaust leak make that kind of sound?

 

[gabe]

Most important get that sticker off the down tube. Probably make the ticking go away!

 

[wyopsycho]

I get clowned for my stickers and reflectors too. mine has a tick I have had a lot of people listen they don't hear nothing it drives me nuts. but mine doesn't sound anything like that lol

 

[NZBigDog]

Mine had a tick.....then some crunching.....then i parked it up and we found failed needle bearings in one of the lifters....which took out the cam lobe...and started on the lobe next to it.
New cam and a new set of lifters, just flushed out the case, no need to dismantle the whole thing because the cam bearing stops anything going through to the other side

 

[Nukeranger]

I can hear the ticking and it doesn't sound bad to me.

After reading the rest of the posts, I will have to go listen again....

 

[bigdogtech01]

It is not an exhaust leak. That's valve train noise, and is louder than normal.

For one, you need to adjust the idle, it's too low. Should be close to 1000 rpm.

Any idea what cam is in the motor? Some very high lift cams will make the stock S&S lifters tick very loud. Stock S&S lifters seem to not last very long ( 12k - 15k miles ) Feuling lifters are a better choice, running much quieter and last a lot longer IMO.

I just took a .653 cam out of an American Ironhorse in Sweden It was one of the loudest motors I have heard in a very long time. I ended up replacing his lifters with Feuling, new pushrods (one was bent) and .585 S&S cam. Now the bike runs nice and quiet, and has more usable power than ever before.

Sometimes people think bigger is better with cam changes, and that is not always the case for street use. Especially if the motor is not built for the high lift cam.

Another note, I would place money on the heads needing to be reworked. If you plan to keep the bike, you should do a complete top end R&R and with replacing the TP boxes to S&S.

 

[Sven]

Okay Sven I do respect much of what you have to say, despite all the brow beating you take here, but how in the hell does an exhaust leak make that kind of sound?

Kappy, I am trying to pinpoint a timing sequence. Tick-tick is like a knock or a slap-slap. For example, some ticks are piston slap, slapping the wider gap when the piston skirt changes direction. So if a valve adjust does not clean up a tight valve (also a common tick), then you can conclude it's a burnt piston with lots of clearance gap that makes a slapping-tick.

1. Exhaust tick = Timing of 1 stroke.
2. Piston slap = Transitional ticks of an excessive skirt clearance of 2-storkes.
3. Tight valve = Too tight a metal bang with less gap, or the valve stem bouncing off the rocker arm and back to one stroke.

So, do we have a dual-tick or a single tick when the engine fires? Make sense?

 

[Bee]

It sounds like one single ticking that increases in volume as it warms. The engine has 18k miles on it. I'm not sure what was done by the previous owner, how do I figure what cam I have on it? I intend to rebuild the entire top end when funds become available. In the mean time I will attempt the pushrods adjustment and see if it helps any. Kind of hesitant to start tearing into stuff but used all the dough to buy the bike, not fix it!

 

[KaptinAmerika]

I respect what everyone is saying but I am still leaning towards a dying lifter.
The bike looks to new, labels on the down tube still, to have any aggressive work done to it, yes you never know until you look into it buttttt.
If you listen to the ticking when he revs the motor you can hear it begin to quiet down.
That's telling me that the lifter is starting to pump up but can't quite get there.
Due to the TP problems that BD had I agree with Andrew about reviewing the top end for alignment issues etc.
I would get a stethoscope locate the bad lifter and replace it. That is your lowest cost possible immediate solution.
And if I am wrong at least you will have opened the rocker box up and had a chance to look for any serious issues as well.
And again I should note that the above is only true if the pushrods have been adjusted right in the first place.

 

[Bee]

Thanks everyone for the replies. So I will adjust the pushrods to ensure they are correct and then check lifters. Kaptin where are the lifters located? And what is a telling sign that they need to be replaced. I have a stethoscope to use. What am I listening for?