I need some help from you engine masters. I have a ZZ4 with maybe 5000 miles on it. It has this ticking noise from the driver side that goes up and down with the RPM's. So I have changed the header gasket 3 times, new roller lifters, new roller tip lifters with no change. Then this week I pulled the cam thinking maybe a lobe was bad but no signes of wear. Anyone have any suggestions while I have most everything else off to look at? Thanks.

Did this tick just develop? Or was there all the time and just gotten louder?
You might narrow it down to a rocker arm by adjusting while running.
Plenty of oil on every valve spring? One arm not oiling will make for a noisy situation.

It could be a stuck lifter - notice the pushrod cup sunk in the outer body, or a rocker stud pushing out from the head - use a straightedge on top of the studs/rocker arms to gauge movement - all should be within a 1/16 inch, I would think.
Camshaft dist gear and dist gear looked good?
Tick is not coming from the oil pump when listening from underneath?
Remove belts and tick remains?

look under the valve covers for rocker interference marks with the edge of the cover and the oil baffles. if they touch it can be quite erratic and vary with rpms. Make sure your roller rocker tips are the self aligning type, or you have installed guide plates if they are not.
mine progressively ticked with incresed miles and could never find anything wrong. I decided to pull the heads and get them check out> the LT4 spring were junk!

replaced with comp cams behive springs and the small thumper cam: no ticks and more power!

Is it a plug wire arching onto the header?

The car runs great. I didn't notice the tick at first but it doesn't seem to be getting anymore louder. I can hear it good with the windows up driving. I have changed the lifters and installed self aligning Comp Cam roller tip rockers. No marks on the stock center bolt GM valve covers it came with.

If you're running a mechanical fuel pump, look at the cam end of the pushrod and at the fuel pump lobe on the cam.

The cam looks good on all lobes. I will pull the pump push rod out and check but I swear the noise was coming from the driver side of the engine.

my headers sound like noisey tappets
since day one it has been ticky sound
you swear it is an exhaust leak or loose rocker
we have checked everything nothing wrong, just the way it hits header exiting motor
been 2 - 3 k since

I knew a friend once that installed a ring upside down by mistake and it ticked until the motor let loose. I am not sure exactly what happened though cause I never saw motor afterwards.

could your headers have a pinhole in one of the welds? create an exhaust leak that is not coming form the gasket...

whay type of gaskets are you using? Every set of "copper" I tried leaked...I now use remflex--they seal great!

I have been using FelPro gaskets. I pulled the Hooker Super Comps and plugged the collector end and filled it with water and no leaks. I wonder if it could just be the exhaust sound inside or the header?

18453

I had the same problem. We tore into all kinds of stuff, we could'nt find anything wrong and the car, and it still ran great. we tried new rocker arms, valve covers, resetting lash, turns out it was a valve spring not setting flush in the head. take a look at the 6th one back. It's leaned forward just a tad. My builder corrected it and its tick free now. Just an idea??????

How did you straighten the valve spring?

I did not physcily fix it. It was a new engine and I took it back to my engine builder. There are people more qualifyed in this fourm to tell you how to remove valve spring. I think the valve spring sits inside of a lip, Mine was not in the lip, so pull off rocker arm, replace valve guide (mine was worn) and just place spring in properly. set lash on valve and hopefully you have no more tick, tick, tick. someone may want to correct my spring removal process?