Hey, i put my header on and there is a ticking sound coming from the header area, i had just one gasket on it and decided to double gasket it up, along with double gasketing i used some High temp copper sealant around the flanges where the exhaust comes out on the engine and the header, now is it normal for the header to tick? what could it be... i cant really tell, i inspected the header very well for cracks or rust holes and found none, its not a big deal its just kind of annoying and makes my car seem louder than it really is

anyone have any ideas what would be causing this annoying ticking sound?

-greg

 

A leak

Maybe a warped flange?

 

I was told that it might be a warped flange and was told to double gasket, do i maybey need to triple gasket???

 

ahaha nah replace the headers would be smarter...putting more gasket might just be a temporary thing...

 

If it sounds a little more like rattling, then it would be a loose exhaust port sleeve.

 

how can i tighten the sleeve up?

-greg

 

You can put a ring of stainless steel wire between the sleeve and the housing and stake it into place with a punch or chisel.

 

Its an exhaust leak. Replace the gasket.

 

Have you had headers before? They do sound different , a stock cast iron manifold, surpresses noise better. Try soaking the header gaskets over night and put them on wet , this has worked for me before.

 

I had a bad ticking. Took the header back off and put a straight edge on the mounting flange, I could rock the bloody thing back and forth. Had a machine shop flatten it perfectly for $70CAN, sealed great after that.

 

Check the welds on the Header.

A "ticking sounds" is usually an exhaust leak. If one of thewelds in not closed up all the way it would make a sound like that.

Also check the collector pipe gasket and the weld there.

Sound does travel and it might be there.

You could drive it like that for a while and you might actually see where it is comming from. It would leave a black mark.

 

Gregs,

What type of header are you using, RB? Mine ticks after I turn the car off, is that what you are talking 'bout? Or do you mean it is doing it while the car is running?

I sort of wondered myself it the car is supposed to do that after you shut it off. Does anyone know if this is normal when the car has been run and is then turned off?

Hope its normal 'cause I don't really wanna crawl around fighting my exhaust out in the cold.

(I'm a perfectionist, and slightly obsessive compulsive and If I know of a better way to do something it drives me nuts and I have to fix it.)

 

Don't worry about that glazedham, mine does that too, as well as many others i've seen.
It's because the header is rapidly changing temperature after your car stops moving and the engine is off so it makes all those groaning noises lol

 

Its definately a leak, but not necessarily at the gasket. I've seen a manifold with a tiny pin-size hole in it, and it made that ticking. If that's the problem, I'm not sure what you would be able to do besides deal with it. But pull the header off and check to see if the gasket is black where it shouldnt be, then the leak is obviously at the gasket.