stolen mustang / ticking motor

So, my buddy's 94 mustang got stolen a week or so ago. After the police called and told him they found it in the road still runnin, naturally i gave him a ride down to pick it up. When we got there the motor had a nice ticking sound goin. It SOUNDS like it's in the head, so i think the bottom end is ok. I pulled the valve covers and kinda took a look at things as best as i could.... The only think i noticed was that one of the push-rods on the passenger side (the furthest one back) is a little scuffed right at the ball on the end where it meets the rocker arm. While i think that prolly needs to be swapped out, i wouldn't imagine that could be the cause of the ticking.

That being said, i am basically stuck. What should i be looking? Does anybody have a notion as to what it might be and how i would go about checking?

Thanks for any help- :-)

-- Bo

Reply to
kidmajick
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Ticking can also come from lifters, fuel injectors and bent push rods. It can be tough to tell what is making the noise without some good testing equipment. If you suspect a push rods is bad then take them out and roll them on a flat surface. A bent rod will be obvious to identify. Some guys are good at using a tube placed at various points and listening for the tap. I'm not that good.

Reply to
Michael Johnson

Thanks for the suggestions! Where things are now, i've taken all the pushrods out (keeping them in order of course) and with the exception of the one that's ever so slightly more worn at the end than the others, they all seem to be ok. I rolled each of them on my glass desk and none appear to be bent. Similarly, all of the rocker arms themselves seem to be ok; no excessive or abnormal wear and they all appear to be worn about the same.

I know, based on what the police said, that the kids who stole it took her for a joyride, racing just about anyone they could find. That being said, i'd imagine it could be related to over-revving or something of that nature. I am just not familiar enough with domestic motors to really be able to effectively troubleshoot.

Reply to
kidmajick

Check the oil pump (and setup to the cam), sometimes it "sounds like" it's in another place, but it can be damaged by over revving.

Reply to
Cuthbert J. Twillie

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