Got a constant ticking in engine

Asked by R_C83 Feb 07, 2017 at 03:53 AM about the 2002 Ford Mustang Coupe

Question type: Maintenance & Repair

I just bought my 02 Ford Mustang 3 months ago.
When I bought it, when I fired the engine at the lot,
it made a loud ticking noise. It had 120k on the
Odometer, when I start the car, it makes a rapid
ticking noise, as it sits at idle, it gets quieter, it only
gets worse when I hit the accelerator. The day I
bought it, I took it to the nearest Jiffylube, and they
came up with a massive list of problems, the
specialist that checking my car, for emissions told
me it was a bad lifter. But never told me how to
replace it. And my car has been losing power in the
last few months, when I first drove it home from
the dealer, it had a ton of power. Now I feel like I'm
driving a ford festiva or a pinto. That's the only way
I can explain the loss in power, I'm considering
getting new plugs and a tuneup here in the coming
weeks once I get my taxes back. If there's any
information or advice any of you can help me out
with, it would be appreciated.

6 Answers

Thanks, I'll definitely have to check it out and see what the problem is, timing, camshaft etc. And one other problem I've been having is the Check Fuel Cap light has been on since the ECU reset itself. I've replaced the gas cap and it is still on. It might be an exhaust leak from somewhere else. I just know there's a full tuneup in the cars near future.

103,035

one old trick to determine if ticking was coming from a piston or rod was to pull a plug wire then run the engine and listen for the ticking to go away. You can also pick yourself up a mechanic's stethoscope and really try to isolate where the noise is coming from. This guy's got a clever way of finding exhaust leaks: http://www.instructables.com/id/Find-an-exhaust-leak-without-burning-your-hands/

158,935

Depending on Jiffylube to diagnose anything is a mistake. Take it to a real repair shop. The ticking could be one of many things such as exhaust leak, collapsed lash adjuster (lifter), rod bearing, broken valve spring, flat camshaft and the list goes on....

2 people found this helpful.

I appreciate all your feedback, now my car is indicating that it has no fuel, when there is 3/4 of a tank at the moment. But I appreciate the help.

4,290

sounds like the ECU is picking up on a fuel pressure leak. Could be a purge solenoid. As far as the fuel codes go .

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