DB9 engine ticking noise - help please
Discussion
Hello again fellow Astoners’,
I am hoping you can help me, I have a ticking coming from my engine (or it might be the drive shaft tunnel), I need to find the noise before I can take it to a garage to have it sorted. I have a warranty on the car and they will NOT pay for diagnostics, only sorting the problem.
At cold the ticking noise is not too bad and even hard to hear some times, as the engine heats up and gets to normal temp, that is when the noise really comes into it’s own.
I know its hard to track down noises because sound travels, but its noisiest under the drivers door. I have taken it to a couple of places and we have lifted the bonnet (which makes the noise disappear because the engine noise takes over). One mechanic recons it’s coming from the drivers side head of the engine. Another mechanic recons it’s coming from the drive shaft tunnel. One mechanic said he wants to lift the car and take the under fairing off. One chap said that the ticking noise is running at half engine speed, I thought it might be at engine speed, but he is much more knowledgeable then me. So it sounds like it’s half engine speed.
I know people say its injectors, but this is defo not. I’ve taken the engine cover off and felt the injectors and they felt good (heart beat etc) and the noise was defo not from them.
If you sit in traffic with the radio off, you can hear a clear ticking noise, having said that I’m a fuss-pot, my parents laugh as they can’t hear anything, but I know its wrong. If you lift the bonnet the noise goes because the general engine noise takes over, it’s most easily heard if you get out of the drivers side through the front bonnet vent and clearly under the car.
I’m slightly mechanically minded, but I make no claim to being a mechanic, and I’m damned stumped.
I’m desperate for your ideas ……….
Thanks in anticipation.
I am hoping you can help me, I have a ticking coming from my engine (or it might be the drive shaft tunnel), I need to find the noise before I can take it to a garage to have it sorted. I have a warranty on the car and they will NOT pay for diagnostics, only sorting the problem.
At cold the ticking noise is not too bad and even hard to hear some times, as the engine heats up and gets to normal temp, that is when the noise really comes into it’s own.
I know its hard to track down noises because sound travels, but its noisiest under the drivers door. I have taken it to a couple of places and we have lifted the bonnet (which makes the noise disappear because the engine noise takes over). One mechanic recons it’s coming from the drivers side head of the engine. Another mechanic recons it’s coming from the drive shaft tunnel. One mechanic said he wants to lift the car and take the under fairing off. One chap said that the ticking noise is running at half engine speed, I thought it might be at engine speed, but he is much more knowledgeable then me. So it sounds like it’s half engine speed.
I know people say its injectors, but this is defo not. I’ve taken the engine cover off and felt the injectors and they felt good (heart beat etc) and the noise was defo not from them.
If you sit in traffic with the radio off, you can hear a clear ticking noise, having said that I’m a fuss-pot, my parents laugh as they can’t hear anything, but I know its wrong. If you lift the bonnet the noise goes because the general engine noise takes over, it’s most easily heard if you get out of the drivers side through the front bonnet vent and clearly under the car.
I’m slightly mechanically minded, but I make no claim to being a mechanic, and I’m damned stumped.
I’m desperate for your ideas ……….Thanks in anticipation.
Interesting, it is an early 9, one of the first ones for the public. Is the oil pump at the bottom of the engine? Because that seems to be where the noise (I think) is coming from. How would the oil pump make a ticking noise?
Would a wonkey oil pump put the engine at risk?
I find this most interesting .....thanks in antisipation
Would a wonkey oil pump put the engine at risk?
I find this most interesting .....thanks in antisipation
F1 NDW said:
From experience, a very small exhaust leak sounds exactly like a ticking noise. Just give it time to develope into a fully blown gasket and you will then find it easilly. The noise will have change by then and it will sound like a motorbike without a silencer.
I have a Mechanic friend coming on Wednesday to lift the car and take all the underfairing off. He will look at the complete exhaust system.I have a steathascope on order.
Anything else he can look for at the same time ?
Right, lifted the car up, and took off the underfairing, then looked at the exhaust manifolds, thinking that I would have fair acces to the underside of the exhaust manifold.
Did I hell ....
Could not see sod all, even just looking from the top and you could, "just", see the manifolds. Tried to look as best that we could at the manifold, but could not see anything. However I must state that it was inconclusive. The Stethascope was late coming from eBay, so we will wait again and see what I can do with a Stethascope.
With no stereo in the car (my SatNav is removed and the whole system won't work) so i can hear every burp, tink, whirl, tick and bang that the car makes, so I can hear it clearer and hear it all the time as opposed to when the radio is off.
Anyone got any other idea's, I'm willing to listen, if not then I'll be pouring over the engine with the Stethascope to locate the ticking .....
Did I hell ....
Could not see sod all, even just looking from the top and you could, "just", see the manifolds. Tried to look as best that we could at the manifold, but could not see anything. However I must state that it was inconclusive. The Stethascope was late coming from eBay, so we will wait again and see what I can do with a Stethascope.
With no stereo in the car (my SatNav is removed and the whole system won't work) so i can hear every burp, tink, whirl, tick and bang that the car makes, so I can hear it clearer and hear it all the time as opposed to when the radio is off.
Anyone got any other idea's, I'm willing to listen, if not then I'll be pouring over the engine with the Stethascope to locate the ticking .....
Back again.
I had a PM from GTDB7 with a link. Thanks GTDB7
I started to read it then realised that the thing was huge, i'll read it tonight, some points that seem common I'd thought I'd mention immediately.
I have changed the oil more regularly than the service history, so when the it becomes dirty, I change it. A bit of OCD I'm afraid. I only use Mobile1, the 0W-40 stuff. I am going to buy some engine oil flush and re-change the oil again.
I do quite a lot of driving, so I doubt if it is air trapped in the engine oil.
But, importantly, when the engine is stone cold, I can't hear the ticking, when the engine warms up (within minutes) it starts to make the ticking noise. If I go for a, "spirited run", then the ticking is very clear and evident.
I will put the injectors back on the list of, "possibles", which basically puts everything back on the list.
Should get the Stethascope shortly.
Here is the link that GTDB7 kindly gave me.
http://www.astonmartinlife.com/forums/engine-ticki...
I had a PM from GTDB7 with a link. Thanks GTDB7
I started to read it then realised that the thing was huge, i'll read it tonight, some points that seem common I'd thought I'd mention immediately.I have changed the oil more regularly than the service history, so when the it becomes dirty, I change it. A bit of OCD I'm afraid. I only use Mobile1, the 0W-40 stuff. I am going to buy some engine oil flush and re-change the oil again.
I do quite a lot of driving, so I doubt if it is air trapped in the engine oil.
But, importantly, when the engine is stone cold, I can't hear the ticking, when the engine warms up (within minutes) it starts to make the ticking noise. If I go for a, "spirited run", then the ticking is very clear and evident.
I will put the injectors back on the list of, "possibles", which basically puts everything back on the list.
Should get the Stethascope shortly.
Here is the link that GTDB7 kindly gave me.
http://www.astonmartinlife.com/forums/engine-ticki...
kabman said:
One possible source of a ticking sound coming from that area is the PWM controlled solenoid that regulates flow from the fuel vapour recovery tank. It's under the floor to the right of the bellhousing. It has an isolated mount but if it's misaligned it could be transfering noise to the floor.
Thats very interesting, may I ask how you know this?The reason i ask is that the vapour recovery system is not working correctly, and the airintakes are filling with oil and th eoil is bunging up the airfilters. I have put a seperate post about this on Piston Heads. I did think about resolving this matter first, then look at the ticking. But then thought that I'd do them together.
If it were to be what you are saying then resolving the oil vapour recovery issue may go a long way (or resolve totally) the ticking noise.
Can you give me any further info?
Thanks
GTDB7 - wow, read the whole threat of ....... 
http://www.astonmartinlife.com/forums/engine-ticki...
really really interesting, I thought it was just my own engine that ticked but apparently its not and all you people out there with V12's, you all best read this threat too as your car will develop the ticking sound as well.
Correct if I am not wrong, but everyone looked at the top of the engine, but then concluded that it was the oil pump. I'm assuming that changing the oil pump will resolve the problem, but that it is expensive to do so.
Warranty - here I come.
Anyone got any issues if I top up my oil with an extra 1 litre of oil on top of the 10.5 litres already in there? That would mean 11.5 litres of oil. Or more if anyone thinks it would help.
What about putting Slick50 into the engine or something similar ???
Help please
http://www.astonmartinlife.com/forums/engine-ticki...
really really interesting, I thought it was just my own engine that ticked but apparently its not and all you people out there with V12's, you all best read this threat too as your car will develop the ticking sound as well.
Correct if I am not wrong, but everyone looked at the top of the engine, but then concluded that it was the oil pump. I'm assuming that changing the oil pump will resolve the problem, but that it is expensive to do so.
Warranty - here I come.
Anyone got any issues if I top up my oil with an extra 1 litre of oil on top of the 10.5 litres already in there? That would mean 11.5 litres of oil. Or more if anyone thinks it would help.
What about putting Slick50 into the engine or something similar ???
Help please
yvr said:
Maverick, before you go overfilling the oil check your dipstick. If you've got the newer shorter one then you've already got extra oil on board. New dipstick part# is 4G4E-6750-AC, might have updated yours during a service.
Thanks I'll check. I am afraid that I am one of those people that don't believe a f
king 
thing that a franchise dealer tells me. So when you say, "service", I don't believe that they did anything other than wipe over the engine with an oily rag. 
I bought the car with a FAMSH, every space stamped. Had a few things go wrong and checked everything myself, wow, I'm wondering if a garage ever lifted the bonnet. I NEVER EVER trust a Franchise garage at all.
Now what I do is get the 9 serviced by a dealer and get the stamp, immediately come home and get the complete service done by my own people, who pull the car apart and do everything. I get to have a FAMSH, and actually get the car serviced as well.
yvr said:
Maverick, before you go overfilling the oil check your dipstick. If you've got the newer shorter one then you've already got extra oil on board. New dipstick part# is 4G4E-6750-AC, might have updated yours during a service.
Ahhh, I forgot. How much oil does the new dip stick allow in. If the normal engine holds 10.5 litres, how much does the new diptsick allow?Thanks
Hello again,
I have had a few detailed replies to this thread on Personal Messages (Thank you for that), I thought that the problem was mine and maybe a few others. BUT NO. The problem is huge and getting bigger. All you people with V12's best read all of this thread and the other threads, I say because when your engine reaches 50k, you will start to tick, then you'll be refering back to this thread.
From what I can gather, these V12's came out in 2004 and so the oldest ones are (DB9) 8 years old. At about 50k the engines develop a tick, there can be a meriad of reasons, and please don't think this thread has the answer as it can be lots of reasons. But a big one and an important one is lack of oil pressure and thus the rocker / lashes wearing.
This is a big problem FOR ALL OF US.
You can take out the oil pump and replace it, but you also need to change the Rocker / lashes effected.
My priority at the moment before I take this matter further is that I don't damage the engine any further. I have the updated dipstick in the car, so in theory the car presently holds 12 litres of Mobil 1.
My immediate actions are to use a professional engine oil cleaner to make sure that the tiny little holes that feed oil to the top of the engine are clear. Then change the oil with 12 litres of fresh Mobil 1. Then add some Slick50, this will coat the inside of the engine with teflon. There is no way this is the answer, but it's the best that we can do FOR THE MINUTE.
To be honest, this is like putting a sticking plaster on a broken leg, but for the minute it's all we can do.
I then intend to go to the warranty company to have the oil pump changed. However I know how they work, the first thing they will ask is, "how do you know the oil pump is broken".
This is the question I ask you now .......... how do i check the oil pump pressure and what is it supposed to be ?
With this info I can start to move forward.
Thanks again
I have had a few detailed replies to this thread on Personal Messages (Thank you for that), I thought that the problem was mine and maybe a few others. BUT NO. The problem is huge and getting bigger. All you people with V12's best read all of this thread and the other threads, I say because when your engine reaches 50k, you will start to tick, then you'll be refering back to this thread.
From what I can gather, these V12's came out in 2004 and so the oldest ones are (DB9) 8 years old. At about 50k the engines develop a tick, there can be a meriad of reasons, and please don't think this thread has the answer as it can be lots of reasons. But a big one and an important one is lack of oil pressure and thus the rocker / lashes wearing.
This is a big problem FOR ALL OF US.
You can take out the oil pump and replace it, but you also need to change the Rocker / lashes effected.
My priority at the moment before I take this matter further is that I don't damage the engine any further. I have the updated dipstick in the car, so in theory the car presently holds 12 litres of Mobil 1.
My immediate actions are to use a professional engine oil cleaner to make sure that the tiny little holes that feed oil to the top of the engine are clear. Then change the oil with 12 litres of fresh Mobil 1. Then add some Slick50, this will coat the inside of the engine with teflon. There is no way this is the answer, but it's the best that we can do FOR THE MINUTE.
To be honest, this is like putting a sticking plaster on a broken leg, but for the minute it's all we can do.
I then intend to go to the warranty company to have the oil pump changed. However I know how they work, the first thing they will ask is, "how do you know the oil pump is broken".
This is the question I ask you now .......... how do i check the oil pump pressure and what is it supposed to be ?
With this info I can start to move forward.
Thanks again
Edited by MaverickV12 on Tuesday 11th December 20:49
yvr said:
Maverick, are you sure you want to be putting Slick50 in your oil? http://skepdic.com/slick50.html
Bugger. Bugger. Bugger. I was a skeptic anyway, but the article made sense, if it coats the moving parts what about the non-moving parts, including the all too critical tiny tiny oil passages.
Again I thank you PH'ers for your help pointing out the bloody obvious.
I've cancelled my eBay purchase.
brakedwell said:
29k
Don't worry, you won't have to read this threaD for another year. We'll have sorted it then ....... DB9VolanteDriver said:
then you would think that the P/N for the oil pump would have changed somewhere along the line in order to correct the problem, so....
If you find a P/N change in the parts lists then maybe it was the pump and maybe it has been fixed.
Exactly what I was thinking, does anyone know if the part numbers are different? Someone told me that the Vanquis and Vanquis S have different oil pumps.If you find a P/N change in the parts lists then maybe it was the pump and maybe it has been fixed.
Does anyone know DB9 part numbers and if they change ?
Neil1300R said:
Well for the majority of us it isn't - we have V8's. The V8 is a far better configuration for an Aston, prehaps I should start a thread about why the V8 is better than a V12, could call it a debate!
Fear not. I have already started a threaD about V12 - v - V8, I called it a, "debate", if you read the threaD, you will see that I came down completely on the side of the V8.Again, fear not, when you upgrade your car from a, "baby", Aston to a, "fullsized", one, then you'll be reading this threaD in detail.
Sorry I couldn't resist either
Thought I'd begin to address this issue and start work on it, so I bought this ....
Changing the oil yourself is not a job like it used to be on my old Cortina, I had to do this, to lift the car up and take off the undertray and also access the oil filter which is buried within the engine (everything is buried with the damn thing)
I had done some research about the oil etc and it appears that to clean the oil is the first step, so I put in the engine flush stuff and got this out ......
What came out was very thin, but that might be to do with the flush chemicals added to the oil, but it also came out as black as tar. This was an issue that made me look at my service history as to when the oil was changed. I had the oil changed on the 02nd October 2012, that meant that the oil was 15 weeks old. ........ 15 WEEKS ......... and it looked like this.
It looks like this stuff ......
......certainly does something.
When I started the engine, it was quiet .......... wow ........... I heard just the normal engine noise. This stayed with me for some 5 minutes until the engine warmed up. For me this is not normal. I have driven the car a couple of times since this and whilst the engine and oil are cold, the engine is quiet, when everything warms up the tick returns.
I will now look at ths Lashes and Rockers, but question about the thickness of oil to use .......
Anyone got any comments on using thicker oil.......? Would love to listen to them.
Changing the oil yourself is not a job like it used to be on my old Cortina, I had to do this, to lift the car up and take off the undertray and also access the oil filter which is buried within the engine (everything is buried with the damn thing)
I had done some research about the oil etc and it appears that to clean the oil is the first step, so I put in the engine flush stuff and got this out ......
What came out was very thin, but that might be to do with the flush chemicals added to the oil, but it also came out as black as tar. This was an issue that made me look at my service history as to when the oil was changed. I had the oil changed on the 02nd October 2012, that meant that the oil was 15 weeks old. ........ 15 WEEKS .........
and it looked like this.It looks like this stuff ......
......certainly does something.
When I started the engine, it was quiet .......... wow ........... I heard just the normal engine noise. This stayed with me for some 5 minutes until the engine warmed up. For me this is not normal. I have driven the car a couple of times since this and whilst the engine and oil are cold, the engine is quiet, when everything warms up the tick returns.
I will now look at ths Lashes and Rockers, but question about the thickness of oil to use .......
Anyone got any comments on using thicker oil.......? Would love to listen to them.
Thanks for your info guys, GTDB7 as ever very informative. Worked on the engine today, was painfully slow as the access to the engine is very very tight, but if it was easy everyone would do it.
Took off the spark plug cover first, this was easy ....
The above photo shows the coil packs, even taking these out was a problem, just because it looked easy and accessable, it as not, took about an hour. Then I had these ....
The above photo shows the rockers and lashes, as well as the spark plug gaskets, and the sealant tube. The sealant tube was not the right one and they should have sent a camshaft cover gasket, but the gasket is really in good condition, so it's not all bad.
Then I took off the cam shaft cover. Whilst this looks straight forward, its not, this took ages, again because of access ....
This then showed us the camshafts etc .......
The engineering in this engine is fantastic ...
I cannot dedicate a full 8 hour day to this work (because I keep getting pulled off to resolve other issues with work - its a bugger that work gets in the way of Astoning), but to get the camshaft cover off took me approx 5 hours, I'm a bit embarrassed it took me so long, but it was just the best I could do. Access is not poor, its very poor ....
I had 12 lashes and 12 Rockers, I ordered a further 12 and 12, to see if I can change them all, but I am very concered about the the timing chain, as if I touch that, its pretty much an engine out job. So lets just go careful. Its cold her and a threat of snowing, so it took a couple of hours to push the car inside, with the heating on, tea and biscuits (and Aspirin) things are not so bad.
I spoke to a Franchise dealer and a tech mechanic in a 12 minute conversation said that the rockers may be the problem, but his advice was to put the engine back together and bring it to them to listen to the engine. To be honest he was not that helpful and said it could be the main bearings, could not wait to get off the phone, but Idid glint that it was the rockers.
I could see how the rockers could be affected .......
Does anyone know how to get the rockers out? They seem to be wedged in there nice and tight ?
Took off the spark plug cover first, this was easy ....
The above photo shows the coil packs, even taking these out was a problem, just because it looked easy and accessable, it as not, took about an hour. Then I had these ....
The above photo shows the rockers and lashes, as well as the spark plug gaskets, and the sealant tube. The sealant tube was not the right one and they should have sent a camshaft cover gasket, but the gasket is really in good condition, so it's not all bad.
Then I took off the cam shaft cover. Whilst this looks straight forward, its not, this took ages, again because of access ....
This then showed us the camshafts etc .......
The engineering in this engine is fantastic ...
I cannot dedicate a full 8 hour day to this work (because I keep getting pulled off to resolve other issues with work - its a bugger that work gets in the way of Astoning), but to get the camshaft cover off took me approx 5 hours, I'm a bit embarrassed it took me so long, but it was just the best I could do. Access is not poor, its very poor ....
I had 12 lashes and 12 Rockers, I ordered a further 12 and 12, to see if I can change them all, but I am very concered about the the timing chain, as if I touch that, its pretty much an engine out job. So lets just go careful. Its cold her and a threat of snowing, so it took a couple of hours to push the car inside, with the heating on, tea and biscuits (and Aspirin) things are not so bad.
I spoke to a Franchise dealer and a tech mechanic in a 12 minute conversation said that the rockers may be the problem, but his advice was to put the engine back together and bring it to them to listen to the engine. To be honest he was not that helpful and said it could be the main bearings, could not wait to get off the phone, but Idid glint that it was the rockers.
I could see how the rockers could be affected .......
Does anyone know how to get the rockers out? They seem to be wedged in there nice and tight ?
X7LDA said:
Does the tapping / ticking get louder under heavier acceleration?
Whilest in neutral, open the door, lean under the car and gently squaeze the throttle to find out. Repeat from the pax side (obviously someone else in the driving seat) and you'll be able to determine which side it's comeing from.
Let me know.
Hello X7. The answer in a nutshell is, "No". AFTER I flushed the engine, it WAS better, for the first 5 minutes whilst the oil is cold and the engine cold, then the engine makes no noise and sounds perfect. When it warms up the ticking returns. However, the noise is not as bad as it was before I flushed the engine. I have not taken the car for a spirited ride since the flush, but BEFORE the flush, after a spirited run, the ticking noise was very pronounced.Whilest in neutral, open the door, lean under the car and gently squaeze the throttle to find out. Repeat from the pax side (obviously someone else in the driving seat) and you'll be able to determine which side it's comeing from.
Let me know.
The ticking IS there, but NOT so bad, but still bad enough for me to fix the issue.
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