I have a 1997 f150 4.6L.
There's been a quiet ticking coming from somewhere in my exhaust system(stock with a cherry bomb replacing the muffler) for a month or two. I finally got sick of it & diagnosed the problem. It appeared to be a hole in the catalytic converter & after some thinking, I decided I don't want to buy a new one, so I'll just replace them with dual pipes all the way back. I torched the pipes off before the converters & started the truck (now sounds like grave digger). Only problem now, the ticking is still there. I just had the manifolds replaced last spring, so there's no way they should have a hole in them.

Question is this: is there anything else that could be causing the ticking? Today it started flashing the check engine light for a misfire, but I've had a misfire before & it didnt tick like this does.

Any help or guesses are appreciated. Sorry if this post is somewhere else, I'm on my phone & this isn't the easiest site to navigate without a computee

 

Torched off converters now check engine light duh. must be a hell of a tick if you can hear it above an open exhaust

 

check engine light has been on for about a year. I changed the plugs once & it went off, but came back a day or two later. I think it was my o2 sensors but the only things that came up on the computer were the misfires inplugs 1 & 8.

the tick isn't just an average manifold-sounding tick. it sounds like it's coming out of the end of the exhaust pipe itself. Like if there was an internal tick somewhere & the sound traveled through the pipe & out the end. I have no idea what it could be.

 

First things first I'd get the exhaust fixed. Then figure out what the code is and post back here.

 

It's possible that the ball-in-cup connection at the manifold is loose. I always tighten those things up again after they've heated and cooled a few times. Just try and tighten it at the flange where these flange bolts are.

 

that's a very good possibility. I will definitely check that. thanks!

 

No problem. Let us know!