Ok I know what you're thinking, I have a miniature dying elephant sound under my hood. But no, that's not the case. I do have a loud tappet sound in the engine, like a underpressurized valve lifter or something. But it does seem to come from the side where the PCV valve is. The ticking is loud enough to be heard from inside the car, with the windows shut. But it also is not consistent. It happens during idle, usually all the time, but sometimes the sound will not be as loud as other times. Is there a way I can see if my PCV valve is making this noise? And if so, will replacing it quiet the sucker down, or are they just noisy?

 

Well if it was a tocking rather than a ticking sound, I'd say #2 sparkplug was loose. You might want to check it anyway. The earlier cars had a PCV hose that was made from a material that softened & would collapse under vacuum making a dying elephant noise? Squeeze the hose. If it feels like a dead elephant, replace it.

 

I checked the hose earlier today. It's definetly not soft, I can barely pinch it. I guess my car, which is a 2002, has either not had the problem, or has had it replaced. I will check the plugs this week to see what they look like. I'll probably want to replace them anyway.

 

Are you 100% it is the engine and not the transmission? Does it do it with the clutch peddle pushed in? I'm not trying to insult your intellegence.

Oh yeah, you can can just unblot the vavle and pull it out.

 

Well it only does it at idle. If I pull up to a stop, I can hear it. However, sometimes at a stop it also goes away... it is definetly not consistent whatsoever.

 

But can you stop it by pressing the clutch to the floor? If not, that will rule out the throwout bearing/transmission.