Hello all.

Hope you do not mind my asking here - seems to be the only zuki spot. Redirect me if this is not where this should be.

I have beaten my head against the wall, trying to figure out the tick, tick, tick I am hearing when driving my Sidekick, on or off road. Checked, changed, adjusted all of the normal culprits. Running great, great mpg, plenty of power.

Japanese production VIN.

Anyone have any suggestions - or warnings - to offer?

Mucho appreciado!

We were getting that with my parents sidekick. We changed the plugs and it went away for a while.

If oil pressure is good and the valves are adjusted correctly you could be hearing piston slap but that usually dies down once the engine warms up.

if it keeps pace with engine RPM I'd look at the exaust dounut-- between the manifold and head pipe.

if it keeps pace with engine RPM I'd look at the exaust dounut-- between the manifold and head pipe.

I agree. Exhaust leaks are easy to miss when you're looking for noise sources.
The point regarding whether or not the noise keeps pace with the engine RPM is also valuable in narrowing the search. Also, whether the noise increases, decreases, or remains the same as the engine warms up.
"Checked, changed, adjusted all of the normal culprits" isn't easy to interpret, but other things that "tick" (assuming your engine has them) are fuel pressure regulators, fuel injectors, fuel pumps, distributor rotors, high tension leads arcing to ground, worn belts, alternators, etc. If you have access to a mechanics stethoscope you might want to try using it to narrow your search area.

thanks for the ideas - I'll definitely check the exhaust system again.