Yesterday, while driving the Olds, we rolled up to a stop sign and noticed a distinct ticking noise. It sounded similar to a lifter noise. We could hear it quite clearly inside the car. The frequency of the noise changed with rpm. When we arrived at our destination, I let the engine idle and opened the hood to try to track down the source. Outside of the car, we couldn't hear the noise. It's definitely not a stuck lifter. Nor is it the manifold heat riser.

My thought turned to the transmission. But, I still am not certain why it's so vivid inside the car, but imperceptible outside the car and under the hood. Has anyone had a similar experience with a 54-56 Olds? Any suggestions?

 

Don't know but loose torque converter bolts come to mind. Just a guess.

 

As I understand it, very bad things tend to happen when somethings up with the taurus... I have heard it can be like a bad motor mount, with harsh vibrations. The valvetrains on our early rockets are notoriously noisy. The rocker arms are not adjustable, so if a cam lob starts to go flat or a lifter gets sticky there is no way to compensate. What you can do, is get a really long screwdriver, or better yet a piece pipe like conduit. Use it as a stethoscope. CUP one end to your ear with your hand, and rest the other end on the area where you think the noise is coming from. The position of the pipe is very sensitive, So it can help you very accurately find the source of the noise. Good luck

 

All the older Oldsmobile's I've been around have experienced upper valve noise(usually lifter sticking) if the oil is just a little dirty, mine will stick a lifter within 50 miles if I use Shell x 100 oil don't know why.Try putting a pint of upper valve treatment oil in it or change the oil and see if it goes away.....Tedd

 

We dodged another bullet! The ticking was coming from the vacuum wiper motor (which doesn't work). Go figure!