Lone Ranger

Agreed.

Then again, I wonder if 2.4's might exhibit idle valvetrain noise due to the way GM implements Variable Valve Timing, since the 2.2 does not have VVT?

It would be interesting to poll for valvetrain noise @ idle with respondents checking off whether they have the 2.4 or 2.2 liter engine. May show a trend, may not. Even if a trend was apparent it may not be indicative of a problem-- it may nc (normal condition) for the 2.4 engine due to the VVT.

P.S. The FRAM cartridge style filters seem to be quality pieces. Unlike some of their standard canister filters.

Black Rose

No. Totally different noise from the heater fan.

HHRDreaming

Hi all,

Well, Fireball just had another morning at the dealer and it was shrugged off once again. Yes, they can hear the ticking but it was a Saturday and their "proper technicial staff" don't work on Saturdays. Also, the technician said that unless GM has a technical bulletin posted on-line, they can't do anything about it.

Anyway, my husband called the Sales Manager we bought from and we are taking her back into our original dealer on Wednesday of next week. We are going to get to the bottom of this.

In answer to some questions:

The ticking is constant and we have isolated the noise to the engine. We lifted the hood last night and could clearly hear the noise coming from underneath the black plastic shield covering the engine (possibly the fuel injector rails?), sorry not a mechanical person! My husband said it is above the intake manifold.

The ticking-noise speed increases and falls with the RPMs.

The ticking occurs at idle with clutch depressed, also with car in neutral position. This rules out the speedometer cable and transmission. The tachometer involves only wires.

We listened to another 2.4 litre engine on the lot today, a Cobalt. It did have a similar sound to the engine, however, the ticking was nowhere near as loud as ours, and seemed a bit more regular like the engine should sound.

So, back to the dealer we go. We checked the oil pressure and all is fine on that score.

One other small problem that started the end of this week, she is drifting to the left. Tires were checked today and they are OK. Apparently the service tech said that GM will not let them do anything with the alignment before 5000 kms. We hope to get all this ironed out in the next week as we go on our long road trip to Florida.

Thanks again for all the suggestions and information. If anyone has any other info please pass along. We'll keep you posted

P.S. (The noise occurs with AC on or off)

Dave C

Sometimes "ticking" or "clicking" IS caused by Fuel Injectors. Annoying but not a reliability issue.
Good luck.

Goose

Mine ticks I think...not too many 4 bangers are quiet...noisy little rascals

I hear your pain as I used to drive myself crazy trying to compare different cars and see if this one made this noise or if it did was it the same pitch etc...I decided on this HHR as long as it starts every morning and gets me to where I need to be I'm happy (for the most part)

Dealing with dealers on sounds is numbing...unless it is so obvious that it sounds like it is going to blow up, they will just tell you it is normal or they don't hear anything...


Goose

hhrcrafty

Maybe you could record a sound clip and post it for us?

Lone Ranger

It is ludricrous that the dealer won't even put a mechanic's stethoscope on the engine to investigate. This would likely isolate the cause to the injectors on the fuel rail. It would only take a few minutes to do.

HHRDreaming

Thanks for the info. We will ask for this again on Wednesday. My husband did ask about this at the one dealer, but no response. They hooked it up to a scanner and said nothing was wrong. However, the stethoscope would certailny isolate the noise.

Thanks!

GuitHHR

A scan tool will not set a code for a noise. It sounds to me like you have an injector ticking it is possible to have to have an injector problem that could cause just one to be louder than the rest. I have seen it happen before but then again its very hard to diagnose over the internet. The dealer can use ther scanner to disable each injector one at a time to see if the noise goes away and involves nothing more than plugging the scanner in to the car. I can't say for sure that the an injector is the problem but they could rule them out in about 5 min. Being a technician myself it is absoloutly rediculous that the dealer won't do anything. I am shocked and embarrased by your situation.

HHRDreaming

Great to correspond with a technician. If the problem is an injector, can they be replaced individually or must replacement be as a set of four? Can a bad seal or bad "O" ring be the source of the problem?