azbenze

Hi,

My '98 E320 has developed a very slight ticking noise which can be heard on acceleration. strangely the noise is completely absent when turning through left hand turns. It sounds as though it could be a leak in the exhaust possibly though seems strange that the sound should go away when making the left hand turn. It is most noisy with high engine speed, so setting off from a light you can hear it, though at highway speed barely so.

The oil was changed about 1k ago and the level is fine. I have tried revving and looking around the car when stationary but cannot hear the noise in this situation. Has anyone any thoughts? Sorry if this is too vague.

MG

Have your front end checked for bad bearings or ball joints

saintz

Flex disc will vibrate during acceleration if it's bad. Valves can tick if they're going bad. You would need to narrow down more where the noise is from (engine, drivetrain, etc.). Try reving the engine with the car in park to determine if it's the engine or not.

azbenze

Hi, Revving the engine whilst stationary doesn't appear reproduce the noise. There is no vibration associated with the noise when driving. It isn't that loud - having the AC on and blower speed set to 3 or 4 you cannot hear it. More of a muffled ticking really - I think it's likely a small hole/leak in the exhaust towards the front or the car. When referring to bad bearings, are you referring to the water pump? I will check at the weekend and keep an eye on it to see if there is any change overtime.

Thanks

saintz

If you don't hear it when revving stationary, it probably isn't an exhaust leak. Exhaust leaks normally whistle, too.

Does it make noise when decelerating? Rev and then let of the gas quickly and see if you hear what sounds like marbles rattling in a can. That's a bad cat.

azbenze

Thanks for the suggestions. When revving stationary the slight ticking noise cannot be heard. When decelerating it also cannot be heard. I tried tapping the cats though did not hear any rattle. You can only hear it when driving and accelerating briskly ie when engine revs are high under load. It's not excessively loud - if the car sounded like this the day I bought it I probably would not have even noticed it as being unusual. More like poor sound insulation from the engine perhaps. I will monitor it and will update should there be any change. Thanks

azbenze

So took my car in to the indy for an oil change and mentioned the noise ie sounds like an exhaust leak coming from the front

Problem turned out to bee the rubber boot for the steering column/firewall had perished, letting engine/road noise enter cabin footwell area more than usual. New boot installed and it;s as quiet as ever again!