Valve Tick???

[Sean Raymond Bozarth <bozarth@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

	Hopefully, as I experience more and more problems I will be able to
identify these on my own...

	My car (1974 Spica GTV) is making a new noise as of Sunday.  I took it for
a 170mi jaunt up the coast to Oxnard and back, and about 10mi from home I
started to hear a load ticking while accellerating.  I do not recall
hitting anything, hearing any load bangs/crashes/explosions or other
noises.  I was just cruising along when I accelerated and heard the noise
(I had been coming down about 5mi of downhill, most of it with 5th gear
engaged and probably not a lot of gas -- it's a STEEP hill).

	It is a ticking or tapping kind of noise.  I have tried to find the source
of it by looking in the engine compartment, but I don't see anything out of
the ordinary.  It seems to be coming from the back of the engine, and is
almost louder inside the car than standing over the engine bay.  While
idling, it is hardly visible, but when accelerating I can hear it quite
well.  I am beginning to think that it is either a valve tick (a term I may
not be using properly, which I believe to be the sound of the lobe hitting
the follower every rotation or the cam) or an exhaust leak of some nature.
I can not see any exhaust, and the header and front exhaust feel pretty
strong (tapped and shook them gently).

	Any ideas on what it might be would be wonderful.  I will probably be
visiting the Alfa shop tommorrow...

								Thanks,

								Sean

Rusty Mustard 1974 2000 GTV (regular driver in LA)
LeMans Blue 1974 2000 GTV (garaged in MD)

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