strangest ticking noise ever!?

[Rg123]

ok here it is,
i have noticed a ticking noise recently. at first it was only slightly noticeable but now it has goten much louder than when i first heard it.
Now heres the strange part, it only happens when in drive. If i put it in nuetral or park there is no sound when i accelerate. It sounds like it is coming from somewhere between the engine and the steering wheel because i can hear it from inside the car and barely from outside. I dont think its my lifters because they have a quieter tik tik tik noise this one is much louder. I have got pacemaker extractors if that helps. can somebody please help its making me go crazy!

[vrcalais5ltr]

might be stupid but have you checked the tyres to see if one has a stone in it?

[rayvy]

mmm cant remember wats its called but that happened in my brothers vt i will find out wat it was called and let ya no but its a gasket somewhere

[rayvy]

im assuming its a ecotec

[vlv8vic]

exhaust manifold gasket.

edit, just read the bit about it needing to be in drive.

Torque convertor? like loose bolts or something just touching the cover-plate. Had it happen on my VL but not sure if it can happen with new models. It was quite a ticking sounds and as the bolts loosen it'd get worse. At least it's an easy fix.

Grab yourself a bit of garden hose and use it as a stethoscope. Get a mate to put it in drive and hold the brake with a few revs and see if you can pin-point it to the front of the transmission.

[hako]

As above - exhaust manifold gasket - leaks when worked as in Drive....no noise when not worked as in N or P.

[pedrotski]

i have the same problem with my stato after the gearbox rebuild. its only quite. i assumed it was the t/c since when you speed up with no throttle the ticking would speed up.

i dont understand how the hell it could be the manifold gasket. i highly doubt that.