I have a 12 sport and ever since day one i have heard a little bit of a tick going on, i have asked a few other guys with 12s most say they havnt noticed anything but even on guys that say their jeep dosnt tick i have heard the same valve train noise. Is this just me being paranoid or dose anyone else hear the tick.... it sounds just like a early LS1.

 

Got to be a billion threads in ticking pentastars. Slight ticking, like injector noise is normal. There are some good YouTube videos that talk about normal ticks and the dreaded bad tick which nearly 100% of the time is on the drivers side.

 

IMO, even the not ticking Pentastars sound like a bucket of bolts at idle. Just the nature of the beast. You can sit there and listen and hear ticking, but as stated, some of it's normal. Valves make noise, injectors make noise. If you're paranoid enough, you can amplify a sound you think is ticking, and establish a rhythm in your head and convince yourself you've got the dreaded Pentastar tick when it's functioning normally. Especially when the sounds are bouncing around in the engine compartment and it can be heard better/worse by turning your head funny ways.

The real pentastar tick is unmistakable. It's more along the lines of a can of spray paint being shaken with that little metal ball tapping around inside. It's a definitive tick, the kind that doesn't really change depending on how you turn your head. Loudest on driver side, from what I've heard.

Unless you're worried about your warranty running out, it seems the best thing to do is drive and treat it normally until the CEL sets. I've heard eventually it will, or you'll have a loss in performance when something finally gives up in the head.

 

Funny thing is. My 07 is super quiet. Especially after a oil change. I'm not used to quiet engines.