79 cougar ticking problem

Hey, I have a 1979 Cougar XR7 with a 351W, and she runs beautifully. However, occasionally she’ll make a ticking sound when started, and it goes away after she warms up. It’s a recent issue, and I can’t seem to figure out what might be causing it. Any ideas?

The fact that it goes away when it warms up makes me suspect a cracked exhaust manifold. My 351W had that problem and the escaping exhaust made a ticking sound when first started like you describe. As the manifold heats up, it expands to close the crack.

Maybe a sticky lifter?

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Sounds like a lifter is not pumping up. Take a stick and put it on your ear on one end and the valve cover on the other, see if you hear it through the stick.

If it’s an exhaust leak, you can find it by carefully looking for air coming from the manifold.

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How many miles? Windsors have issue w/ cam bearings wearing out. Start up noisy, goes away typical.