Brad, I believe an exhaust leak should get 'more noticeable' with load on the engine. A lifter tick will tend to remain a little more constant in the noise it puts out, although possibly affected by oil pressure. If it's an automatic, try placing it in gear and applying the gas a little while holding the brakes.
I can't answer your spark plug question directly, sorry. However, if it was an intake lifter that was failing, I'm not sure how much of a difference you'd see on the plug, especially in a higher mileage engine that is more likely to be affected by oil in the chamber than a difference of mixture. -Dave -----Original Message----- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Behalf Of [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Friday, March 21, 2003 9:30 AM To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: [Chevelle-List] SBC lifter question I've heard that a collapsed lifter and an exhaust leak can sound alike, so will a collapsed lifter cause a difference in spark plug appearance? I have a high-mileage SBC 350 that's making that fft-fft-fft noise but the plugs all look pretty much the same, so is the culprit more likely an exhaust leak? Thanks! Brad ----------------------------------------------------- To Unsubscribe please visit www.chevelles.net/list.html To start a new topic, send mail to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] ----------------------------------------------------- To Unsubscribe please visit www.chevelles.net/list.html To start a new topic, send mail to: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
