What actually causes all the ticking when you shut off your motor?

[HoLLo]

I've always wondered what EXACTLY was happening with all the ticking after you shut your motor off. It sounds like droplets, but maybe the pistons or any metal surfaces cooling down and making a pop?

Sounds noobish, but IDK what it is exactly haha

[1hottcamaro]

I really dont know what it is,but I found this when I searched '' the

expands and contracts'' so I guess that could be what the noise is?


I copied and pasted the expands and contracts thing from another website and that green circle came with it lol

[Fire67]

Stephanie is correct. Let me elaborate; It all boils down to the motor being made of a few different types of metal. All of which expand and contract at different rates. The noise is actually made because there are different metals actually sliding against each other as they cool and therefore contract at different rates.

[BLOWNDFIZ]

More often than not it's usually just the exhaust cooling off, again back to the expansion and contraction of dis-similar metals.

[HoLLo]

Yeah it figured it was metal on metal contraction. Sounds like it comes from the heads. I was guessing headers on the heads or heads on the block contact.

[Bowtie4Life]

I know that where my collectors go into the y they make a lot of noise when it's cooling off after I shut it off.

[YZF]

I noticed this alot on my old Exploder, but havent really noticed it on any other cars since then.

Maybe I just quit listening haha.

[KLaBZ28]

Its the exhaust when it gets hot and like others have said expands/contracts. It would always do it on my 78 exhaust then I noticed after I took the exhaust and just had open headers it didn't tick.

[NebWS6]

For me it happens when it's cold outside, so you will notice it more... just the exhaust expanding and contracting like everyone else said.