Ticking engine noise

Good day fellow MK1 lovers. I am kinda new to forums so I guess I will start by introducing myself.  My name is Charles and I am an 24 year old male from south africa and have been in love with MK1 Golfs since I drove my first one back when i was 12 years of age.  I own a mk1 1800 8valve carb golf and for the past three years I had a ticking noise coming from the rear of my head . It usually occurs at idle. It correlates with engine speed. If I rev it or drive it the noise will get faster with engine speed, but then go away after a few seconds. It will return at low engine speeds and at idle, like when I stop for a light or something or just take my foot of the throttle. Even when I do hear it at idle, it isn't constant and kind of sounds like it is trying to communicate with me by means of morse code. It is coming from the rear of the head instead of the center, plus I had my hydraulic lifters replaced but yet the sound has remained. Other than being hard to start sometimes, the motor runs fine and I haven't noticed a loss of power. Should I stop driving it? What do you guys think it could be? I would sincerily appreciate any help. Thanks in Advance

Hi..exhaust manifolds tend to make a ticking noise when they have a crack or something..
Have a look see if you can see any signs of black carbon anywhere…

Hi lagger! Thanks for the advice, I will check into that.  But just for interest sake, if it is the exhaust manifold, shouldnt the the ticking remain or even get louder when I accelerate, instead of dissapearing? :?

When ive had it over the years it tends to only be on the lower revs

could be tappets need reshimming or if later one with hydro tappets low oil pressure to head or worn/dirty tappets

lagger : Thanks once more I will look into it asap and will post if it seems to be the problem.
rubjonny : I have hydraulic lifters/tappets and have replaced them. My friend also suggested that my oil pressure might be low, but shouldnt low oil pressure have lead to bigger problems after 3 years of driving like this?

not necessarily, oil pressure is mostly needed at the bottom end up top it wont cause so many problems. what oil and filter are you using? im not so sure its the tappets from the sound of it

rubjonny : Im not sure what you mean by what filter I am using so at the risk of sounding like an idiot, I use an fram oil filter. The oil i am using is shell helix 15W50.

try a proper oem or mann oil filter, they have valves in to help tappets and I have seen where nothing more than a good oil change and proper filter have done the job.

10/15w40 spec oil is what vw recommend, I use quantum synta or fuchs titan always does the trick in mine.

but 50 is a bit thicker so in theory oil pressure should be higher in the head than with a 40 weight rather than lower? im no oil expert mind

as i say, im not so sure it is the tappets reading the symptoms again, if you listen to the engien at a cold start after its been sat for a week or so you'll hear the sound dry tappets make shortly before they pump up fully, compare that to how it sounds now see what you think

rubjonny : Thanks for the advice. I think I should do a good oil and filter change. I am not quite sure if those oil brands u mention is available in South Africa, but will then try and do research as to what would be the best oil for my car.  I dont think I will be able to do that letting the car stand for a week trick as I need it to travel to work on a daily basis and public transport in SA is a bit dodgy. Once more thanks for the advice.

If any one else have any other ideas what it might be, please share it with me as i am keen to explore all possibilities.

a bit of tissue paper held in strategic positions around the exhaust will highlight a very slight blow

for what its worth my 8v always sounded quite rattly around the manifold and downpipe area, no matter what i did. i think thats just what they sound like! i also notice now with my mk2 abf it sounds slightly blowy from the driver seat with the windows down, yet when someone else is driving it past me i cant hear any trace of it. very odd

any luck on what this issue turned out to be? I'm having a similar noise occur on my 1991 1.8 carb golf :/
my symptoms are:
tapping noise at idle, then increasing tapping speed when accelerating, and then goes quiet, and then the noise comes back again when sat at idle again, the noise will also disappear if i rev the engine sharp and quickly.

any help on the symptoms origin would be great!!

hi!
what was tha problem?! im having the same issue here

noise from my golf mk1 1.6 carb engine - YouTube