The exhaust leak I am chasing right now was audible all of the time, and I think it started about three or four years ago and stayed quietly ticking for the whole time and then got so loud this fall that my neighbor likened it to a tractor his dad used to own. we're not saying don't bother adjusting them - go ahead and do it, it only takes a couple of hours and will cost you two valve cover gaskets at a minimum. Don't forget a set of feeler gauges. We are just saying that 9 times out of 10, you will find the valves are just fine and you are still ticking when you are done, but maybe you will get lucky and change the odds for the next guy! No matter what you do, make sure you report back and let us know what you find. Andy In a message dated 2/24/2006 7:58:27 P.M. Central Standard Time, valleyrat12@xxxxxxxxx writes: I tried the screwdriver method but I can't be sure about what I hear. Funny thing is that the sound is really only pronounced when the engine is warm. When cold it's barely audible. Perhaps the gaps loosen up a bit when the motor gets hot? (at least thats what I want to believe!) I would think an exhaust leak would present itself hot or cold. Thoughts? Nathan Fargo, ND 1982 DeLorean DMC12 VIN 11596 [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] To address comments privately to the moderating team, please address: moderators@xxxxxxxxxxx For more info on the list, tech articles, cars for sale see www.dmcnews.com To search the archives or view files, log in at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/dmcnews Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/dmcnews/ <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: dmcnews-unsubscribe@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/