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Diagnose my engine! Possible lifter tick or bent valves...

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Hortanica

10+ Year Contributor
93
0
Mar 22, 2010
Gasport, New_York
Ok, so the other day i was out driving, launching the car at 10psi on the wh1c, and one time, the timing belt slipped, and the oil pump got out of phase (everything else was still perfectly in time)

I drove it home (2 miles) and parked it, then retimed + tensioned it w/ another belt and new tensioner. The car drives fine, i just put ~70 miles on it, but in the last 10 miles or so on my way back home, this noise started to get louder, to what you hear now in this video.

The engine was pulled out of a 99 GSX Auto, stock cams, arp studs + hks timing belt, balance shafts are still in it, and it didnt have this noise up until the one launch. I also did a compression test on it, and it got ~160 on all 4 cylinders

Ive looked at the harmonic balancer, that is in tact with no issues, all belts have tension on them, and the timing belt tension is within spec. there does seem to be a little bit of an exhaust leak between the manifold + turbo, however the sound seems to be more internal than a typical leak, but then again - i am asking you for advice!

<iframe width="425" height="349" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/2jrcF294nOY" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
 
It sounds more like a slightly bent valve than lifter noise. I would pull the valve cover, maybe a rocker arm popped off or a lifter broke? Was there any loss in performance after you re timed it?
 
i didnt notice any huge performance loss, but i also havent pushed it since it happened. and the wh1c w/ divided t3 housing on an undivided manifold, doesnt really spool till over 4, and ive yet to get it really that high.

ill pull the valve cover and see if theres any obvious issues, and go from there.
 
i didnt notice any huge performance loss, but i also havent pushed it since it happened. and the wh1c w/ divided t3 housing on an undivided manifold, doesnt really spool till over 4, and ive yet to get it really that high.

ill pull the valve cover and see if theres any obvious issues, and go from there.

Nevermind, I now see that you buried the useful information in the third paragraph. Could definitely be a slightly bent valve.
 
You said the oil pump started acting up when the timing slipped? You may have starved something of oil but a bent valve would have that noise. One option would start at the valve cover, open it and see if you notice anything wrong. If not then take the head off to check the valves
 
all the valves seem to be ok, everything under the valve cover moves with no issues....

however,i have one more sign of failure ;) LOL. i just drove it around to see if i could pinpoint it in logs, at a certain rpm or something. well, besides it not wanting to rev at all over 4k (it did...but there was no power...the vibration seemed to be causing a huge drag on the motor). so i drove it back home (total round trip of 2 miles) and when i parked it in the driveway, i popped the hood and noticed the timing belt was COVERED in oil (well, i didnt notice the oil at first, just that the purple really popped LOL) so i looked down, and saw this:

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thoughts on what failed/what needs to be done? it also didnt seem to dump it until i got home, and luckily the oil pan still had enough oil to keep it over the low line!
 
Last edited by a moderator:
im gonna bump this again, but where could the oil be coming from? i took the timing cover off and let it run for a minute, to try and watch where it was dripping from, but it seemed like it was coming from everywhere LOL. well, everywhere except the valve cover. there was a mist over by the oil pump though...so i can only assume its leaking there.
 
DO NOT START THIS CAR ANYMORE!!

Remove the timing belt as well as the front cover from the engine to inspect your oil pump. If it has failed, you may have oil shavings throughout the engine.
 
DO NOT START THIS CAR ANYMORE!!

Remove the timing belt as well as the front cover from the engine to inspect your oil pump. If it has failed, you may have oil shavings throughout the engine.

i didnt...turns out the oil pump was fine and still within its tolerances, but the rear balance shaft bearing was gone, and sitting in the bottom of the oil pan + a little bit on the screen. So i replaced the entire front case with my spare one that had a BSE kit already installed in it. I also replaced the oil pickup just incase, and cleaned out the oil pan.

heres the damage though, and cause of my problems!

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Oh no! That stinks. Be sure to take everything to the machine shop for a nice bath in the cleaning tank. Congrats on finding your problem. Be sure the add a balance shaft elimination kit to the engine build budget as well.
 
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