Clicking noise in engine bay/Weird Idle/other probs

[jm1080]

Ive been fixing my car it has 97k miles and at first I was trying to fix the weird idle, engine shakes roughly when idle moves from 900-800-700, it just fluctuates around there sometimes when car is real warm it goes to 500. I have ruled out so many things (ISC, Leaks, BISS, hoses, fuel lines, fuel filter, o2, etc.) And I still get the fluctuating idle...Car sounds like if it had cams, Vac is in 12-14 range.

Anyways this morning when I started up car cold, i started hearing a clicking/ticking noise coming from timing belt/valve cover side of engine bay. As the car started warming up it started getting louder...It was the first time hearing this strange noise. As I revved it sort of was going away, but back in idle it was loud. Then when I turned on AC, it started making the clicking noise real loud as if metal got stuck in between something and another weird noise came from maby where the AC belt is, i dont remember the noise, but it was a steady weird sounding noise. I drove the car and it still made the ticking noise but not as much. Car was running fine like always.

When I got home, I noticed the exhaust was spitting like dark brown spots, here pic:

You must be logged in to view this image or video.

You must be logged in to view this image or video.

Could be im running rich? Im running 15psi on ngk6s, im about to change to 7s. I dont know what the noise can be. When I started up car to take vid, the noise was gone...Heres a similar clip I found of the sound:

<object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/LS8FoUYjcBU&hl=en&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/LS8FoUYjcBU&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>

 

[interex]

Sounds like a lifter or two.

 

[ali]

sounds like a lifter

 

[jm1080]

so a lifter causes the fluctuating idle, the exhaust spit or watever you call it, and the clicking ticking noise?

 

[boostnhard]

our cars tick like that!!!! unless you upgrade to 3g lifters!!! as for the stuff out the exahust, Is your tip very old? could it be full of water that mixes with the black dust and spits out when you turn on the car? And about you runing 15psi, do you have the correct fuel mods installed? is tha car tuned?
Based on what i saw in your profile, it looks like you have the stock fuel system in the car, therefore you should be runing lean rather than rich. I suggest you boost no more than 12 psi unless you upgrade your fuel system accordingly.


For the record, Gauges are not Engine Management!!!!

 

[crimsondragon]

Keep the 6's for plugs. You're fine. Unless you're upping the boost to 20+psi, don't change to 7's. Also get on your knees and sniff what the brown stuff is. My guess is it's probably just water mixed with soot but I have never seen exhausts spit it out like that.

 

[jm1080]

How come my car never used to tick before though? It sounds as if metal got stuck somewhere and its just bouncing around. But I guess ill buy those 3g lifters and see if it helps.

My exhaust is new about 2 months old, I dont know what the brown spots can be, i touched it, but I couldnt really smell anything, it dries up really fast when I touch.

I thought running 15psi on stock fuel system was ok?

Is the lifters really going to help? Like with the idle fluctating and engine shaking as if it were with cams? I still cant figure it out. Ive wasted so much money on trying to find out these probs, yet new probs come

 

[NightRider97]

I know it sounds stupid, but check your pullies and make sure they are all tight. Turning AC on and making it louder sounds like its something effected by driven objects.
About the spots, make darn sure its not oil, if its oil this could turn ugly for you. Pure oil spitting from exhaust would be a blown seal in the turbo I'd think. Its probably just water, but just be certain its not oil.
Get a new set of BR6ES plugs and put those in, that way you've atleast eliminated the possibility of bad plugs. When you do that, check your old ones for fouling, color, and gap. From there trace the ignition system back to the ECU. I.E. next check wires, then coils, then the ignitor mounted in the middle of the intake, and after that its back to the ECU.
The surging idle issue for me has ALWAYS been the idle speed control valve. I actually had a brand new one that was bad straight out of the box from a parts store, so I bought one from my mitsu dealer and havent had an issue since.
Also, injectors will "tick" in these engines, well in almost any engine an injector will tick but these seem to be more noticeable. however, I have noticed that injectors will tick extremely loud if one is bad or giving an uneven pulse. If you've never had these injectors cleaned, I'd have it done. Its not that expensive and it needs done from time to time anyway, especially with gas stations and their crappy fuel these days.
Well I know its a book, but hopefully atleast one tip helps ya out.

 

[jm1080]

I know it is not oil that its spitting out, its too dark and wet, I just changed oil like 2 wks ago mobile 1 10-30w. I did put 5qts though, hopefully that wont effect anything. I dont think so because car has been fine since today.

And the ticking noise or whatever you call it, does seem to sound to come from valve cover to injectors, when I bought the car it was sitting for 2-3yrs in this hot florida weather, but its been running fine since, maby I do need to clean injectors, hopefully its something simple.

As for the ISC I tested 3 of them and it still happened, and I changed so much trying to fix the fluctuating idle. What about the spark plugs? I havnt taken them off, but all I have are NGK7s. I did notice a while ago when I regapped my plugs they were white, I havnt checked since, ill probably check tomorrow. But would it be bad to change them to NGK7s?

 

[NightRider97]

7's are too cold for 15psi. you dont have to start thinking about 7's until you get up over 18, or maybe even 20psi. But of course fuel quality and tune of your engine can change some things, but I'd think you're going to be adding just another problem going to 7's.

 

[jm1080]

I guess ill buy fuel injector cleaners and see how that helps too, but what about the fluctating idle? I did about everything and still cant find the problem?

As for the exhaust spitting the brown spots, its mixed with water, so it not oil. Still kind of weird.

I will end up buying all the lifters to see if it will fix that noise. Ill try to get a vid of mine, so you can all hear real soon.

 

[JDMath]

its sound like a dead lifter... and your idle is very high get it down little bit!

 

[jm1080]

The vid of the car is not of my car, I just found it because it sounded similar. I will take a video real soon of my actual car so you guys can hear it.

 

[DSM1G90]

Fluctuation idle could mean that your base tuning is all out of kilter. TPS and the ECU are having arguments, or the TPS is out of adjustment, or bad to the ECU.

- do the basic -5*BTDC timing first, put the "6" plugs in, and it could be possible that that ticking could go away since you're getting the motor back in balance.

 

[jm1080]

Fluctuation idle could mean that your base tuning is all out of kilter. TPS and the ECU are having arguments, or the TPS is out of adjustment, or bad to the ECU.

- do the basic -5*BTDC timing first, put the "6" plugs in, and it could be possible that that ticking could go away since you're getting the motor back in balance.

Hmm ill try to get the base timing checked, but something else happened yesturday....

I started up car cold, and it was good, i drove fine. Then later on i turned on the car again and the noise came back real loud and when AC was on it sounded as if belt was grinding, then i heard a loud weird noise and the battery light came and i went out to check under the hood and i found out that the power steering pully and alternator pully were not moving the belts were stuck and came out of the pully....

And then once car was off, I noticed the AC belt was off its pully.... All belts were messed up, and I guess thats where noise was coming from.. Im not really sure. Ill find out later today one I get a jack. Tell me what yous think.

 

[Razor_nl]

I have no idea about the idle problem. My car does the same, same idle range also, and no idea what to do. I know my car is running too rich due to a crappy cheap unadjustable FPR, getting an Aeromotive in this week to fix that. Besides that I also checked ISC, leaks, etc. Had timing belt replaced 15k KM ago (10K miles or so) and all other belts like 200km (ehm 120miles?) ago.
Also my rpm's go down to 100ish when coming to a stop (sometimes stalling) and then going back up to 900ish. I do notice that my rpm's go down a bit (to 700 or so) when I for example turn on the AC or rear window heating, then it goes back up. (got a topic about this problem, you can search for posts made by me if your car also does this, might be related in some way)

When my car was on a dyno it was also spitting out this stuff. I assume it also does that when driving around because my rear bumper also shows dark spots. I think it's because I'm running rich, might be leftovers of unburned fuel, being stuck to the inside of my exhaust piping. And I think it comes loose and maybe mixxed with some water or condense and then makes this spit art on the floor.

Some time ago I also had a really damn loud ticking noise. It was so loud I didnt dare to drive my car. Turned out to be my crank pully being bad. Had it replaced and it was just fine. Seeing your last message it could be that any of your pullys is gone.
But be carefull tho, I've been told that messed up belts can also mess up your timing belt, which can cause your pistons to kiss your valves, and I assume you don't want that to happen.

 

[DSM1G90]

found out that the power steering pully and alternator pully were not moving the belts were stuck and came out of the pully....

AC compressor froze up solid - which is somewhat of a normal thing that happens when these things get age on them, or your system was low on freon causing the pistons inside to overheat and seize.

How's your PowerSteering fluid level look like in the bottle? Low, or no fluid could have seized the PS pump as well. Look underneath towards the firewall where the rack is and see if it looks real wet back there or notice any dripping. For leaky racks can drain the fluid bottle.

good luck - DSM

 

[jm1080]

Ok I just checked my car, and all belts were fine, but when we looked at the crank pulley it was separated from the damper or whatever its called in the center. Is this a common issue?

I just ordered a new one.

What problems would this of caused? Would it of caused the fluctuating idle? The ticking or clicking noise? Thanks for the help guys.

 

[DSM1G90]

Yea, the dampner/harmonic balancer pulley - I had to replace my as well when I did my belts. Luckilly, I went out to a junkyard and tagged a good one for 10 bucks.

The rubber insert on my old one was cracking up and breaking out in chunks..

good thing that's what all what was wrong with yours..had us all in question there ... Good luck

 

[Razor_nl]

It will most likely fix the ticking noise. If it's going bad it won't spin in a straight form but it will wiggle and that's what you're hearing. Plus what I said, you have to replace it anyway because if it really fails and throws out the belt, it can mess up your timing belt.

I doubt it will fix the idle problem, at least for me it didn't change anything at all.

And I don't think it will stop the car from spitting either, that's most likely a fuel problem.

 

[jm1080]

Thanks for the help guys. So right now I cant drive the crankshaft pulley comes in on Friday. Ill keep this thread updated on what happens.

I guess all I have to fix now is the fluctuating idle. Hopefully its nothing serious. Ill be doing a boost leak test soon. Just need to find a compressor....

As for the spitting you guys think a fuel injector cleaner would help? I already changed out the fuel filter and fuel lines. Fuel pump is new as well. What would be a good brand fuel injector that would actually help. Remember my car was sitting for about 2 yrs, when I got it.

 

[Razor_nl]

Some mechanic told me the spitting is a combination between running too rich and condense. Weather at my country is quite wet. So probably my exhaust walls are filled with black stuff from the fuel and together with condense it spits it out, especially when the engine/exhaust is cold.
After like a 1hr drive on the highway it stops spitting. Either the unburned fuel is gone or the exhaust is all heated up so no more condense.

Anyway I fixed my fuel pressure finally and fuel mixture is ok. Still spitting now tho, still (close to or completely) stalling when coming to a stop

 

[jm1080]

Yea mines the same way, it never spits when Im driving only once I get home or get out of my driveway (I hope)

By the way, I installed my crankshaft pulley today, I torqued the 4 12mm bolts to 18lb Like I read on another thread, but as I was tightening one, I accidently moved the crank counterclock wise, but it was a very small small turn, like it moved about half inch backwords. Will that affect anything???????? Im real pissed hopefully it doesnt. I still havnt installed the belts yet, ill be doing that tomorrow. Just a little worried. Please help

 

[DSM1G90]

but as I was tightening one, I accidently moved the crank counterclock wise, but it was a very small small turn...

If you were tightening these bolts, the pulley should have moved clockwise (to the right), which is the correct directon of the crank rotation....

If you moved it in that direction while tightening the bolts, things are okey since the cam travel will stay in sync with the crank due to the "T"-belt keeping things in sync.

 

[jm1080]

I meant it moved a bit counterclockwise when I was trying to take socket out. But anyways today I put belts on and tightened down everything, and car runs good No more ticking noise or anything.

Then I found out when my car starts you hear a screeching noiise at start. Found it out its my throw-out bearing making the noise....New problems every day Thanks for the help guys