Engine Knock

[Bsteedly]

I have a 97 Talon TSi AWD and the other day I was running down a long stretch of road at around 125 mph and the engine started cutting out and the oil pressure dropped a little. I now have a nice knocking sound coming from the front of the engine (timing belt side). Doesn't really sound like a knock.. more like a bearing... because it isn't a constant tick. Can anyone give me any suggestions on this. I started taking the oil pan off to inspect the lower end for a spun bearing, but I didn't get it completely off yet. I had to read the chiltons to figure out how to get the transfer case out of the way and it got dark on me. So can anyone help me here. thank you Bryan

 

[robs90tsi]

Did you observe any metal flakes/shavings in your oil?? Also do you still have your balance shafts in?

 

[Bsteedly]

I just purchased the car a week ago, I don't know much about it yet. The oil was black and very thin, but I never noticed any metal in it.

 

[robs90tsi]

Hmm, how about the oil, did you see any metal shavings of any sort?? Find out what has or hasnt been done to the engine internals, and how many miles do you have on your current engine.

 

[Bsteedly]

the car has 117,000 on it. The car died on me and wouldn't start back up for four or five try's.. then it turned over very slow . The next time it started and that is when it started knocking. I only drove it one block and shut it down.

 

[robs90tsi]

Did you observe any metal flakes/shavings in your oil??

^^^^

 

[sbcxtreme]

Did it smoke?

 

[drewvr4]

ohhh boy...definetly check the oil if you still have it around and available

i dont want to jump into any conclusions becuase it could be valve train...or what it sounds like more is the bottom end...be careful thats what there bad for obviously

 

[Bsteedly]

I checked compression today before I started dropping the oil pan. 1 was 140, 2 was 130, 3 was 140 and 4 was 140. So I wouldn't think it was valves. all cylinders held their pressure. Like I said after the knockstarted I only drove the car 1 block and shut it down. I wouldn't think the oil would have much metal in it in that short period. NO smoke!!

 

[Bsteedly]

can I just cut the belt and leave the shafts in there?

 

[Jaraxle]

Sounds like a rod bearing. Sorry man. I've spun 2 !

-Jaraxle

 

[Bsteedly]

Well I just installed the balance shaft eliminator kit today and put it all back together, added oil and antifreeze and started it up..... now I have a major knock......anyone have any ideas on what i may have done wrong... it sounds like there is no oil in the engine. I am new to the dsm world, so I don't know much about them yet. is there a way to prime the oil pump?

 

[dedlewamp]

It sounds like you spun a bearing. There should be no reason to have to prime the pump. You can take out the main fuse and just crank the engine over a few times to build pressure, but I don't see any reason to.

 

[sbcxtreme]

If it is just a bearing then pull one plug wire off at a time(from the spark plug end). If it is just a bearing then it should not knock when that wire is removed. If it still does it then you have a different problem. This is what i did 2 weeks ago and found that it was my number 3 cylinder. When i checked the bearing, it was about 1/8" wider than the rest of them. I replaced all the bearings(#3 was spun), and it still knocked. Engine locked up 1 week later(only knocked around 2,000 and up, so i shifted at 1700, didnt help). Let me know your results.

Both of my 7 bolts have had bad #3 cylinders

 

[Bsteedly]

Well the noise is coming from the timing belt side of the engine so I thought it was the balance shafts. When i took them out, the front bearings were very worn. so I thought I had found my problem. I put in the eliminator kit and put it back together. Now I have a major knock....It was just a random "clunk" before. Now it is a continuous knock. WTF I did as you said sbcxtreme... I pulled each plug wire off and this proved nothing,it knocked the whole time, so now I have no idea what this could be. Is it possible that the turbo is making this noise?maybe a fin got bent somehow! Clueless

 

[boostin95fwd]

I also think i sounds like a rod bearing. I have seen a few 2gs spin em doing hard pulls. That was the death of my 7 bolt. pull the caps off the rods and check for wear if u can.

 

[Bsteedly]

Well I pulled the oil pan off again and started pulling rod caps. #2 has no bearing at all. It obviously doesn't take long to destroy them. So what do you all recommend that I do. Buy a new crank and bearings or just drop in a rebuilt long block. What are the price differences? So does anyone know what crank I have in my 97 talon tsi or do I have to pull the motor to find out?

 

[Wicked96GS-T]

Sounds like it's time to swap in a 6-bolt engine. You can pick one up relatively cheap if you search around. The price you will spend on a brand new crank will be probably more than you could find a 6-bolt short block for.

 

[Bsteedly]

Why would I want to put in a 6 bolt? Is it a better engine or what? What is the difference other than the obvious crank bolts?