Engine Noise / Ticking, Knocking, Tapping MERGED

[eric489]

All threads with vague titles regarding engine bay noises are now merged HERE.

If you honestly feel we can diagnose an internal engine problem from a poor description or low-quality video / audio sample, give it a shot.


I own a 1997 gst spyder and there is a ticking noise comming fron the engine. It comes and goes and it mostly sounds bad at idle. I have 97,000 miles on it and i change the oil regularly. I changed it about 2000 miles ago I need help to fix the problem.

 

[Kyromoto]

my car has similiar problem to yours. at low idle it makes a ststic noise. not knocking but a static noise. an as soon as i give it any gas it goes away instantly. but then when idle settles back down the static comes back. any ideas? I tried making a vid but the engine to loud to hear the static noise on my camera phone

 

[Fast-Orange]

replace your harmonic balancer, (crank pully) common problem i guess the rubber deteriorates and engine is no longer in a harmonic balance

 

[dyno_detour]

replace your harmonic balancer, (crank pully) common problem i guess the rubber deteriorates and engine is no longer in a harmonic balance

Try to tighten/adjust the belts first before replacing.

 

[JBDdsmer610]

My dad said it sounded like it was coming from the top end too. I have a set of 3g lifters from my old car that ill throw in and change the balancer. i was thinking the balancer too. And yes i have tries the screwdriver trick couldn't really tell where it was comming from. And no my oil light dose not come on at all. i dont know what to do from here i guess im going to rip all the timing parts off slap the new lifetrs in and remove the balance shafts. And yes i think that we can rule out that its not a bearing but lets see what other people have to say. Thanks so
far guys

I need to try and figure this out ASAP because i have no vehicle to drive

 

[Kyromoto]

does anyone have any ideas of my problem too???

 

[91tizzy]

definately does not seem to be a balancer issue I just had to do mine and typically you get the chirping birdie noise when its going bad. That or a deep whir whir kind of noise which I had both. I think the revised lifters will take car of it.

 

[JBDdsmer610]

Ok ill try to swap the lifter out and see what happenes is their anyway of putting new lifters in without ripping the timing components off?

 

[TheBigPhantom]

Check if you're timing components or belts are hitting crap.

I had my 95 with a bad CAS plate hitting the CAS and it sounded like rod knock scared the shit outta me and it would go away if I revved it but good thing it turned out to be a 12 dollar plate rather than a 1500 shortblock!

 

[JBDdsmer610]

yea im going to swap the lifter out first and see what happens

 

[Raph]

What about your sparkplug wire boots (at the end of the wires going into the valve cover..) sounds like a spark jumping .. inspect the boots for white or brown burn marks.

 

[JBDdsmer610]

I will check the wires too and i got the info from vfaq for the lifters i hope i solve this problem soon

 

[JBDdsmer610]

The wires look fine too me i mean i know they need to be replaced but there ok for now im going to swap the lifters tomorrow and put the 3g's in

 

[JBDdsmer610]

well guys i swaped the lifters out and the noise did not go away it seems like the lifters are making even more noise now but i dont know what to do from here. where to start with this noise i have no idea. I think we need a wiseman to watch that video.

 

[under50k226]

Does it stop when you push the clutch in? Could that be a pressure plate?

 

[JBDdsmer610]

Does it stop when you push the clutch in? Could that be a pressure plate?

The car is A/T which i forgot to mention i am about to sell this hunk of junk

 

[Jeff822]

Does it stop when you push the clutch in? Could that be a pressure plate?

The car is A/T.

 

[JBDdsmer610]

I might even end up ripping the head off tomorrow and check that out. then inspect the bottom end at the same time. it really sounds like its comming from the top end.

 

[nefarious]

I am having the EXACT same issue. I could tell when you described it even before watching the video. I also have the engine code "31 Detonation Sensor".

Did you lube the 3g lifters really good when you put them in? I know when I put some moly lube on the cam lobes, it seemed to help, but not eliminate the issue.

 

[spaugh]

You might want to check you timing belt auto tensioner. It my be worn out or like in my case the pin broke. It cause a knocking sound at idle on my 1g.

 

[Sean15]

I had the same sound coming from my 93 GSX. I went to change my timing belt and found the oil pump gear turned hard. I decided to pull the balance shafts out thinking it could be a worn bearing on the back shaft that would slap at idle. When i pulled the shafts the back bearing didn't look worn to bad but fit the shaft looser than i would like. Anyways after puting the car back togeather the sound was gone.

Not saying thats the problem but it did sound just like your video JBDdsmer610 and it never made the sound cold.

 

[JBDdsmer610]

I pulled the lifters out of a head in my basement but they were soaking in oil i remember when i put them in my old car they made some noise for a while till the sound went away but mabey i should try pulling the Timing belt off checking everything out and put it back togeather and see what happens.

 

[JBDdsmer610]

Dose anyone else have any other opionions on this subjuct????

 

[HIGHPSI4]

You need to take a mechanics stethoscope and listen to where the noise is coming from.

 

[DroopYeyeS]

Since you have an A/T, try pulling the inspection plate off the bottom and look at the flex plate. Look for broken forks, rub marks, and broken or loose bolts. I thought my rod bearing were shot when I bought my car. Turned out the flex plate had broken all 4 connection points off the torque converter.

 

[JBDdsmer610]

That is good thinking! but ill check that out tomorrow if thats the problem i guess ill be doing my 5sp swap very soon. The swap is so easy tho i have done it 3 diff times on 3 diff cars its a peice of cake when you have done it before