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.

 

[SpiralOut]

Good luck.

 

[soccerplayaz16]

my friends trans am did the same thing but the noise was terrible....hope you can narrow it down!

 

[JBDdsmer610]

Yea me too

 

[thatboyjose]

I realize how hard it is to diagnose some noise, but I am looking for some options. Here is the clip: Car noise 34 - Putfile.com

This sound seems to have slowly gotten worse over the 700 miles I have put on the fully rebuilt 6 bolt block and head. I had some mechanics use a stethiscope on it and say they thought the noise was comeing from the lifters. I swapped my cleaned 2g lifters with cleaned 1g lifters and the sound did not change. To me it sounds louder then lifters anyway. At about 500 miles I had the head off and noticed the number 2 cylinder had a faint scratch in the cylinder.

Few possiblilites:

Piston slap?
Spun bearing?

Please let me know what you think.

QuicksilverGSX,
I was researching on the forums about the knocking sound I was getting. I ran across your topic and listened to the sound bite. Its crazy, but I have the same sound! I was just in the process of uploading my video but yours sounds just like my GST knocking sound. I didn't get this knock gradually but one morning when I tried starting the car and couldn't. After a few more tries, it was making that knocking sound and the car vibrated and idled bad.
I installed new REVISED lifters and still get the same sound.
Anyone know what my next move should be? Keep in mind, I'm new to this, but am trying hard to solve this problem I'll subscribe to this topic or send me a PM. Thx.

 

[ShawnsGarage]

Pull the dipstick and check oil level. Inspect oil for metal shavings. Do this after you run the car for a min so the oil gets circulated. Sounds like rod bearing. Also does it sound like its coming from the top or bottom end of the motor?

 

[viperlp01]

for sure something wrong with the motor. no doubt. my buddys sounded like that and he tried all new head parts and it came out to be rod knock. lose bearing

 

[qendrim]

to me it sounds like the valves, but, in my talon 1g i had same knocking, i would juss use lucas thick oil n id be set

check oil, try lucas.

 

[z24frank]

to me it sounds like the valves, but, in my talon 1g i had same knocking, i would juss use lucas thick oil n id be set

check oil, try lucas.

that reminds me of the chris rock stand up when his momma would tell him just to rub tussin on it!When you fall down just put some robitussin on it !

 

[nefarious]

Not sure of your progress with this issue but I recently removed my valve cover and went a little crazy with some moly lube. I coated the top of the lifters as best as i could with the moly lube. Upon startup of the car, the noise was almost completely gone.

As I began to adjust my idle using the BISS screw, I noticed the noise was still not there with the exception of a few taps here and there. Since the next thing on my "to do" list was to adjust the base timing, I started to do that while the car was running. I began to notice that the longer the car ran, the more frequent the tapping became. By the time I had completely adjusted the timing, the noise was just as frequent and loud (if not more frequent and louder) than before. I also noticed that now the noise does not go away when the engine is revved.

I am going to try to pull the valve cover again and add more moly lube to see if that gets rid of the tick again. If it does, I am going to replace the 1g lifters with revised lifters and add an oil pressure gauge to make sure I am not having any issues there.

Keep us updated on your progress.

 

[Matrixhunter]

that is 100% the engine not the lifters. One of your crank bearings is gone and thats why it has been getting steadily worse.

 

[JusMX141]

Rod knock, for sure.

Either the wrong size bearings were used which allowed the gap to be filled with oil at first which is now being worn out and / or ovaled, or one of the rod journal oil supply holes was blocked and deprived that particular journal of oil.

If it's been making the noise for a while, I'm sorry to report that your crank has definitely suffered some type of damage.

 

[siege]

my friends gst thatboyjose car sunds like lifters i have thrown a rod in my tsi and it sounded like the miata video clip not lifters the gst makes this ticking sound at idle and revs not a knocking like rods

 

[thatboyjose]

Hey all, the craziest thing... after a couple of weeks of the car sitting there I decided to start to figure this thing out. My boy Siege told me to let it run for 5 min at idle to get oil in the lifters. After 15 minutes, I was still getting the knocking sound. I decided to try and brake the car so I took it out on the freeway and back roads. After hour and a half, the damn lifters, they weren't knocking or ticking anymore. Crazy, but now I have this idle problem that I can't figure out. The car revs down really fast. Won't hold idle. So I'll find another forum.
I also put on a new fuel filter and added some octane boost. Don't know if that contributed.

Added:
Yeah, something tells me that the idle problem is more centralized around the top end. The knocking sound disappeared but when the throttle is released, it idles down and then stables, vibrates and shuts off. I was able to find a slight high pitched ticking sound, that's coming directly from under the valve cover. I adjusted the idle so it stays over 1,000 RPM so I could troubleshoot, and I pulled the plugs one by one while it was running and there was no change in sound. It seems the only way I can get the car running is by keeping the idle high. In short, when the car is over 1K RPM the car runs fine and no awkward sounds, but when it hits below idle, it wants to stall. Maybe a compression problem? I've tried driving it like that to get a feel for what it's doing and keeping it above 1k RPM. Lets just say I've had a few close calls. ---All in the name of troubleshooting---

 

[ShadyGST]

Damn? Thats nice...

 

[JBDdsmer610]

i set the idle a little higher dosent knock but if the rpms drop its still there

 

[DroopYeyeS]

Did you remove the inspection cover down by the transfer case & oilpan? Does knock/tick get loud as you first start to move then go away as the rpms level off? When your at idle in park and the noise is happening can you slowly bring the revs up until it goes away, then as soon as you let off the throttle it's back as loud as ever? Ifany of these things are happening, remove the inspection cover and look at the flex plate mounting bolts to see if the plate has cracks in it. Another way to test this theory is to put a 1/2in drive breaker on the harmonic balancer and rotate it clockwise while llistening for a loud metalic pop every 3/4 turn or so. If you hear this pop odds are the plate is broken. I just went through this again for the 2nd time the other day. I thought I had a collapsed lifter, turns out my flex plate is broken again. This time I'm going to try the 2 plate route. Good luck.

 

[tyhoppy]

I'm not sure if i had the same problem, but I had a tapping/ knock in low RPMs that went away when i revved it. I replaced the lifters and it still did it. I pulled the oil pan and had some metal shavings that appear to be from the balance shaft. You might want to look into that.

 

[Calan]

That sounds to me like a loose bracket or something similar, that is rattling at higher amounts of vibration (slower RPM's).

 

[JBDdsmer610]

I haven't pulled the inspection plate off yet im going to do it tomorrow ill check it out and the knocking is not consistant with the rpms it only makes the noise at 800rpms or lower soon as it hit 1000rpms theres no knock at all.

 

[DroopYeyeS]

Sounds just like what mine is doing. Look at the point that the plate mounts to the torque converter. If it's broken, that's where you will see the cracks.

 

[Husler005 TSi]

Alright, got a tough one here:

I have a 6bolt '92 TSi with 150k miles on the car, rebuilt the head 25k miles ago. This is when this noise started and has gradually gotten worse. The sound is like a rattle snake. It sounds like it goes away over 3k RPM. Also, if my oil pressure is low (idling or in a higher gear at low speeds) it starts to make noise. When the oil pressure increases, the sound usually goes away but may stick around for a few minutes. This problem occurred once in a great while right after I had the head rebuilt (resurface, new valve seals, new valves, and head gasket only). After two years, the sound is heard every time I drive my car. Note: the performance of the car is not affected, the engine is very strong and boost levels are set to about 15psi. The sound is heard near the driver's side of the engine and is hard to hear in the passenger seat. It sounds like an internal engine vibration that again, sounds like a rattle snake. I suspect it may be the valve cover internal baffle but I just resealed the valve cover gasket and it did not seem to be loose. In addition, I have examined the exhaust mani and all exhaust bolts and they are tight (including the heat shields). Anyone have an idea on this one?

Sorry about the long post but I think it may help diagnose the problem. Thanks!

 

[Backinajiffy12]

sounds like knock to me! if it sounds like its coming from your head then check the torque on all your cams and what not. also if possible try and get a mechanical stethescope and try and pin point the noise.

 

[Husler005 TSi]

thanks, i check that out in the search, any other ideas what it could be if its not that? I did just have the valve cover off and I made sure all the cam bolts were torqued to spec.

 

[untouchablecc]

It could possibly be a collapsed lifter, i know the head was redone but it sounds similar. You said the car has been making this sound for two years?

 

[Husler005 TSi]

The sound started (heard only once every 50 runs) when the head was redone 2 years ago. All the valves, valve seals were replaced. The intake and exhaust gaskets were replaced and the head was resurfaced where it connects to the block. I had the valve cover off not too long ago (3mos) when I checked the torque for the camshaft bolts, but I also installed new 2G lifters (this was the main reason I had the valve cover off; as you can tell by now I hate clicking noises under the hood). I also replaced the valve cover gasket and cleaned the valve cover itself quite a bit. That is why I have a suspicion that it may be the VC baffle, but I remember touching it and it was not loose at all. Now, the sound is heard almost every time the car runs (it is not directly associated with taking the VC off, but is has gotten progressively worse since taking the VC off 3 mos ago). Especially when the air outside is colder than 60 degrees. It is also associated with oil pressure. So, to sum up, the rattle sounds like a rattle snake, is internal (inside the engine), makes noise mainly when oil pressure is low, happens more frequently when it is colder outside (and is predominant as the car warms up) goes away with high oil pressure/high sustained RPM's, and goes away after the car has been running for a long time (usually, but has occurred after driving the car after 2 hrs without turning the engine off.)

Hope this helps! Thanks for all posts!