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.

 

[Checkers]

He just meant you will have to pull the tranny in order to acces the t/o bearing.

Oh, I thought he meant I'd have to replace it, because I just replaced it a few weeks ago. I found a mechanic, whom my friends use, who will replace the clutch for $400 not including parts, but I was going to use the clutch linked to below. Is that a good deal, and will the clutch below fit a 99 Eclipse GS?

Amazon.com: EXEDY 05048 OEM Replacement Clutch Kit: Automotive

 

[tenn-gsx]

If all your looking for is an OEM type clutch then just go to the local parts store and get it. According to Amazon the linked clutch will fit. I think you can find a cheaper clutch locally at a normal parts store though. Also on a N/T its really not too hard to replace a clutch yourself if you have ANY friends that know about cars at all. You should be able to do it in a day for the cost of a clutch kit an exhaust gasket and maybe axle seals. Totaling about $125 plus the beer for your friend. Versus $525+ whatever else the shop charges you for. Just a thought but its much cheaper to buy some tools and the parts to do it yourself than it is to have to pay someone every time you need work done.

 

[Checkers]

If all your looking for is an OEM type clutch then just go to the local parts store and get it. According to Amazon the linked clutch will fit. I think you can find a cheaper clutch locally at a normal parts store though. Also on a N/T its really not too hard to replace a clutch yourself if you have ANY friends that know about cars at all. You should be able to do it in a day for the cost of a clutch kit an exhaust gasket and maybe axle seals. Totaling about $125 plus the beer for your friend. Versus $525+ whatever else the shop charges you for. Just a thought but its much cheaper to buy some tools and the parts to do it yourself than it is to have to pay someone every time you need work done.

Haha, I would do it myself, but this car has so many problems I don't want to cause any damage, plus I don't have a garage and there's about a foot of snow outside. The OEM ones I found online were all like $300 but I'll check my local auto parts store tomorrow. Why do I need a new exhaust gasket and axle seals? And I still have a little more than 3 years until I can buy beer, haha. I would much prefer to do the work myself, but I don't know how much I trust myself to do it, and like I said before, I don't have anywhere to work :-\ But I definitely will check the auto parts store, and I'll see if I can find a friend to help me out. Thank you

 

[tenn-gsx]

You have to replace the collector gasket because you have to drop part of the exhaust to get the tranny out. Its possible that you will tear the axle seals when you remove or reinstall the axles. I always just get them and replace them every time I pull the tranny as added insurance. they are only like 5 bucks for each gasket and each seal, totaling $20 or less. Dont forget the gear oil you will need to replace as well which is another $5-10.

 

[Checkers]

You have to replace the collector gasket because you have to drop part of the exhaust to get the tranny out. Its possible that you will tear the axle seals when you remove or reinstall the axles. I always just get them and replace them every time I pull the tranny as added insurance. they are only like 5 bucks for each gasket and each seal, totaling $20 or less. Dont forget the gear oil you will need to replace as well which is another $5-10.

Oh, I understand. Unfortunately I think I'm going to have to have a mechanic do this for me :-\ I don't think I have the tools or know-how to do this safely and properly. I really appreciate all the help though, thank you

 

[Benshooter]

Oh, I understand. Unfortunately I think I'm going to have to have a mechanic do this for me :-\ I don't think I have the tools or know-how to do this safely and properly. I really appreciate all the help though, thank you

DONT psych yourself out. Dropping the tranny really isn't a big deal and really doesn't require any "special" tools. There's members on here who can pull a trans and have it back in within a couple hours. Dont fear your car. It should be the other way around.

 

[Checkers]

DONT psych yourself out. Dropping the tranny really isn't a big deal and really doesn't require any "special" tools. There's members on here who can pull a trans and have it back in within a couple hours. Dont fear your car. It should be the other way around.

Part of it is I have nowhere to work. I don't have a garage, or even a driveway. And once I get the transmission out, I wouldn't know what to do :-\ I really would love to do this myself, but all I've done car-wise is oil changes, air filter changes, a new muffler, and other little things. If I had someone I really trusted to help me, and a workspace I would, but as of right now I have neither. If you'd like to make a trip to NY though, I'd really appreciate it, haha

 

[Clinical]

So I drove the car to school today. Usually drive my civic daily but the road conditions were HORRIBLE with sleet and all that so I drove the 10/11 second grocery getter.

I parked it at the school without issues. Went into class. Came back out. Started it up, was running horribly rough and a horrible metal on metal grinding sound, I drove it about 20 feet into another parking spot. I checked and saw that the filter on my fenderwell intake was gone.

At first I thought I sucked some slush or something into the motor but the turbo is fine and I'd expect it to go through there first.

Now I'm wondering if I maybe jumped timing and im hearing valves hitting my pistons.

I'm still not sure. It'll still start but grinds horribly and runs rough. really don't want to start it anymore at all.

Just re-did the headgasket and did a semi-build for 10's while I did it. Included all new timing hardware/belt. Has maybe 600 miles on it since then.

Any ideas? Sounds awfully like it's coming from the head.. Doesn't sound lower end.

 

[Brandon Mau]

Could have very well jumped timing. Pull the side of the timin cover off and check to see if your marks line up. Maybe the tensioner bolt loosened up and and made the belt slip. only way to find out and be safe is to check it out. or you could pull the valve cover off and check to see if any valves are bent which would be more difficult but would give you an idea, also could pull the plugs and se if you have any metal shavings on the electrodes that would also be a solution to check

 

[casuprock]

With the fender well intake and lost filter, is the maf covered in junk? If so, pick up some zero residue MAF cleaner.

Did you check connections to other sensors like the cam angle sensor and crank angle sensor? A/F sensor ok?

If it was running well prior to turning off, it's unlikely you skipped timing when you started it up (low rpm), but who knows.

Could have very well jumped timing. Pull the side of the timin cover off and check to see if your marks line up. Maybe the tensioner bolt loosened up and and made the belt slip. only way to find out and be safe is to check it out. or you could pull the valve cover off and check to see if any valves are bent which would be more difficult but would give you an idea, also could pull the plugs and se if you have any metal shavings on the electrodes that would also be a solution to check

yeah that's a good point... remove the plugs and check for shavings. If you don't see any on the plug, stick a magnetic pick up in there and see what comes out. you might even be able to get a pipe boroscope in there to see visually what the piston looks like (look for signs of contact)

 

[doubleclutch99]

You could check the timing cover to see if it's rubbing on the back of the water pump pulley, and or crank pulley. that usually will make some noise when it does that. just a thought

 

[Clinical]

Well this noise is definitely metal on metal sounding.

I've just been too lazy/pissed in general and haven't even looked at the car since I got it towed home.
Thanks for the advice all. I'll start looking through it all tomorrow and check for the shavings on the plugs and check timing.

Well just checked it. Nothing broke inside the head.

We rotated it by hand with a wrench but it seemed to rotate the motor without any major resistance. Yet when rotated by the cam gears it really felt like it kept contacting something although it could of just been the stress of rotation with the cam gears.

It definitely seems I'm a few teeth off.. I'd just think rotating it by the crank pulley I'd hear contact.

 

[doubleclutch99]

I definitely would not rotate the engine by the cam sprockets. i have done that in the past and found out you can get them to slip a tooth or two. then had to reset the timing. just a fyi

 

[thomcasey]

Well this noise is definitely metal on metal sounding.

I've just been too lazy/pissed in general and haven't even looked at the car since I got it towed home.
Thanks for the advice all. I'll start looking through it all tomorrow and check for the shavings on the plugs and check timing.

Well just checked it. Nothing broke inside the head.

We rotated it by hand with a wrench but it seemed to rotate the motor without any major resistance. Yet when rotated by the cam gears it really felt like it kept contacting something although it could of just been the stress of rotation with the cam gears.

It definitely seems I'm a few teeth off.. I'd just think rotating it by the crank pulley I'd hear contact.

Yup, sounds like what happened to mine too. Ran fine on way to work. Immediately ran bad when I started it (it was about 10 degrees out), so I just thought it was cold. When I got home, I removed the timing belt upper cover and found a groove in the belt and it was loose. My tensioner went, allowing it to jump three teeth, taking it out of the running for the winter.

 

[onelove3]

ok so i just finish my build. i did the priming part and after that i started her up. started up fine. but now i have a ticking noise in side the head. now i now it cant come from the bottom because everything is new and torqued to spec. i have oil pressure. im thinking a bad lifter or my timing is off. what do you guys think

 

[jawar666]

Sometimes the lifters required some time to pull some oil...

How's your timing?

 

[noV8undrDIShood]

did you bleed the lifters before you pu them back in?

 

[onelove3]

i did bleed the lifters. and the timing well it could be off

 

[richard33]

Usually the lifters tick at first start up till they get back to normal. Give it so time (a day or so) and if they are still ticking its time to replace them

 

[turbo tim1]

ticking lifters is normal after a build, usually goes away after an hour of steady driving. The lifter's need to fill back up with oil and that takes some time as they are filled with air after bleeding them.

 

[ks-95gst]

ok guys, well for no reason the noise just went completly away for about two days. then came back, now if i redline it in 1st threw 4th gear, the noise will also go away untill its i shut off for a while. so in other words once i start the car in the moring it does not do it at all when its cold but starts to do it when it gets warmed up, but then if i get on it and run the car hard for a little bit, it will go away again. so that proves to me that there is no way in hell its a rod, becuz rod knocks dont go away when you get on it, and it wouldnt go away for a couple days at a time.

 

[tenn-gsx]

Get out with the car runnung on a day that you can hear the noise. Raise the hood and rev the engine to see if you can hear it outside the car. If you hear the noise near the firewall then there is a good chance its one of the solenoids on the firewall. Disconnect the electrical connector that is closest to the noise and see if it goes away. If this is the noise make sure the rubber bushings are still there and that the bracket isnt mounted metal to metal on the firewall.

 

[Aceman]

Maybe one of your solenoids?

I know my EGR and purge solenooid taps at those rpms....

Just a thought...

My "purge control solenoid valve" does this, and I just unplugged it. I think you can find a new one on some website called courtesy dsm or something like that, if not at a junk yard. The thought of trying to explain it to a person at a junkyard has kept me from trying.

Here is a diagram:
http://members.shaw.ca/dsm.1000q/Engineprimer/2G/solenoids.htm

 

[ks-95gst]

the noise does sound like its coming from the back of the engine, but its not the solenoids. when it makes the sound it is really loud, its not just a faint click. its really loud and noticable inside and outside the car. sometimes its barley noticable, and other times its reallyyy bad, and sometimes it doesent do it at all.

 

[tenn-gsx]

Well nobody will be able to do anything more for you without a video. Get one up and we can help.