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.

 

[RunninPlaya]

check your pillow mount on the strut, they can cause this sound. or ball joints, or your wheel bearing.

but can you give us more info? like is it just under braking/braking and turning? does it do it at all during driving?, driving with turning? so many variables that could make a difference, the more info you can give us the easier this will be.

--Brett

 

[DSM1G90]

(wasn't for that fart tube blurbing away..) could be an out of round rotor ... go to a brake shop to see what is what.

 

[2GEffect6]

check your pillow mount on the strut, they can cause this sound. or ball joints, or your wheel bearing.

but can you give us more info? like is it just under braking/braking and turning? does it do it at all during driving?, driving with turning? so many variables that could make a difference, the more info you can give us the easier this will be.

--Brett

i can only hear it while braking if i brake hard it doesnt do it but if i brake lightly it does it

(wasn't for that fart tube blurbing away..) could be an out of round rotor ... go to a brake shop to see what is what.

its not a fart tube theres a hole in the stock exhaust and i havent had the money to buy an exhaust

 

[duanewjackson]

Well my car was low on oil and started to make what I thought was lifter knock so I replaced them with spare 1gen lifters out of a head I had with bent valves then when I finished putting it all back together and still same noise wierd thing also is that when I unplug my mass air flow sensor it stop knocking but has a hard time breathing of course some one please help could it be that I have a worn out cam lobe pleAse help

 

[bryanwheat]

Pull the plug wires one by one with it running and see if it goes away.

 

[duanewjackson]

It only makes starts making the noise at 4 grand

 

[duanewjackson]

I forgot to mention that sorry

 

[bryanwheat]

I would drain the oil and check for copper in it.

 

[90_eclipse]

Lifter tick doesn't affect the performance, so it really isn't a problem unless if it's messing with your knock sensor (which I highly doubt it would be).

1g lifters are going to tick- unless if you're lucky, like me, and manage to have a pretty quiet set. If it's really bothering you, you can take out all the lifters and try cleaning them (stick a paper clip in the whole to decompress them), but I never really made a difference... at least for me.

Change the weight of your oil- I use 20w-50 kendall oil in the summer, 10w-40 in the winter.

 

[duanewjackson]

It's not ticking or making any noise till about 4500rpms and it's more of a knock instead of a tick

 

[H4G64T]

Rule of thumb is if it's not present at idle but present at higher RPM speeds it's rod knock and not lifter tick. However, that isn't to say it can't be, but it's time to check that pan.

 

[duanewjackson]

Well why when I unplug my maf sensor does it still run and not make any noise when I rev it up

 

[H4G64T]

That MAF has nothing to do with lifters or knock. Just drop the pan and check, it's just a few bolts.

 

[duanewjackson]

I've already replaced the rod bearings before so yeah I'll look they could need some attention but that doesn't explain why when I unplug my maf sensor the noise goes away

 

[jtmcinder]

Many ECUs pull out a ton of timing when the MAF is unplugged. If what seems like knock really comes and goes with the MAF being plugged in or deleted, then it could well be real knock. I would check everything related to timing.

 

[duanewjackson]

Okay thanks everyone

 

[RunninPlaya]

i can only hear it while braking if i brake hard it doesnt do it but if i brake lightly it does it

so it sounds like the out of round rotor is possible, you can MIC it yourself if you know how. but also check the pads and plungers in the caliper to see if they are sticking.

--Brett

 

[triggerx]

Thanks for the advice you guys, I'm gonna check the turbo soon.

No, turning doesn't provoke it. It's not even a constant problem either. In third gear if it does happen its always at 4000 rpms, that's why I'm thinkin its turbo related

 

[DOHC Dilly]

Hey, im have the same exact noise come from my front right wheel on my eclipse too. i have tried new brake pads, didnt work, i have tried new rotors, didnt work. next im going to try the wheel bearing. ill let you know how it goes.

 

[93TSiAWD4blt]

Hey guys, my car just started doing this, and it has me really confused. I got off work started my car, runs fine, back out of my parking spot, fine, then I start going forward and this is where the problem starts. I get to about 1.5k rpms, and I start feeling a vibration. At 2k rpms, I can actually hear the vibrations and they get worse and worse the faster the rpms. I stop the car, check fluids, all good, start the car, start driving, same thing. I stop again. With the clutch pedal in and the clutch disengaged, I press the throttle and it does the same thing, so I know it's an engine problem, not transmission right there ### it does it with or without the car moving or the clutch engaged or disengaged. So I continue home not taking it above 2k the whole way and get out once I'm home and pop the hood. I can hear a vibration at an idle coming from the belt side seems to be around the cam pulleys. I shut the car down and start looking for lose things or rubbing, and I don't see anything. I'm thinking T-belt tensioner is going out, as I can actually make the belt walk with my fingers and the engine is off, would you guys say the same or would you think it was something else? I'm lost, I have no idea other than the tensioner as to what it could be.

 

[spydergst1997]

It sounds like the balance shaft belt broke or the balance shaft bearing spun. I had that problem before I over rev the engine with the balance shafts and spun that front balance shaft bearing. It had bad vibration and a knock when it was reved if yours just has vibration more than likely it is the belt. Hope that helps you out.

 

[Infamous33]

Sounds like you are on the right path. Either the tensioner or one of the pulleys is going bad or you snapped the b belt.
I'd take the covers off and have a look before you have much worse problems.

 

[DSM1G90]

Check your crank pulley/harmonic balancer for starters - it could be starting to separate. If so, this will shake the belts to the ALT causing uneven belt travel and vibration can be the results since it's turning the ALT pulley at an uneven rotation.

Then, if okey, do the teardown for BS belt issues, WHICH could be that the belt didn't break (for with the front balancer not spinning, the motor doesn't produce that much vibration at such low RPM's), but the belt hopped a few teeth out of time to throw the front balancer out of phase with the crank...and that could create a good deal of vibration.

Good luck - DSM

 

[93TSiAWD4blt]

ok, I'm not sure, but it's looking more towards the TB tensioner being bad and throwing the BS off a few teeth. I can push down the timing belt about 3/4 of an inch and the intake cam spins when I do. It actually moves almost 1 whole tooth. The Exhaust cam stays put though.. Any ideas?

 

[MuffinMan7580]

Check your crank pulley/harmonic balancer for starters - it could be starting to separate. If so, this will shake the belts to the ALT causing uneven belt travel and vibration can be the results since it's turning the ALT pulley at an uneven rotation.

Then, if okey, do the teardown for BS belt issues, WHICH could be that the belt didn't break (for with the front balancer not spinning, the motor doesn't produce that much vibration at such low RPM's), but the belt hopped a few teeth out of time to throw the front balancer out of phase with the crank...and that could create a good deal of vibration.

Good luck - DSM

It's spelled out right there, but to me it sounds more like your harmonic balancer is coming apart. Check it out.