Knocking in the cylinder head??

[ECLIPSE95]

Well I killed my 2g TSI AWD about two months ago, now that finals are almost over I can take a look at it...my problem is I don't know how much damage I did to my car..first of all I was autocrossing it and I was up in the high RPM range about 6k ish to 7k..on my second run of the day I noticed my AFC recorded knock of 200+ so I shut it off had it cool down and then cranked it....it started but when i give it gas it has it has a horriable ticking sound that i think that is comming from the head. I removed the oil cap and it got louder...but when it idles..it doesn't make the sound..the sound is similar to sticking a screwdriver into a fan...and its fast knock...and my AFC is jumping from 20, 65, 100, 35, 200+ all over the chart...so how much damage am I looking at?? is it the head? or the bottom end? and what should I do to inspect the engine??

 

[spoold]

Boy, it almost sounds like a really nasty case of lifter tick/lifter damage. Loud lifters or a damaged lifter(s) will set of your knock sensor insanely. Im not sure how easy it is to "damage" a lifter, but if the lifters are the problem, its a relatively simple fix.

 

[ECLIPSE95]

how would i go about fixing that myself and would this have damaged my cams??

 

[spoold]

That is something i cannot comment on, but the knock sensor going off, loud ticking from head, etc leads me to believe its lifters.

If that is the case you can replace them by:

a) buying some 3g revised lifters
b) pulling hte valve cover
c) easiest way (the way i did) was to get a good spring compressor and you need to go one by one and first remove the old lifters by lifting/prying the rocker arms up, sliding the old ones out, and putting the new ones in, then re lifting the rocker arms back ontop of the lifters. Its a simple install with basic tools, just be careful when prying the rocker arms.

As per if it could have damaged something else, i cannot comment on something out of my knowledge. good luck!

 

[ECLIPSE95]

Do I have to remove the cams to do this??...and whats the best way to tell if its the lifters??

 

[spoold]

search for "collapsed lifters" on here, and read up about some other peoples misfortunes with lifters.

You do not have to remove/loosen the cams to get by installing them, the rocker arms should be pry-able, and the lifters slide out.

Search VFAQ for lifter install and it should help you more. I did the install on my lifters in about 1 hour.

EDIT: this may be something more serious, like valve-piston contact. The lifters are the simple way to find out if its something more serious though. If the tapping increases with throttle i retract my previous help of lifters, now you're looking at something valve-related most likely.

 

[ECLIPSE95]

nice..thanks for the help..I post later next week and see if thats the problem...

 

[ECLIPSE95]

well I got the valve cover off and I dont see any rockers that have came off and no signs of physical damage...but now how do I know which lifter is bad??

 

[ECLIPSE95]

well for starters I put all new 16 3g lifters(lash adjusters) in and it started ruff and knocked like I expected...but with it running for about 3 minutes the knock went away...but I give it some gas and the knock returns!!! the same noise as described now its sounds like a slower knock...but it idles with no knock....could it be a valve?? and its defanatly in the head...please HELP

 

[andymoraitis]

Since new lifters didn't fix it, pull the pan and check for shavings. In the meantime, rev in neutral until it makes the sound and then pull one plug where you think the noise is coming from. If you do this in sequence running on 3 cylinders and find a cylinder where pulling the plug makes the noise stop, it's in the bottom end.

Rod knock is often mistaken for lifter tick. This is an easy test and it will either confirm bottom end damage or rule it out. If the noise persists and the plug test didn't make it stop, check your timing belt tensioners and perhaps even your harmonic balancer on the crank. Any of these will cause knocking type noises.

Good luck!

Andy