Knock knock. Who's there? I donno, help figure it out. FIXED

[Whisper]

So here's what my motor sounds like.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kuE1XLJV-f4" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

And I can't tell what it is. Perhaps it's a mix of different failed parts. And no, it's not low on oil. I've looked at videos and did some research, and even though I've found motors that sound similar to mine, there was never conclusive diagnosis.

Here's what I've been able to figure out. It probably isn't HLA tick. I've had that, and it was more ticky and less knocky. It is concentrated at the top end, inside valve covers, around cylinders #1, #2, and possibly #4. Listening closely to the bottom end the sound is barely audible. I can't really get a reading that's any more precise than that. Highly doubt it's the rod bearings - they're usually a lot duller, clunkier, and louder, and I think the frequency would be less. Plus I've had this noise for a year now, and I've raced the car with it. If it were rod bearings, it probably would've failed by now. So this leaves valve noise and tensioner. I've also heard friction gear could be a culprit, but I'm not really familiar with those and noises they make.

So check the vid and let me know what you think.

[solo_ryder]

Does the sound go away at higher rpms? I was gonna suggest timing belt tensioner, but it should be much louder then that..

Sounds like a couple bad lifters maybe. If you ever get the chance you can either replace em or drop them in kerosene for 24hours and that will clean em up.

You can also try running half a quart of ATF through the motor before your next oil change and that can sometimes free some crap in the lifters cause of the detergents in the oil.

[projectzemx3]

defianetly sounds like a timing belt tensioner, they are not always that loud solo_ryder, it depends on how worn out the tensioner is, the more worn out the more it will hit the plastic cover the louder it gets, maybe this one is not worn out that bad yet. still - annoying sound.

[solo_ryder]

Well if its the tensioner then that is best case scenario for you Whisper. I was only going on my knowledge of my old tensioner that blew suddenly..

http://s30.photobucket.com/albums/c302/ ... 235325.flv

LOL I am glad it wasnt a rod bearing for me

[Whisper]

Right on. Yeah, I hope it's the tensioner.

Unlikely to be HLAs. They used to tick a bit, but I've ran some Seafoam through the oil a few times, and they've shut up.

I can't tell if the sound goes away at higher RPMS. The motor and exhaust are loud and make it hard to hear extra noises. Probably doesn't go away, just increases in frequency. At least that's what happens when I rev it a little bit.

[projectzemx3]

here:

http://catalog.worldpac.com/marks/wizar ... +Tensioner" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[marcdh]

sounds like mine I have a new tensioner, and will be installing the redesigned cam friction springs in a quest to sort out this racket.

[Whisper]

here:

http://catalog.worldpac.com/marks/wizar ... +Tensioner" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

So would I need to replace both or just the hydraulic piston part?

I guess it would depend on whether or not the pulley is bad... Hmm...

[Whisper]

sounds like mine I have a new tensioner.

So did it not help? Or have you not installed it yet?

[solo_ryder]

Whisper, just hit up a local parts store see if you can get a deal on a probe one, you would need the whole tensioner here as the internal seals would have blown in order for the tensioner to bite the dust. Expect to pay between 1-200 bucks for one

[Whisper]

Yeah, I'll see if I can find one locally. If not, RockAuto has them at a decent price. 150 bones is a lot, but still cheaper than fixing any damage it would do if it failed.

[marcdh]

sounds like mine I have a new tensioner,

So did it not help? Or have you not installed it yet?

Sorry that was ambiguous, it's not installed yet, it was pretty bad this morning. I'm just trying to hold out until I get the adjustable cam gears made - don't want to tear apart twice.

[Whisper]

Ok, so a quick update (yeah I know, it's been a while, don't have a lot of spare time to work on the car).

I got the hydraulic tensioner out, and I don't think it's the cause. It's practically brand new. Going down the list of parts, I see that it was put on just a few years ago, when the timing belt and water pump were done. I totally forgot about that. I definitely cannot compress this guy without a vise, so I think it has plenty of force and isn't blown. Not to mention there was no play in the timing belt. It was nice and tight. Thus I'm gonna assume that's not it.

I also inspected my HLAs and they appear to be in a pretty decent shape. But it didn't sound like HLA noise to begin with, anyway.

So that kind of leaves one thing that could still be wrong and cause noise - friction gear spring. I know those go south due to bad design on older pre-95 motors, and the new redesigned ones should take care of the problem. Could this be the sound? I don't really know what a bad friction gear spring sounds like...

Granted the're not too expensive (spring+nut combo). Might as well do it while the camshafts are out.

[Mikitu]

any news?

[Whisper]

Alright, finally got it sorted. Took a while because I was also redoing the suspension and changing out a bunch of other stuff, but at last I buttoned everything up today and took it for a spin. Nice and quiet. Basically I put in new friction gear springs (the new design with little ears) and nuts, and I think that did the trick. Old friction gears were really worn around the contact surfaces, and were most likely freely spinning in place and not doing their job, so the secondary camshafts were slapping about and making a racket.

I didn't replace the tensioner, still using the same one - it's in good shape. All the HLAs were perfectly fine as well.

So there you go, hope that helps.