Projekt20

I ran at the track one weekend and for some reason the car wouldn't grip in 1st or 2nd....and I ended up revving it up to 9K and staying there for awhile til it finally gripped. That night somehow while racing a bolt shook off and cause a exhaust leak where my header meets the cat. Now to the present.....lately I've been hearing a lound ticking sound coming from the engine bay. I'm hoping it's cause I haven't rebolted the cat to the header and that the engine vibrations are cause it it to vibrate and make the sound. But....in the back of my head I'm thinking that this might be rod knock.....cause at higher RPMs it sounds like a knocking sound. I got a check engine light earlier today and got a code 1 and a code 6. I don't know....I just got this motor rebuilt for turbo....which even isn't on yet, if it's rod knock I think that's the end of my turbo plans. If it is rod knock what are my options?

Engine:
B18C1
GE sleeved 81.5mm
JE 9.5:1 pistons
Crower Rods
and other stuff.....

If it is rod knock and fixable I think I'm just gonna go NA and swap in some CTR pistons and sell all my turbo parts I had planned to install later next year. Thanks everyone.

-Trung

shamoo

Well rod knock is easier to hear at lower rpm's because the engine noise won't mask it. It will increase in speed at higher rpm's.

If it is in fact rod knock, don't drive it. If you have to, drive it slow back to your house....VERY SLOW.

Rod knock is also pretty discernable....it's pretty much the same volume all the time and it's kinda loud. You'll definitely know something is wrong if it is rod knock.

InfamousRS

Cant swap in CTRs...they are only available in 81mm and 81.25mm...you will have to sell you JE 9.5's and buy some new forged high compression pistons.

avividmemory

something usually causes rod knock, its not usually something that happens on a fresh motor...could be from things like a CAI(sucks up water, and spins the bearings), improper install of bearings, stuff like that...usually doesnt just occur for no reason is all im saying...if i were you, id fix the other problem and see what that does, and go from there

0KStuned

why don't you fix your exhaust first so you can know what you are listening to. Then tell us what you hear.

supercompact

Get down on the ground at the front of the car and listen for the ticking. If it is louder under the front of the car than it is over top of the engine bay, it is probably a rod, if not it is probably valves. If the sound goes away while pulling a hill, thats a rod. You can pull the plug wires individually with the engine running and when the knocking stops, that will tell you which rod is knocking.

lazerus

You need to get a big screwdriver, put the flat tip to the head and the butt end to your ear, and listen. Then, put it on the oil pan and listen from there.

Whever the noise is the loudest is where the noise is coming from. But i would agree with the things being said. Fix the problem you know of now. So that you can really see if there is a big problem. If you spun a bearing, you need to have a talk with your engine builder...

sparkz

sounds like an exhaust leak. check to see if your o2 sensor is still tight. if it was rod knock, your motor probably wouldve siezed already after 10-20 miles.

vw-honda-hatches

you WOULD HAVE known something was wrong if it was rod knock.

avividmemory

actually before i put it up for the winter, mine had gone about 500 miles on the knocking...just cuz i had nothing else to drive

RuthlessEF-9

check if theirs white smoke coming from the breather valve

Projekt20

Thanks everyone for the replys. I talk to my friend today and he said it might just need a valve adjustment. It only started doing this after the valve adjustment I did....which was the first for the first time. I've done it a 2nd time since and still to no avail. He says I might have just done it wrong and later this week gonna help me do it again. I thought it might have been that....but the sounds are so loud. Maybe I just did a really bad valve adjustment? I hope so.....I really don't wanna go NA. Thanks again everyone. I'll keep you posted.

-Trung

Projekt20

Update:

Just did a valve adjustment....pretty sure I did it right this time. Could I have maybe just bent a valve? It gets louder as the RPMs rise....and when I first start it up it'll sound like it's knocking real quick. I dunno....gonna check the valves again in the morning and also the timing to make sure it's not detonating. What do you guys think? Thanks.

-Trung

shamoo

Well does it sound more like a knocking or a ticking?

Knocking will sound like someone knocking on a wooden door
Ticking will be like just umm...ticking. Rod knock will not be as fast as valves ticking. Think about the sound....can you imitate the speed with your mouth by saying tick tick tick tick? If it's too fast for you to say, then it's probably valves. You can just about keep up with the sound of rod knock.

It sounds stupid, but it's true. Give it a try.

Projekt20

Update Part 2:

Just took off the head today and can't really tell if the valves are bent....they have a lot of carbon buildup for a 4000 mile motor though. Tops of the pistons look fine....I'm starting to think that something's wrong with the block. Earlier this week, coming home from the gym it started making crazy sounds...like something was jumbling inside there. The cylinder walls should be smooth right? I looked at it and some of the walls got like some scuffs on them. Doesn't look good. Gonna take the oil pan off soon and see what else I can find. I took some pics put they were hella blurry, I'll try to take some more 2nite after the pan's off and post them up if I can. Thanks again everyone for the help.

-Trung

PS. First time I got to see my GE sleeves today.


[Modified by Projekt20, 7:59 PM 12/8/2002]