FlipsR6

Hey all, back again with more wonderful issues This is a pretty specific question that ive had no luck finding previous threads on ( i do actually serach before i make threads, even so that doesnt mean i missed one) So upon startup yesterday i noticed a sound that was not there before, and it persisted after more restarts of the engine. It sounded sort of like knock but not to the point where i thought i spun a rod bearing or my valves were getting friendly with my pistons. I made a video so ill just link that now here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z4-O...ature=youtu.be

Im really hoping its as easy as replacing the valve cover gasket and getting new plugs, but with my luck im doubtful

oh b18c1 almost forgot

i also changed the oil not more than 100 miles before this happened, probably relevant information lol.

skier

iTrader: (5)

Knocking is commonly (I don't know anything specific about B-series motors though) the Loss Motion Assembly (springs/lifters) wearing out- Have you confirmed your oil is at the level it needs to be? My D16 makes a lot more noise when Oil is a little low

Oil on sparkplug boot is a bad gasket on that spark plug tube (I forget what the gaskets called but happened on my Wife's 99 Camry I4)

FlipsR6

the oil level is good, and yea i know i need to replace my gaskets but i want to make sure the sound is just the cylinder not firing and not something else. I do however need to check my oil pressure. Hoping to get some feedback on the sound itself . Thank for the reply

FlipsR6

okay so valve seal gasket and plug tube seals have been replaced along with spark plugs. Theres still that wierd knock noise(just with all 4 cylinders firing now). To give a little backstory as to how and when it happened; the second(maybe third) startup after changing the oil (still in the driveway) i heard a gear grinding sound when the starter was cranking (the car didnt start) so i let it sit for a minute and tried again, this time with no issues. About 60-80 miles later in mostly stop and go traffic in 105 degree weather i get to my apartment (still no issues other than that one gear grind sound) i decided to start it again (while hot) for ***** and giggles and sure enough i hear sounds ( more like knocking and less like gear grinds) and the car had difficulty starting. Thats when i noticed the oil in the plug boot and the wierd knocking sound (it sounds like its coming from below to the right of the block. Could i have spilled some oil on the starter when i removed the oil filter and that caused something to slip? I checked all the head components i could when the valve cover was off and i didnt see any scratches/dings etc on the camshaft lobes and everything seemed to check out fine. Im just at a loss as to what the noise is and i need to get this thing working and emissioned in 3 weeks xD any help is greatly appreciated. Oh the starter is practically brand new however i did not install it so i do not know if it was installed properly or not, i would assume it was seeing as i didnt have these until i changed the oil.

FlipsR6

surely someone has some insightful input, or any at all for that matter... i took out the plugs to test bad rod bearings by pushing the piston down through the plug hole to see if theres play on them. Unfortunately i didnt grab a small enough piece of material to fit through the plug hole so ill be doing it tmr. One thing i noticed was that i could not for the life of me locate where the knocking actually was. First it sounded like back right bottom of the block, then it sounded like it was the head. I visually inspected everything in the head and it seemed fine. This all happened after the starter had a hiccup so i can only imagine its coming from teh starter. But you never know...Heres a link to the sound after the gasket replacement, kinda hard to hear it in the video but its decently loud in person.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jpCZ...ature=youtu.be

another thought was that maybe its my lma's? ive spent way too much time looking things up

98ekb18c

I highly advise against putting anything in your cylinders to check for loose pistons. First, it won't work unless the bearings are missing, and if you drop/break it off in the cylinder you're stuck pulling the head to get it out. Use a stethoscope to narrow down where the noise is coming from. A long screwdriver can make a good substitute.

98ekb18c

Also, try checking the valves and do an adjustment where needed. Might help and it's free if you already have the feeler gauges.

FlipsR6

thank you for your responses! i was starting to feel like i would never get a response -.-

So i just decided to tear the head down up to the valve springs, seats etc.

I was just going to check valve clearance but didnt have the right shims so i decided i would check all the cam lobes and related parts for damage and do the valve job upon assembly. Upon getting everything dissasembled and placed on my kitchen table (yay for apartments and carports -.-) i found some minor (visual only, cant feel it with fingernail) damage on the rocker shafts. I do not know (i dont think though) that that would cause knocking noise, i would assume it would make a chattering sound, which there is not. The only other thing i found that i think would cause the knock sound is one of my LMA's did not have the little retainer clip that keeps it together. Any thoughts on if that would cause the knock? here are pictures and in case you want to hear the engine again http://api.viglink.com/api/click?for...ure%3Dyoutu.be





I work in a machine shop as a manual machinist so i was thinking of polishing the rocker arms on the damaged areas ( it would remove no more than .00002" of material on the od)

thoughts?

I used a delrin rod to push on the piston, nothing to break off in there, and no way to damage the piston. There was no play at all that i could find so im gonna rule that out for now (especially seeing as the knock seemed to be more in the head anyways) ill check oil pressure upon reassembly just to double check

FlipsR6

well ive given up on getting any input on this issue, however im gonna keep posting until the issue is resolved in case anyone else has this problem. SO i reassembled the head after polishing the rocker shaft and putting the one clipless lma on the last cylinder intake side (just so i know where it is to listen better). I checked valve clearances after torquing the cam cover bolts and they were pretty close (.0055 to .006 intake and .0065 to .0075 exhaust) timing belt is a little loose and i noticed where the distributor notches line up with the camshaft, that assembly has some play where the oring seals are. idk if thats normal and it sounds like some of the knock is coming from around that area. Im gonna get a stethescope and listen to it tomorrow to figure out exactly where the sounds are coming from. Im 98% sure its all in the head though