i tried replaced my valve cover gasket, distributor o-ring and oil pan gasket.i finished replacing the valve gasket and o-ring 3 days ago, i ran into some problem with the oil pan bec. it had a crack so it had no oil pan and oil was draining for 3 days. i received the pan and finished installing the oil pan yesterday.
today i turned the car on and i has a loud scratching weird sound that it never had before and it has some smoke coming out of the engine area. i let ran for 5 min to let the oil spread but then i turned it off bec. im scared that i damege it more. it never had before so i dont know what i should do. is the anything wrong or is it normal?

 

blew a rod? more like clunking?

 

not clunking, just a loud dry rubbing scratching sound. how did i mess up? what should i do?

 

it seems like it coming from the down pipe from the header to the cat? the sound is like a really loud shaking rubbing sound. i hope its not from the bottom end of the engine. did i loosen something from the cat while having it hanging while waiting for the oil pan?im planning on remving it and putting it back again. i there anything i should be aware before i do it? its a 1997 civic ex btw

 

it starts easily and it has that loud sound when it just start and when it idles, the sound is not as loud. it doesnt have sound up top so the valve cover and the distributor must be fine. is it possible to mess up your engine by having oil drain for 3 days while replacing the oil pan gasket or valve cover gasket?

 

so you put oil in the motor after you replaced the gasket right? also, maybe you lost a nut/bolt or something in the motor and thats whats causing it to make the noise.

 

yeah, i filled it with the right amount of oil.

 

it seems to me like its the catalytic converter. the downpipe wasnt shaking that much. i drained the oil and remove the oil pan and theres no flakes or anything besides some tiny glitter type. theres seems to be nothing hanging or loose at the engine from below. so the only thing i think is making the loud noise is the cat, if im right. so how do i fix it?

 

it could be the heat shield rattling. this tends to happen. you can remove the heatshield or tighten it down more to make it stop rattling. if it even is the catalyic converter making the noise.

 

dust shield hitting the back of the flywheel?

 

x2

 

Prob something with the belts, maybe you dropped something and it got stuck, some piece of plastic, it will burn and cause that type of sound, thats all i can think of

 

x3
thanks for the help guys!! the dust shield got bent while removing the oil pan. thanks again!