I know that a bad engine knock sounds like, but im unsure about that it sounds like in the beginning. The only engine i have killed was a chevy 305 and it went from fine to BANG BANG BANG and shortly there after when reving it, it through a rod throught the block (it was a souped up camaro). My engine i noticed has a small almost tick to it, Im pretty sure its not the pcv valve. But to the question does a knock always sound heavy, or can it start as a light tick and became a horrible heavy knock?? Also if my engine is goin bad shouldnt there be metal in the oil?? Must i drain the oil from the pan or will there be some on the oil on the dip stick??

 

Kinda like this.....

 

It's probably a valve or some other component in the valve train. Pull the valve cover off and check out the HLA's. If one is fouled, you'll probably be able to see a visual anomaly like wear marks.

How rapid is the ticking? Is it with each revolution of the engine? Does it do it constantly, or only at certain RPM's?

 

it happens no matter what the rpms are and with every revolution, im also thinking it might be timeing or pug related, i noticed this mouring that when the car sits at idle for a while (2-3 minutes) i feel a cylinder miss??(it feels like it is gonna die for just a split second and then picks back up) so im assuming that that has something to do with it but i could be wrong. i just started noticeing all these things because it the first time sense ive owned the truck that i havent had to have th eheater on full blast.

 

yea, i hate hearing taps.... it annoys the crap outa me

well.... if it's any consolation.. if its a rod knockin, the harder you drive it the louder it should get

otherwise i would think its a valve tapppin.... i know mines got a pretty loud tick/tap

i also found the fan makes a nice tickin sound consistantly too

 

My ranger mis-fired on occasion and it turned out that one of the spark plug leads was grounding out to the block rather than through the plug. As far as the knocking, a loose timing belt will make a very similar sound if the belt slaps the side. On my truck (without A/C or power steering ) I can check the tension simply by removing the timing belt cover, keeping the radiator and everything else intact. Once I correctly tensioned it, it stopped making the noise.

Cheers,
Craig