So... I think the 3.0 is toast. Took it to a local shop with a great reputation here. Guy will look at any car and give his opinion no charge.

Anyway, he thought it was something in the passenger side. Valves, pistons, etc... something over there. He told me it would cost more to fix, then to just get a replacement engine at least here in the Twin Cities.

I brought it home and I'm now trying to weigh my options. Anyone ever hear anything like this? Is it worth trying to dissect this baby to fix?

I should state it has 90k on the clock. I just changed the plugs and oil in an effort to make the knock go away but it definitely didn't help.

 

That sounds like top end noise almost like a broken valve spring. Have you lost any power? Make another vid open the throttle just a bit then let off to bring the rpm's up then back down quick. That will tell us if its the rods making the noise.

 

The knock might be internal engine noise, however, consider that driven accessories (e.g. water pump) might be at fault. I owned (years ago) a Triumph TR3A that had a frightening knock. I took the pan off and while looking at rods, pistons, etc. turned the crankshaft and found that the water pump pulley was rocking on its shaft. An easy and cheap fix!

 

it sounds like a valve noise, maybe a lifter. Pull the valve cover off, which is fairly simple and you'll be able to inspect it a bit more
Top end work isn't that bad. If you can do it yourself, then you'd save a ton of money.

 

I'll see if I can get another video tomorrow. For the time being all my free time is devoted to finishing my bathroom which I'm remodeling.

Nice to hear that the engine might still have hope. I'll take a look.

 

you can access the valve cover without taking apart the intake manifold. id take a look at the valve train first. pull the coil pack off and hold the coolant hoses to the side and then you can access the valve cover.

is this a manual? does sound change with rpm's?

 

You can get to the passenger side easily, I have a spare 3.0. If its a lifter/ valve i could give you one.

 

Most definitely changes with RPM. If you get above 3k, it changes completely. I'll get video some time this weekend.

That'd be awesome. When I can get sometime I'll rip it apart and see what I can find.

 

Any pop like noises out of exhaust or intake?

 

Not that I can hear. Seems to be mostly right from the passenger side of the engine. Here's the video with my wife revving it a little bit. Audio got kind of jacked at the beginning, but it's better at the end.

Probably won't update this thread for awhile as I won't have time to tear into for a week or so, but I'll let you know guys know what I can find.

 

Honestly its about 20 minutes to get that valve cover off, pull intake tube, pull coil pack, and unbolt valve cover. They're 8mm bolts and you need a deep well socket.

And pm if you do find something bad in there.

 

Sounds like morse code. Maybe its trying to tell you whats wrong.

 

I'd technically agree with you, but I'm in the middle of a bathroom remodel and the wife wants that done before anything else gets touched. And since I have a loaner vehicle from my old man it's not a priority right now.

 

Ok. So I pulled the valve cover off last night. Nothing seems loose or bad, but I really don't know what to look for in this. Here's another video with the valve cover off. Probably won't help, but what the hell.


Also, just to clarify, if I want to manually crank over the engine to make sure valves are opening and closing properly at the right time, I'm assuming I use this bolt on the fan right?



So what should I do from here? I can't really tell which one the noise is coming from? Only thing I noticed while running it was that oil starting seaping out into the rocker arms. Is that bad? I'd assume not, but I have no idea.

Again, appreciate any help.

 

Unsure of the oil thing but I believe you can use the fan or the crank shaft nut. Before you try that just try pulling the actual belt. Sometimes that works.

 

After doing a bit more research, it seems the oil thing is normal. And after re-watching the video, all but one of the rockers is getting oil. I'm beginning to wonder if that's the problem, that the oil pressure is bad on the one that isn't getting oil, either because of seals or a bad lifter, etc. Not sure how to deal with it more, but I'll keep you guys posted as I figure out more.

And as always feel free to give input.

 

could be valve seals starting to stick.

run some seafoam in there.

to manually turn the engine over, put a wrench on the crank pulley.

 

Ran SeaFoam through it about 4 weeks ago (when I changed the oil and the plugs). It definitely created some smoke when I did it so I know it was burning stuff off, but it unfortunately didn't really help.

 

I realize this is old but did you ever figure out what this was?? I have the same knock in the same engine and is driving me nuts trying to diagnose without pulling it apart..


DD

 

lifter or cam lobe