engine 'clacking'

Hello fellow members..

 

Recently i have found my subby engine to be making a racket. At first it sounded to me like a heat shield as I could only here it from inside and when shifting gears (Manual). Then, i ran the RPM up while parked and behold the noise showed up, almost like a loose intake and i was hearing the misfiring.

 

Upon further listening it seems as though it is a valve possibly but here is the really odd thing - it only occurs between 2100-3200 RPM. Before and after this, nothing quite as ever. Also, during this noisy period there is no other indication of a problem. Engine runs smooth and no smoking or anything.

I did find a loose heat shield that I tied up with no result and I also just changed the oil in hopes that would open something up but no luck. No shinny bits anywhere that I could see either.

 

A little background on the recent work done to this engine as it has been tiring.

 

1 - Oil consumption was and is quite high and the car was in for HG work and so i had them re-condition both heads with new seals and seats. The heads were also planed and pressure tested. All good there. I also had a new set of piston rings put in to try to curb the oil issue - it did not. (This is another issue)

 

2 - After all of the above work, i developed an oil leak somewhere around the passenger side head/valve cover. After 3 attempts to fix the problem it was finally found that it was a crack in the head. The head was replaced with a used head and it too was re-conditioned.

 

Jump forward 1-2 months and here i am with this issue. I am really at a loss with this because it only happens at a specific RPM range and it also does not seem to happen when I'm on the gas while driving however if i release i can certainly here it until it hits that magical ~2000 RPM and its gone.

 

Thanks for any advice here. I really don't want to start throwing parts at this thing at this point. I will be driving this beast cross country as we are moving mid Dec so i would like to figure this out.

It's rebuild time.

 

See my Shopping List.

Yep what he said ^^^^^^^

Sounds like a cracked piston skirt to me. Engine rebuild as they both said.

Have you done the timing belt yet?

 

I had a forester that had a idler pulley go. It sounded like clacking and only at certain rpms.

xtea - yes I have had the belt done - twice actually. Once when it was due and another when i had all the other work done.

 

I was at my mechanic today to have him listen to it. He believes it may be something in the variable timing of the head that has come out of adjustment since they replaced the head. He says the sound is not heavy enough to be a rod bearing in his experience.

I will be leaving the car with him and he will check it out. I will update on the result.

Fingers are crossed I won't have to have this all rebuilt.

Valve adjustment. Is what he's doing. They should have been set correctly at the machine shop.

You know, if you just fill the entire thing with LucasOil, it'll quiet right down -

Does it sound anything like this? Mine is present at idle up to about 2500, cold or hot. I have yet to have mine checked out, just saving for the inevitable rebuild.

 

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that isn't rod knock. Rod knock does NOT go away as engine RPM increases, it gets MUCH WORSE.

 

gmentals,

 

pull your timing cover off and do this

 

 

and do it fast before that tensioner lets the belt jump. My tensioner was done at 62K

that isn't rod knock. Rod knock does NOT go away as engine RPM increases, it gets MUCH WORSE.

 

gmentals,

 

pull your timing cover off and do this

 

 

and do it fast before that tensioner lets the belt jump. My tensioner was done at 62K

 

I don't think its rod knock either. I'm prepping for a rebuild regardless. I had a thread about the noise here. Most of the bolts on my timing cover are seized in the nuts so they just spin. I have a timing kit ready to go.