Thread: Help Me Find the Knock...

I need help determining if my engines knocking is the bottom end or the head.

Is there anyway to be sure if you have rod knock? Or something in the head? It's a ticking/knock noise, only heard above 2500RPM. It's not very consistent either, I can be steady throttle and hear it, then get on it and nothing, it varies.

It has been doing it since September, maybe even longer, but has not gotten any worse. The car is a bone stock 91 SE-R.

I'll get a video tomorrow. It SEEMS to be coming from the passenger side of the engine, if that helps, but does not seem to be timing chain related.

Thanks!

VIDEO:

206_0035.MOV - YouTube

A few people have had an issue with it sounding like that.
And it comes out to be an alternator bolt that's loose. Check that out.

If not you can use a car stethoscope, or a long screw driver. Put the head of the screw driver in different places while putting your ear to the handle and you'll be able to isolate the sound to a specific area.(I.e. Top or bottom end)

Hmmmm interesting I'll check the alternator stuff, we put a new alternator in a month or two before all this started happening, so I'll check all the bolts.

I tried the screwdriver the other day, couldn't hear a thing with it at the head, will try the bottom end somehow. lol

with the car running pull each spark plug wire one at a time and see if the noise goes away. if it does you have a bad rod bearing if not that it would be the main bearings or another issue. I would use a scope to listen to the motor to get a general location of the noise.

if its been like that from september i wouldnt think the rod bearing would of held on for that long and you say its not constant then that is leading me to somewhere else

check your upper chain guide in the head

I'll do the plug thing later today.

How do I check the chain guide?

It almost seems like the noise comes depending on how much throttle I'm giving it, not at a certain RPM, if that makes a difference. I considered an exhaust leak but it's not coming from that area.

Take off the valve cover.

2 12mm bolts hold it down. You can see if the chain is slacking on the chain guide if you take off the valve cover.

Is this the car on craigslist in atl?

Yeah it was, I thought I deleted it though.

Took a video, it's a lot louder in the video than in real life, but you get the point, haven't taken the valve cover off yet as I daily it and haven't had a chance to work on it.

206_0035.MOV - YouTube