Tapping noise coming from engine bay

[Krilnik]

Dropped the car off at the mechanics to get a few oil leaks fixed. Inlet manifold gasket, rocker cover gaskets, transmission hoses were replaced.

They forgot to attach the fan connections. When i got home i realised the temp was in between half way and redline and the fan hadn't have come on. Wasn't really any higher than normal on a stinkin' hot day stuck in traffic. It was only about a 5k drive to home in peak hour traffic. There was definitely some burbling and bubbling coming from the radiator when i turned the car off but it really wasn't that hot for long at all. Rang the mechanic who told me they forgot to attach the fan connection and to connect it. Sweet no worries. I quickly attached the fan and started it back up and took it for a spin around the block to cool it down, which it did in about 15 seconds once the car was running with the fan.

After that, it has been hard to start when the motor is warm. It cranks over slowly but eventually starts. Starts when cold no worries.

There is also a tapping noise coming from the engine bay somewhere and it is really noticeable around 1500 - 2000 rpm. A knocking noise at idle is now noticeable too.

I just replaced oil and oil filter with Castrol GTX2 yesterday and its still there, just as noticeable.

Any ideas on what this tapping noise could be? Hoping someone can help, thanks.

[Brett_jjj]

If if wasnt doing this before it got hot,then the heat has probably done some damage to the engine bearings.Its the mechanic that didnt connect the fans problem,take it straight back to them.Also did they test drive it and get it hot and not notice?

[aussiesport]

rip shit and bust bud .... if the mechanic rang and told you its on his ass!!

[db_notso]

take the car back and request all work be redone for free as you dont know if they did anything right

also state that you have the reciepts for the jobs done and thatr now the motor needs a rebuild
to back this up get racq to do an inspection then tell the guy that comes whats wrong with it
overheated noisy knocking in bottom end of motor (or top who cares)
SOME PEOPLE JUST SHOULDNT BE ALLOWED NEAR OTHERS PRIDE AND JOY

[pjdm1980]

Maybe let the rest of us know who he is so others don't get caught up in the same predicament!

[Krilnik]

OK heres the deal. The mechanic is a mate. The apprentice forgot to attach the fan. Took the car back last night for him to take a look. Rekkins the bottom end is ####ed and i will need a changeover motor sometime in the future - if it ever dies. I replaced oil on Sunday with 20w50 Castrol GTX2 to see if it made a difference. No difference. The tapping is still there. The old oil was SUPER THIN so i was hoping it wouldn't be as audible - it is. Strange. You can only hear the tapping once the motor is fully warm - like when im almost at work 15 k's from home. When the motor is cold she sounds sweet as. I might try and experiment with different types of oils and viscosities to see if i can quieten it down a touch. Anyone got any ideas on which oil i might try?

While the oil is still fresh i might throw in some Liquidmoly. I was thinking one of the products on the bottom of this page - LIQUI-MOLY - Oil Additives - but im not quite sure its such a good idea adding a thickener to 20w50 oil - might make the oil too think.

Now there WERE some strange noises coming from the motor prior to taking the car to the mechanics for the oil leaks but i never paid attention. I wish i did but i just can't be %100 sure that the tapping noise started when i picked the car up. I rekkin it did.....but what proof do i have??? As the days go by its becoming slightly easier to start the motor when its warm. Bloody hell this is all too weird...

They never drove the car - they just replaced gaskets and let it idle to check for any further leaks. I do have a rear main seal leak but i didn't wanna spend an additional $700 or whatever it would cost to repair that. The new oil has not reduced this leak.

Anyway, back to the tapping noise. He rekkins it'd take more than a slight overheat to cause that kind of damage and that the car would had to have been driven for a hell of a lot longer and hotter for any damage to occur.

I will be honest. The car did run low on oil for a while and i did put the foot down more than i'd like to have in hindsight. It was a while between services too.

Im just gonna let this one go and hope it doesn't die on me anytime soon.

[frdhtr]

Hey buddy seems like your engine was on it's way out unless your temp was right up which you say it wasn't really it just was the icing on the cake I wouldn't worry to much somtimes it pays to go to a mechanic that isn't your mate then you might have a leg to stand on, what I personally would be doing is sourcing a 2nd engine and asking your friend mechanic to be lenient on the labour price to fit it for you, that way you both win And keep the oil level up on your engines. Cheers

[Krilnik]

Thanks frdhtr, i definitely will change the oil every 6 months if not sooner.

You're right, the engine may have been on its way out....and the high temperature may have done some damage but i guess i'll never know for sure.

I'll monitor the noise and see how she goes. Who knows - it may eventually disappear over time or with a different type of oil. I threw in Castrol GTX2 20W50 on Sunday - might try Penrite HPR30 next.

[frdhtr]

Drive her nice and you should be ok for a while. Goodluck

[KeepItStock]

Krilnik, i can relate to the tapping sound only when the motor is warm in my VR V6, where as when its cold the sound isnt there. Im not sure what the tapping sound is though, I service it every 7000k's. How many k's on your car? mines on 260000k's.. Dont use oil additives. Try the Penrite 20w60 its the "extra 10" one.

I have just uploaded a video on youtube showing the weird sound coming from the engine. Would appreciate it if anyone could let me know what they think is making the weird sound.

YouTube - VR Commodore knock/ratlle
Cheers

[Krilnik]

Thanks for replying.

My VS has about 197,000k's on the clock. My tapping noise is different from yours. You can't hear my motor tapping/ticking on idle. It's when the revs get up over 2000k that you hear it, and it increases in speed with the revs. Its actually quite loud once the motor has warmed up.

Im going to try Penrite HPR30 - HPR 30 - Penrite Oil

[astormsau]

I had mechanic do the same thing, was changing the CAS and left the fan connector of, being winter I didnt notice it as I didnt do much stop/start driving. Anyhow when I noticed it the temp was hovering around 3/4 on the guage, the car gurgled and spat out some coolant and took about 1L of water in the radiator once she had cooled down, but it did no damage to the motor that as noticeable. I took it back to the mechanic who admitted the fault, pressure tested the cooling system and did a compression test on the cylinders and said it was fine. So my theory is that unless it gets right up near the red, that kind of temp shouldn't upset it too much.

Drew

[Krilnik]

Yeah astormsau, my temp never hit the redline.

But around the same time ive had this tapping noise coming from the "bottom end".

[Chrispy]

Krilnik, i can relate to the tapping sound only when the motor is warm in my VR V6, where as when its cold the sound isnt there. Im not sure what the tapping sound is though, I service it every 7000k's. How many k's on your car? mines on 260000k's.. Dont use oil additives. Try the Penrite 20w60 its the "extra 10" one.

I have just uploaded a video on youtube showing the weird sound coming from the engine. Would appreciate it if anyone could let me know what they think is making the weird sound.

YouTube - VR Commodore knock/ratlle
Cheers

that sounds like the drive belt tensioner/pulley to me mate.

[jujibelly]

FYI the bottom end is just going to get worse and worse, source a 2nd hand engine roughly you can pick up a wreckers one for a couple hundred which is what 5 oil changes worth?

When shit hits the fan and you don't have alternative transport you will be stressing and spewing that you didn't find a sution beforehand.

Let it be a lesson learnt by not leaving things just pass by, like the valuable lesson you learnt by thrashing the car with low oil, hence the reason for your bottom end knock.

[eggy]

i have a vr v8 wagon and it is makeing a taping noise dose any one know what it would be i think it is the roller rockers as they are loose can any one help me out with this thanks ????????????

[adept]

original poster - this sounds like a big end bearing job.

recently overheated my engine & killed it (it was tapping on start/low revs - fine on cruise idle / off the stall converter then it died spectacularly) - im now looking for new kickass radiator after rebuilding and adding a s/c

[Krilnik]

Yeah I'm still cruising it to work everyday, just waiting for it to blow up.

[Jahwah]

How much did it cost to rebuild your engine adept?

[brend94vr]

have u tried "stop tappet noise"? goes in with the oil might do the trick, i used it with mine, i had tapping noises as soon as i turned the car on

[FstStig]

Agreed.... Sounds like a sticky lifter or tappet.... Add in some Nulon lifter free and it should help with it all

[Krilnik]

No. My noise started after the motor had warmed up.

The car is at the mechanics now. Not the same mechanics who stuffed the motor but a family friend who I should've taken the car to in the first place.

He's replaced the balancer. Noise is still there.

There is some slack in the timing chain. That will be replaced on Monday. If it does end up being a bearing, then a changeover will be in order.

[Krilnik]

Also, I did try the Penrite 20w60 and the Liquimoly "stop engine noise" stuff.

Did not dampen the noise.

[Cpt Awesome]

hmmm Piston Slap? pulley not on proberly?

[Krilnik]

Yeah could be piston slap. All the pulleys appear to be fine. Will update you all in a few days I guess when the timing chain cover comes off. Could be a stuffed chain or tensioner. Noise seems to be coming from the front of the engine.