Engine noise. Balancer, lifter, other?

[wheb]

Hey all.
Had a slight ticking noise on startup late last week which disappeared pretty quick as engine warmed up. Went on a trip over the weekend and it got a little worse but disappeared (or got much quieter) with a short amount of driving/warming up.

Started it tonight and the sound is worse. It's amplified a bit by the carport but still not good. My searching has made me think harmonic balancer or a fucked lifter. Hoping to get peoples opinions of what it likely is/how fucked I am. It sounds like it's coming from the oil cap area but can also sound like it's coming from underneath the drivers side.

Can't see any visible back/forth movement of the balancer (huge pulley at the bottom I assume) when the engine is running. Have tried to move it by hand while stationary (belt on) with no success either.

Here is a video link for reference. Video

Next morning outside less echo Video2

Thanks for any assistance, very much a noob with a lot of this stuff.

 

[Draimond]

That's loud... Sounds like rod knock from the video.

What would you like to do here?

Every avenue is going to require some disassembly and mechanical diagnostics on your part.

We can all sit here and guess what we think it is before you take it to a mechanic.

Or we can tell you what part of your engine to pull apart and what to check for.

Only asking because you said your a noob at this stuff. Are you up for getting your hands dirty and buying some tools?

If so, I'm going to give it the benefit of the doubt and assume it's not rod knock (because that means engine rebuild or swap).

You can use a big screwdriver as a stethoscope. Put the plastic end against your ear and the steel tip on a part of the engine. Take care not to get yourself caught in the accessory belt or thermo fan.

 

[Draimond]

Could probably be a failed hydraulic lifter actually. Put a bottle of lifter free up in from Supercheap.

Depending on how well it's serviced, maybe do an oil change next. Don't use 20w50, use something lighter like a 10w40 for this test. Put engine flush in before, and a lifter free up again after.

Really need to rule out rod knock before doing anything else tho.

 

[wheb]

That's loud... Sounds like rod knock from the video.

What would you like to do here?

Every avenue is going to require some disassembly and mechanical diagnostics on your part.

We can all sit here and guess what we think it is before you take it to a mechanic.

Or we can tell you what part of your engine to pull apart and what to check for.

Only asking because you said your a noob at this stuff. Are you up for getting your hands dirty and buying some tools?

If so, I'm going to give it the benefit of the doubt and assume it's not rod nock (because that means engine rebuild or swap).

Which leads me to suggest checking the valve train. Remove rocker covers, turn the engine over by hand (giant bar and socket on the harmonic balancer bolt) and as you do, look for something that's not like the others, ie broken or loose.

Before that tho, you can use a big screwdriver as a stethoscope. Put the plastic end against your ear and the steel tip on a part of the engine. Take care not to get yourself caught in the accessory belt or thermo fan.

Hey, thanks for the response. I am a noob at internal engine stuff but can follow a video and have done some repairs through researching such as water pumps, pulleys, general services, filter changes, ignition barrels etc.

I have some tools and am hoping to catch a mate later this week who has access to a heap more and has more experience than myself.

Will give the stethoscope a go tomorrow arvo, what parts of the engine do you recommend i test out? Will also test out the manual crank if I have a bar long enough. I assume its a basic bolt off cover doesnt require any gaskets etc?

 

[wheb]

Could probably be a failed hydraulic lifter actually. Put a bottle of lifter free up in from Supercheap.

Depending on how well it's serviced, maybe do an oil change next. Don't use 20w50, use something lighter like a 10w40 for this test. Put engine flush in before, and a lifter free up again after.

Really need to rule out rod knock before doing anything else tho.

It was prob 400k driving over the weekend. Hoping if it was an issue that would destroy the engine it would of happened in that time but yeah trying to avoid driving it now it has worsened.

Will have a look at the lifter free up! Apologies but how exactly do I rule out rod knock?

 

[Draimond]

I think most experienced car enthusiasts and mechanics just know rod knock when they hear it... It's bad. It's the sound of death.

Rod knock is when one of the big end bearings fail. The sound comes from a conrod hitting the crankshaft. Google for further info.

But basically, it's engine out and rebuild. You can perform a visual inspection by taking one or more of the conrod caps off... Which involves taking the engines sump off... Which can be done a few ways, none of which are easy without multiple jacks, new gaskets, torque wrench... A hoist would be advantageous Etc.

Did you say that the car has 400,000kms on the Speedo?
That's sorta kinda all one of those engines are good for. Leaning heavily towards engine swap or reconditioning the engine if that's the case.

 

[Draimond]

If driven gently, rod knock can come on slowly like you've described.
I did my big end bearings sideways at 5500rmp, so it was very... immediate.

Lifters are loud as when they die. That's also a fairly solid guess at what the issue is I reckon.

Could be a million different things... Like a coke can stuck spinning around your tailshaft or something ridiculous... but loud knocking does tend to be bad and engine internals related.

Can you please give us another video with gentle revs please.
You can rev the engine by pulling the throttle cable at the engine. Just to about 1/4 throttle or less, taking about 1 second or so to get there and then release it immediately. Repeat 3 or 4 times.

 

[hjtrbo]

Remove the oil filter, cut it open with tin snips (not a hacksaw or grinder). Methodically remove the filter material from the filter body. Fold it up nicely and press it in a vice to squeeze out ALL of the oil. Open up filter material and inspect. I would put money on it having bits of bearing and shiny stuff in there.

 

[wheb]

If driven gently, rod knock can come on slowly like you've described.
I did my big end bearings sideways at 5500rmp, so it was very... immediate.

Lifters are loud as when they die. That's also a fairly solid guess at what the issue is I reckon.

Could be a million different things... Like a coke can stuck spinning around your tailshaft or something ridiculous... but loud knocking does tend to be bad and engine internals related.

Can you please give us another video with gentle revs please.
You can rev the engine by pulling the throttle cable at the engine. Just to about 1/4 throttle or less, taking about 1 second or so to get there and then release it immediately. Repeat 3 or 4 times.

Sorry I wasn't clear the 400k was referring to my distance driven over the weekend in km.
Got it outside this morning and got another vid as requested. Noise is much softer this morning (perhaps due to less echoing being outside). After a couple mins of idle the noise basically disappeared once the engine started getting warm.
Here it is Video2

Also ignore the oil drips on the ground, its not from the car, helped a buddy with an oil change recently.

 

[wheb]

Remove the oil filter, cut it open with tin snips (not a hacksaw or grinder). Methodically remove the filter material from the filter body. Fold it up nicely and press it in a vice to squeeze out ALL of the oil. Open up filter material and inspect. I would put money on it having bits of bearing and shiny stuff in there.

Hi there.
Will do this next change if car makes it there!