I've been having this tapping sound from the head of my 2.3 for awhile now and I've finally got a video to demonstrate the sound.
Now the sound in the video is the tapping, not the higher pitched squeal/squeaking, that is something with the clutch, I'm guessing the throwout bearing.
Can someone identify this?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TnMtvk7GyYY
My suggestion is to get yourself a 2-3 feet piece of heater hose.
Then hold it to your ear while fishing it around with the engine running. That will help narrow down the location.
I am guessing a bad lifter or camshaft.
Wifeys 2.3 does NOT like thick oil. The lifters will tick at start up and sometimes at idle with 20W-50 or 15W-50 oils.
I changed to Mobil 1 0W-40 with a MotorCraft oil filter and it is real quiet. Try this first.
i would say lifter. i have been known to throw a lifter off the guide(out from under the cam). this can happen with old worn out lifters or week springs and to many rpm's.
i have also known the oiler's to plug up.
i would pull the valve cover and check the hydraulic lifters and clean out the oil rail. if u want to try a easy fix drain about 1-1/2 quart of oil and add a quart 1/2 of atf and run it for a bit if it go's away then change the oil
that would be a bummer
I was more HOPING that it would just be a lifter, but I had a gut feeling that it had something to do with the lower half of the engine. :(
How hard is it to pull the pan with the motor still in the car? If it's the #1 wrist pin, it should be pretty easy to repair from underneath...
I might be hearing something else in there(high pitched churping noise), but with the way it gets louder and softer with rpm and throttle, it might be a valve that is starting to weezzz . Do a compression test on the motor and that will tell if it is a valve. There also seems to be a louder knocking sound that reminds me of a main bearing. Had one go on my first 73 and it sounded just about like that. Hope it ain't so......good luck!
how funny i just checked daves pin in the map and he is nere star idaho. a place i had to hitch hike to from Ontario to get a 2.0 pinto timing belt tensioner. after mine fell apart on 3 mile hill on 84 in oregon but that adventure is for another thread.
back to unknown noise's
Quote from: dave1987 on August 13, 2008, 12:50:47 AM
I was more HOPING that it would just be a lifter, but I had a gut feeling that it had something to do with the lower half of the engine. :(
How hard is it to pull the pan with the motor still in the car? If it's the #1 wrist pin, it should be pretty easy to repair from underneath...
[IF IT IS A WRIST PIN--- THERE BE NO FIX'N FROM UNDERNEATH]
Lost Coz, I am hearing that same 'fluttering' that I think you are hearing. If that is the sound we are trying to diagnose, it almost sounds like the fluttering sound the smog pump makes. dave1987, does your car have a smog pump? These crappy speakers at work don't do low pitch noises very well...I can hear a little bit of what sounds like some top end ticking, but also sounds like a bottom end sound or an exhaust leak....too hard to tell without being there...I keep replaying it and hearing other things, and every time it seems like I hear something different... Hell I don't know...too hard to tell sounds and distinguish them with a camera mic and cheap speakers.
I will do a compression test on all the cylinders tomorrow and update the thread.
If I could get someone to sit in the car and rest their foot on the clutch pedal, I could eliminate the whining sound. That sound is my throw out bearing rubbing. I don't know why though. Could it be too little or too much tension on the clutch pedal?
The solution is you need a more powerful sound system so you don't hear all those noises. :lol:
Actually, what I have no works just fine for drowning out any engine noise, or sirens of law enforcement driving past me for that matter. :P I'm actually refinishing a dual 10" sub box my older brother and I built years and years ago which will take up the back seat.
back on topic...
I did a compression test today and all cylinders read out at 150, so the engine is still healthy since the rebuild!
I'm seriously thinking it is a sticky lifter. I will try running the Mobil 1 0W-40 with my next oil change (hopefully before I have to get the emissions tested this month).
Quote from: dave1987 on August 14, 2008, 02:12:44 PM
I'm seriously thinking it is a sticky lifter. I will try running the Mobil 1 0W-40 with my next oil change (hopefully before I have to get the emissions tested this month).
try the atf in it for 1/2 hour before u change the oil
I didn't think it would be, however I want to try and eliminate any and all possible problems that could be the cause of the sound.
Yep, try the low cost first, then what's easy.
So add ATF as suggested and run before performing an oil change & filter.
If that doesn't do it...
Then take the valve cover off and check the valve train.
If it still rattles on deceleration, I suspect a rod bearing or as Pintony suggested a wrist pin.
There were a few years were they eliminated the oil squirt hole in the 2.3 rods to reduce manufacturing costs and they had problems with piston scuffing if you did not use good oil.
Your right about the Rod oiler hole.. In 1974 2.3L they didn't drill the holes in the connecting rods even tho the the rods had dimples to receive the holes....
In 1975 Ford 2.3L pistons were a premium and hard to find.
When I worked at Fred Jones re-manufacturing we would look the rods over and pitch the 74's...the 74 pistons didnt have Eyebrows so I assumed they were higher compression I've trashed quite a few and had the tick of death.
FrankBoss
Now I'm trying to find the source of the squeaking. I know it's somewhere in the transmission, but I don't know exactly what.
I'm thinking it could be the throwout bearing's spacer that slides into the clutch fork, but then again, it could be a bad fork pivot, letting the fork bounce around when idling and cruise, causing friction against the parts and producing the nasty chirping sound. I just finished trying to tighten the clutch cable, seeing if it went away, but still nothing!
Any clues?
The squeaking turned out to the be clutch fork pivot ball. I had forgotten to grease it after the last clutch rebuild. DOH!
I am back to tackling the ticking sound, which seems to be a lifter.
I replaced the lifter for the exhaust valve on the number three cylinder, which had some severe base wear. I don't know if the type of wear is from an initially faulty lifter, or if my cousin to put the head back together shaved it. Either way, it didn't look healthy from the base and was noticeably shorter than the other lifters when compared side by side, in a solid state.
I removed all of the lifters last night and bled them all. I then primed them all and installed each one, ensuring that the oil inlet on the lifter body was lined up with the oil delivery system.
I noticed that a few lifters didn't have the oil inlet on the body lined up with with the oil delivery hole, and were 90 - 120 degrees off. How much of an impact on lifter performance would this cause? I would think it would shorten the lifespan of a lifter, and not always re-pressurize it. But the area where that hole is, is grooved and would still allow oil pressure to build up in the groove, and eventually it would find it's way into the lifter via the inlet hole.
The sound has significantly dissipated, however I can still tell there is a slight tapping, mostly noticeable when I have my driver's side door open and listening for it.
Below are some photos comparing the strangely worn lifter to the other one I replaced with a healthier base.
Well at least you got on top of it quick, Dave.
I've had lifter noise from almost every 2.3 I've had at some point (including this one, starting cold with heavy oil). It seems to be more common in high-mileage engines that were poorly taken care of, though, not striking recent rebuilds. Unless there was a stray metal shaving that plugged an oiling hole somewhere.
I agree with going with as light weight as your performance needs and weather allow. It stays fairly warm here most of the year, so I use 10w30 or 10w40.
I did the clutch on my 75 wagon years ago, just to get it running. I changed the pressure plate and disk, but because I was young and poor, chose the alignment tool instead of the throwout bearing. Two weeks later the t/o started chirping.
Hang in there!
Chuck :afro: