before i thought i had rod knock, so i changed the rod bearings with clevite 77s... well i still have knocking. there is NO up and down play in the connecting rods, but i've read that side to side is a-ok.

i recently changed my oil, no metal flakes or shavings in there, so i'm thinking i can rule out rod knock. what else can it be? my uncle used to be a mechanic and he said that it could be a wrist pin making that noise.... could that be? and if so, how long do you think i have?

what else could it be?

i really don't think it's rod knock because i'm pretty sure the engine would have crapped out by now, i have 163xxx miles on it now, and it has knocked when my dad had it (he bought it new) and i think the knocking started around 80 or 90k miles.

if something does go, i'm thinking about asking my parents to help me out in getting a FTY engine, prolly still 2.0, but with a 10.5 or 12.5 compression (yes CP pistons).

If its a knock, you could change the oil to a thicker weight like 20W-50 with also an additive like Bardahl No Smoke and the should get quieter, but if the noise stays the same its not a knock!

if it's not a knock, what could it be? i don't have detonation

After that little test, if the noise is still the same, I think your uncle might be right.

lifter tick?

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lifter tick would be not as loud and would be coming from the top of the engine.

well.. I'm not tellin you to do it again.. but.. when you took out the rod bearings.. did you see if the crankshaft was smooth? there can be a tiny gap that you'd never really feel by pushing them up and down but you'd hear w/ the rpms... does the knock go w/ the rpms..and this sounds dumb, but check your coolant.. low coolant/over heating will make your engine make tons of noises.. also main bearings sometimes make noise when they are spinning..... and lastly when you change your oil, cut open the filter and check for shavings..they wont just flow right out of the oil pan, b/c it has a seating in it.. trust me, I spun a bearing believe that.. do this and then post a reply or hit me up on aim (rawdawgstv) .. there are a few more things probably... and I wouldnt go w/ 20W-50..way too heavy... the reason is I read the same shit that you wre just told and did it all... I used oil treatment and castrol 20w-50..spun a bearing totally one month later.. then you gotsta sell yo junk or get a rebuild.. not sayin the other guys are wrong, but I've actually had this experience.. lata

Well i just rebuilt my engine because of a damn spun bearing in cylinder 3. Wasnt fun at all! pain in the ass actually. I've got some strange noise also, it sounds like its coming from the valve cover region. Is this where yours is coming from also?

i'm not sure, it sounds like top sometimes, but then bottom at the same time... i'm sure i also have lifter tick, which i can deal with, but its when i start my car and drive it at school, i'm like "aaaahhhhh, damnit, how the hell am i supposed to get a girl with it sounding like this?" when i start it it is loud, but then quiets down after a few minutes, but it doesn't fully go away.

could it just be really bad piston slap?

You don't get piston slap with stock cast pistons. It is possible that you have a cracked piston ring land though. My car made a similar noise when I cracked 3 pistons :7. It would make knocking noises when the car is cold, then would quiet down once the car warmed up. You can tell if you did this by a compression test, or by pulling out the oil dipstick a few inches while the car is running. If there are large puffs coming out of the dipstick, then you probably cracked a ring land. If there are just tiny puffs, then its fine.

Exhaust leaks can sound remarkably like knock sometimes, and they lessen as they heat up.
just a thought.

hmmmm... exhaust leak eh? i did bang the hell out of the gasket that goes between the manifold and the downpipe when trying to take it off, that could explain some of it. and yes i do have some puffs coming out. so maybe a combination of the two. hey, 163k miles, i wouldn't doubt it.

If you do a compression test, you will have a better idea if you have any cracked pistons or not.

if i can get my hands on a compression tester here i will do a test... but i'm at school in the boonies, so that may be a little hard.