MID12sSSS Posted September 18, 2012 Report Share Posted September 18, 2012 (edited) Next time, im leaving it to the professionals. I learned a lot building this motor, but it has been such a pain in the ass. Nothing has gone right. And now that I'm all done, it sounds like a rod is knocking. So where do I go from here? I drove it about 6 miles, and it's got about 35 minutes of run time, and there is a clacking noise that sounds like the lower end. I'll talk to the shop foreman tomorrow and see what he thinks. Do you think new rod bearings may solve the problem? I mean, these were brand new. What could have caused it? Too much clearance? Edited September 18, 2012 by MID12sSSS (see edit history) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlueAKSSS Posted September 18, 2012 Report Share Posted September 18, 2012 Yikes that doesn't sound good! Do you have good oil pressure?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The_aSSet Posted September 18, 2012 Report Share Posted September 18, 2012 Take a video of it, do you have access to hptuners or efilive? Are you sure the tune is dialed in? When does it knock? Does it speed up with the RPMs? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kissfans03ss Posted September 18, 2012 Report Share Posted September 18, 2012 Did you torque all the rod/crank bolts to spec?,did you plastiguage them to see how tight the crank/rod bearing would be when assembled?. Sent from my DROID BIONIC using Tapatalk 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MID12sSSS Posted September 18, 2012 Author Report Share Posted September 18, 2012 Yikes that doesn't sound good! Do you have good oil pressure?? Oil pressure is right around 40psi Take a video of it, do you have access to hptuners or efilive? Are you sure the tune is dialed in? When does it knock? Does it speed up with the RPMs? I don't have access to hptuner or eflive, but I can take a video. I got a base tune from zippy and it seems to be running great. The tapping at first I thought it was valvetrain, but now that's it's a clacking, it's definitely lower end. And it does speed up with RPMs. So im sure it's a rod. I cleaned the bearings and surfaces before setting the bearings and rod caps on the crank. All bolts were torqued to spec. But... I didn't use plastigauge. I know you're always supposed to and I'm sure I'll have to take the bottom end out now, but I figured everything was brand new and balanced by TSP, I could put it together with the correct torque and it shoul be fine. There was enough movement left and right on the journal and the bearings seem to have seated correctly. So since I'm pretty sure that I screwed myself by not double checking the clearances, what do I do now? If I pull the bottom end out to get to the rod bearings, do I order new ones, or do I clean it all up and take a measurement on each rod to know what to order? Do you think new bearings would be enough to fix it? It sounds like one rod. Clack, clack, clack... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bad Bowtie Posted September 18, 2012 Report Share Posted September 18, 2012 (edited) Did you get the flywheel & torque converter bolts tightened to spec??? Edited September 18, 2012 by Bad Bowtie (see edit history) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MID12sSSS Posted September 18, 2012 Author Report Share Posted September 18, 2012 Did you get the flywheel & torque converter bolts tightened to spec??? Sure did. I'm gonna have the shop foreman and my machinist listen to it. Maybe I can pull the bottom end in chassis and have nick (the machinist) double check my work. Im just not sure why it'd be noisy. Everything was brand new. Unless I was supplied the wrong bearings and therefore it's my fault for not checking the clearances. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The_aSSet Posted September 18, 2012 Report Share Posted September 18, 2012 Gotta be a pain to keep pulling the motor, hope you get it fixed Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MID12sSSS Posted September 18, 2012 Author Report Share Posted September 18, 2012 Gotta be a pain to keep pulling the motor, hope you get it fixed Yep. Sucks... I hope it gets figured out soon. It's getting cold here fast. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kissfans03ss Posted September 18, 2012 Report Share Posted September 18, 2012 (edited) Oil pressure is right around 40psi I don't have access to hptuner or eflive, but I can take a video. I got a base tune from zippy and it seems to be running great. The tapping at first I thought it was valvetrain, but now that's it's a clacking, it's definitely lower end. And it does speed up with RPMs. So im sure it's a rod. I cleaned the bearings and surfaces before setting the bearings and rod caps on the crank. All bolts were torqued to spec. But... I didn't use plastigauge. I know you're always supposed to and I'm sure I'll have to take the bottom end out now, but I figured everything was brand new and balanced by TSP, I could put it together with the correct torque and it shoul be fine. There was enough movement left and right on the journal and the bearings seem to have seated correctly. So since I'm pretty sure that I screwed myself by not double checking the clearances, what do I do now? If I pull the bottom end out to get to the rod bearings, do I order new ones, or do I clean it all up and take a measurement on each rod to know what to order? Do you think new bearings would be enough to fix it? It sounds like one rod. Clack, clack, clack... I am not an engine builder but watched a few guys and iifc the the rod and cap bearing can all be different thickness for when you do torque everything down some caps/rods may be looser than others and out of spec, you may have to have the crank and rod remachined.good luck man. Sent from my DROID BIONIC using Tapatalk 2 Edited September 18, 2012 by kissfans03ss (see edit history) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MID12sSSS Posted September 20, 2012 Author Report Share Posted September 20, 2012 So according to the shop foreman and 4 other techs, it sounds like a rotational knock. I had them stand around the engine compartment while it idled so they could tell me what they think. They all say to check the front cover clearance. I installed a double roller timing set and I might need a deeper aftermarket cover. That would be SO awesome if thats all it was. They said it definitely doesn't sound like bottom end. I'm gonna touch a stethoscope to the cover tonight and see if it get real loud. If so, I've got a game plan for the weekend. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The_aSSet Posted September 20, 2012 Report Share Posted September 20, 2012 http://www.jegs.com/i/Comp-Cams/249/5496/10002/-1 Or grind material off the front cover where it's hitting. If that's the problem Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MID12sSSS Posted October 4, 2012 Author Report Share Posted October 4, 2012 Clacking noise still coming from front cover area. Its loudest in front of oil pan. Ran a base engine oil pressure test (tapped into Lingenfelter oil cooler). Found that at a cold start up, i had 0psi of pressure until about 5seconds, when it would slowly climb to about 20psi. It'd stay at 25ish psi, regaurdless of throttle position. Clacking noise is rpm dependant. Seems like a regulator in the pump is broken or stuck. It takes forever to start building pressure, and when it finally does build pressure, its very minimal. Every start up takes so long to build pressure that the IC starts complaining about low oil pressure for a few seconds. Clacking noise doesnt sound like a bottom end knock, but almost like a valve train clack but slightly slower, like a rotational noise, if that makes sense. 20psi should be enough to prevent any damage at idle, as everything is getting lubed, but not primed. And luckily there isnt much run time on this motor. Some rocker noise still exists, which would make sense from lack of pressure. Im not exactly sure what spec. oil pressure is, but i would assume that on a cold start, id have instant oil pressure and itd be around 45-50 psi. And it should build at higher rpms. Where i tapped in to test pressure should be close to the highest reading in the block. As oil travels pickup tube, oil pump, oil filter (where i took the reading). So if im getting a max of 25psi at the high pressure oil side, imagine how low the reading could be by the time it reaches the last cam bearing... Gonna put my stock pump in this weekend and see what happens. The SLP high pressure pump is a dud. Gonna send it back and have them tear it apart and see what went wrong. Keeping my fingers crossed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The_aSSet Posted October 4, 2012 Report Share Posted October 4, 2012 Crappy luck man. Hopefully you get it sorted out Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cramer Posted October 5, 2012 Report Share Posted October 5, 2012 I run a Lingenfelter oil pump. The pump I believe is the same one as the SlP. When I got it the pump came with two o-rings that are specially made for the pump. The greenish one is the one that has to be used and a factory red one that are used on the stock pumps won't work all the time. This can be the issue with the pump not building pressure on start-up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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