This morning, I was driving home, when I started hearing this knocking sound coming from the engine. It increased with RPM. When it happened, I was only going about 35-40 MpH. It sounds like I threw a rod. A few people agree with me, and others say it might be something else, since I just had new rocker arms, lifters, valves, pistons, rings, and a new camshaft installed. I could scrap the truck, and get a new one, however, I need it to get back and forth to work, which is about 27 miles away from my house. Any ideas?

Was like a loud wood chopping knock, or more like a clatter or tick.. It could be a lot of different things, but the engine knock is the most distinctive, maybe even the loudest. If you had someone do the work, see what kind of warantee you have and if you can still get them fix it. My guess is that no work was done to the crank. Usually indifferent bearing sizes (ie. std. bearings on reconditioned parts) / poor lubrication (ie. reused oil pump or prexisting cloggage) / improper rebuilding procedures (ie. Not getting the crank repolished :) ) usually will yeild those results. I would be tempted to drain the oil and look for metal shavings. If you've got metal shavings, get a new truck, no questions asked. If the truck were in good condition, I would drop a 5.0L in it, but that's me. You're question about getting a new truck is up to you, but consider how much it's going to take to fix, and what the actual problem is.

You should consider doing your own rebuilds. I always spend at least a month researching before getting into rebuilding an engine I've never put a tool on before. Maybe even longer.. I like to learn from other peoples mistakes, rather than learning from my own :). Mechanics have a certain amount of time they need to get things done, so everything isn't always double checked. I work under the same time constraints and it sucks. You can't do as good of a job as you can just taking your time with it.

Pete

It sounds like a ticking sound when the engine is idling. But, when I rev the engine, it sounds like a wrench banging on a valve cover. There's not a wrench in there, just using that as a description. I'll check the oil for metal, and get back to you.

OK. no metal shavings in the oil. When I put oil into the engine, and fired it up. I did not hear the clicking sound for about 1 minute. then it started doing it again. I talked to a retired Army mechanic who said it sounds like I might have bent a rod. If that's what the problem is, how difficult would it be to fix?

OK. no metal shavings in the oil. When I put oil into the engine, and fired it up. I did not hear the clicking sound for about 1 minute. then it started doing it again. I talked to a retired Army mechanic who said it sounds like I might have bent a rod. If that's what the problem is, how difficult would it be to fix?

First of all, what engine and how many original miles does it have? Was any machine work done besides what was listed? What kind of oil pressure is it getting and do you know how well the truck was taken care of? (oil changes etc..) I think your problem is in your valve traine. If it's a 2.9L, these are known for ticking. If it were a rod, the noise would be coming from the lower portion of the motor. Since you hear it under the valve cover, I'd say it's a valve tick.

Bent rod will require the engine to be removed. It's not very hard if you've got the time, but finding some of the tools you need is a hassle. Like the oil pump primer and the fan clutch tool.

It almost seems like the valve traine is not getting properly oiled. The heads, bock, etc should have been hot tanked to clear all the junk out of the oil passages. If you take the valve cover off, you can see the oil pumping in, but it will make a mess. Makes it easier to pin point the problem as well. You might also have a stuck lifter, or a lifter that's not pumping up.. I would take it back to the person that installed the parts for a second opinion. If they rebuilt the motor, they should have an idea of what's wrong. I hope for your sake that one of the lifters isn't bad. If that's the case, the head(s) will need to be removed.. It sucks..

Pete

IT's a little 2.0 engine. Before the work, it had about 148-149 thoushand miles. I'm the one that did the work. I had a mechanic supervise on all of the work. He told me what to do, after I did it, he checked, everything. Before all of the work, we thought I had a bad lifter, but it turned out the rocker arms and lobes on the camshaft were worn off on the fourth cylinder. While I had the valve cover on, I fired it up and used a stethascope, and found the noise is coming from the first cylinder.

IT's a little 2.0 engine. Before the work, it had about 148-149 thoushand miles. I'm the one that did the work. I had a mechanic supervise on all of the work. He told me what to do, after I did it, he checked, everything. Before all of the work, we thought I had a bad lifter, but it turned out the rocker arms and lobes on the camshaft were worn off on the fourth cylinder. While I had the valve cover on, I fired it up and used a stethascope, and found the noise is coming from the first cylinder.

I'm not fimiliar with the 2.0L, honestly, I've never seen one in front of me before. From the post, it sort of sounded like someone else did the work for you. I always believe that if you're going to tear an engine down that far, you may as well go the whole 9 yards w/ a complete rebuild. I imagine you did everything right, but sometimes new parts are defective. With out hearing/seeing/poking around, I really can't tell you exactly what's wrong. I'll bet you have a collapsed lifter, but I don't know for certain. If it's coming from the valve cover, a lifter is the only thing I can think of. You may find something different with the valve cover off. You might want to recheck the valve lash. There's just so many things that could tick up there, pin pointing it from here in Indiana is just nearly impossible. :)

Pete

On the gauge, the oil pressure is pretty much in the lower half of the normal area. Usually right on the bottom line. After running for about 10 or 15 minutes, it will rise to the middle of the normal area. Out of cusriosity, where in Indiana are you? I'm in LaPorte County.

On the gauge, the oil pressure is pretty much in the lower half of the normal area. Usually right on the bottom line. After running for about 10 or 15 minutes, it will rise to the middle of the normal area. Out of cusriosity, where in Indiana are you? I'm in LaPorte County.

Ha, I didn't even notice that.. You're about 2 hours away or so.. I'm from Fort Wayne. I drive to South Bend to get drum parts from Woodwind & Brasswind that I cannot get here sometimes.

You might want to really check the oil pressure with a mechanical gauge. From what I understand, that gauge is really not accurate. The sensor could also be reading false readings. My 2.9L had oil pressure like what you describe. When I would get off the highway, I would hear a very loud knock from the valve train. Not sure if you're having the same problem since it's doing it all the time... I rebuilt the engine and the main bearings were in great shape, and the rod bearings were a little worn, but nothing unusual. I replaced the oil pump when I had the engine out and the oil pressure gauge never drops below half.

Pete

Well, I replaced the lifters. Wasn't that hard. Just had to pull out the rocker arms, and then slide up the lifter. About four of them were bad. I replaced them all. After driving about 10 or 15 minutes, it started knocking again. This time, about 10 times louder. All of a sudden, I had almost no power to get up a hill. That's when I noticed that the oil pressure completely bottomed out. Luckily, I just arrived at my destination. Let it sit for about 12 hours, came back, and picked it up. Still knocking. Just made it over a hill, when I heard a loud pop. Kinda like a small explosion from under the hood. Then it died out. Made the decision at that time to junk it.

That's good that the lifters were that easy to change. On my 2.9L you have to remove both heads and replace the gaskets / bolts. Previously, I wasn't certain what engine you had. The 2.9L was pretty common, but they did use the 2.3 a lot and occassionaly the 2.0L.

I think the whole problem with the engine in the first place was low oil pressure. A lot of mechanics will replace parts, without thinking about what caused them to go out in the first place (your cam lobes). One thing my dad taught me was for higher mileage engines you can't just half ass a rebuild. It's destined to fail, could be the water pump, could be the cam bearings... I'll replace everything mechanical, you're there, may as well not have to replace the part later on. Yea, it cost me a crap load to rebuild my engine ($2,000+), but I don't have any issues with it. Another thing though, I built the engine with a big cam, changed the computer and other modifications, so that's why it costed so much. I realize that it's a 17 year old engine, 90% of the parts are going to be on their last leg. That just sucks man, you spent all that damn money for nothing. Although I imagine you did learn a lot in the process.

Look how much a new car vs. dropping a 2.3L is. You might have to do a little wiring, but the ECC should plug in and most of the wiring will be identical. It might be more cost effective to get a junk yard 2.3L and drop it in. 2.3Ls have been proven to be dependable.. Only for the fact that they've just been around forever. It couldn't cost too much, me and my friend picked up a 5.0L w/ AOD tranny for $400. Runs great.. .. Even 10 months later.. Or you could always drop a 5.0L in it :).

Let me know if you want to fix it, I may help you with it. lol.