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Engine knocking LDS-456

Ajax MD

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Oertheedge21- Dude, you are tenacious. I've really enjoyed this thread and I'll keep following along.

You mentioned one radiator hose being ice cold. In a properly warmed up engine, there is usually some warmth after everything's been circulating awhile. I realize you've shot the engine with an IR gun but I'm still curious to see what the new temp gauge and sender indicates once you've installed them.

You're in CT. Maybe throw in a block heater while you're in the cooling system. ;)
 

Oerthedge21

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Not a bad idea, I very well may since if it snows really really bad here this year my car isn't gonna cut t so I'll have to plow through with the truck. Also gotta clean and paint everywhere that's exposed to keep the rust away. I picked up some supplies today, gonna try some more to find that noise. Got a new temp sender ordered as well, along with some John Deere break in oil. And I do have some injector cleaner in there already, although it's possible there's still some crap in it. I've never changed the fuel filters in this truck, granted I've only had it for about 6 months. But wouldn't water or a stuck injector make a fuel knock type noise like I had before? This sounds like something ticking aside from the noisy vakvetrain, with something rattling around in the bottom end at the rear somewhere. It has a little over 60 psi oil pressure at idle just like before I rebuilt it, so the rods and mains are definitely good and tight, my concern is maybe something got dropped in there by accident or something, but yet that wouldn't make much sense since it only really becomes apparent once the truck heats up. Gonna take a better listen with a stethoscope today
 

Oerthedge21

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Listened to the engine with a stethoscope today, the noise is the loudest up at the top now that you can pinpoint it from all the other sounds. My belief is that it's a loud injector in #3-6. Putting the stethoscope in different places in the block, heads, oil pan, even bellhousing and transmission yeilds a noise that doesn't seem quite or louder no matter where you go. However, putting it on any injector, especially the rear 3, yields a a very loud ticking of the injector firing. Because of this I'm gonna go with the injectors being the source of the noise. Temp gauges still pegs at 240, IR gun still reads a high of 160 so I'm not concerned about that being an issue now. Only other thing I noticed is that the oil pressure got up to around 90 at idle and low throttle this time, didn't really climb or drop no matter what I did to it. Got back, let truck idle for a few to cool down, oil pres is back a little above 60 again. Is that something that might be an issue? For reference it's 60° out right now so the oil isn't very cold
 

Menaces Nemesis

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As far as your ticking goes, a compressor belt that isn't quite tight enough can cause a clacking or ticking sound, don't know exactly why, but I know that it certainly can. While we're on the subject of the compressor, I believe a compressor that's worn can cause some blow-by because the compressor is lubed via the engine oil circuit/drains back through the compressor base. Air washing past the piston in the compressor can get pumped into the crankcase from the base of the compressor mount, and has to be vented someplace. Oh yes, flush all that coolant funkiness out of the block. Take the heater hoses loose, flush the core from one direction, then reverse direction, repeat, flush the engine from every-dang-direction you can, until the water comes out looking like Perrier. You might be amazed at how much "orange paint" comes flowing out of places you thought couldn't be there. When you refill, put some additive in to protect your oil cooler from cavitation, and to boost your anti-rust protection.
 

Oerthedge21

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I hadn't even thought of the compressor being part of a blowby issue. As for the noise, my compressor makes an audible ticking when the governor opens and the compressor is building air, and the belt will clack a bit at that point since it's loose. But once it's on standby it makes little to no noise. I have the tightener tool on the way in the mail, so that'll finally rid the truck if that awful noise. I also discovered the heater core is bad as I came out to a puddle under it and a river down the fender below it. Guess that's why he gave me a brand new heater box with the truck. Once the new temp sensor comes in I'm going to drain and flush the cooling system. As for the tick Im just gonna keep driving it and continue with the break in and if t doesn't get any louder then I guess it was nothing. And if it windows the block I'll just have to figure it out when I get to it
 
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cattlerepairman

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And if it windows the block I'll just have to figure it out when I get to it
Aren't you the optimist!

Seriously, I think you are very diligent in your planning and the follow-up to your work.
After I re-ringed mine and honed the liners, it initially ran with no blowby but developed minor blowby soon thereafter. Annoying, yes, but I chalk it down to the design more than anything. Has not gotten worse or affected running performance.

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Oerthedge21

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Aren't you the optimist
Lol it's a learned attitude, my luck has never been great with anyhting so rather than worrying all the time I just picked up the send it type of attitude, works great. As for the truck, just got back runnin it to the center of town to toss in some fuel and injector cleaner. Poking around as it cooled down, temp gun again reads ~160 anywhere I put it. Oil still clean, little dark though. Ticking doesn't seem to have gotten worse. Slobber tube seems to be slobbering a little bit less, once I get that break in oil I'm confident it should clean up pretty well
 

davidb56

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Since its ticking, instead of knocking, Id still swap the 2 injectors so you can take #6 back to the shop and have them squirt test it again. Shops do screw up sometimes. Knocking is bad...ticking can wash the cylinder and score up a piston. I doubt anything is going to detonate.
 

Oerthedge21

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I'll try to get to that sometime this week, it's supposed to rain later today and once I get home a friend is coming over and we're pulling the bed off my Chevy and throwing it in the back of the Deuce, little extra weight for he break in and then I can work on two projects at once.
 

Oerthedge21

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Well now I'm getting concerned again. Took it for another drive today. Had a little over 60 pounds oil press idling while it warmed up, stayed up there for most of the drive for what I could tell. Got back, poking around while it idled, and the tick sounds louder now. Still nothing too telling in the oil or coolant. However, I checked the oil gauge and now it's idling at about 45-50 psi oil press. That's a pretty drastic change from where it was yesterday. I guess once the new oil comes in I'm gonna drop the pan because I just can't leave that noise be, especially not with that noise and symptoms
 

cattlerepairman

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That's also based upon that precision instrument in the gauge cluster made by the lowest bidder. Just saying...



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Oerthedge21

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While that is true, the sudden change coupled with the audible change in the tick is the reason I'm concerned. I know this engine shouldn't be ticking like that, it's just not the kind of ticking a healthy engine makes
 

Oerthedge21

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I suppose I don't know. I just keep defaulting to worrying about the bottom end since it's basically irreplaceable and I've just thrown a bunch of cash into this heap only to have it make yet another noise
 

davidb56

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If you drop the pan, you might as well check the clearances on one or two rod and main bearings for piece of mind, and to eliminate a low oil pressure cause. Id lean toward a faulty gauge and bad injector. But thats a guess. My oil pressure idles at 30psi hot. I have to flick the gauge when I start it up, as it stays on 0. Im going to replace the gauge soon.
 

Oerthedge21

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That's also part of why Im wanting to do it. That piece of mind is what I'm looking for, and it wouldn't be the first time I've had to do something more than once to make sure I didn't screw it up. In my garage most things seem to follow the rule of "We do it right because we do it twice". Anyhow, could also be magnified by a gauge issue, it isn't the first bad gauge in there. Coolant gauge is no good and if you don't tap on the fuel gauge now and then you'll wind up mysteriously burning through your last 1/4 tank while waiting for the traffic light to turn green. Ask me how I figured that one out
 
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