spun a bearing?

[soopertruper]

I was driving down the road tonight, and all of the sudden, I started to hear a tick, thought it was a leaky header gasket. Progressively it got louder, so i drove to my parents house where I sit now. The knock sounds the same on either side of the motor. I still have the same oil psi, all of the rockers seem to be in order and thats as far as I have gotten. Think I spun a bearing? Is ther any way to check? The noise gets louder with engine rpm. Thanks for any suggestions.

[stroker1]

Well it sure sounds possible you spun a rod bearing. But first are you running a manual fuel pump on the block? I have had the spring in the fuel pump arm to break off or pop out and it will sound like this also. And with the spring broke or poped out it will still run without starving for fuel at normal driving. The noise is made when the cam lobe is slapping the pump push rod against the pump arm instead of staying in constant contact.



Stroker1 http://www.s10v8.com/images/smilies/icon_eek.gif http://www.s10v8.com/images/smilies/icon_eek.gif

[chris1972]

with the motor running you can pull one spark wire off a time ..with the wire of give it a little gas .. with the wire off the noise will be louder

[soopertruper]

So far I've pulled all the plug wires and no change. Really sounds like a loose pushrod. Makes a clack-clack sound. What should I be looking for?

[Melonhead]

Get a piece of hose or an automotive listening tool. If you think it is on the valvetrain, put the hose up to your ear and move the other end to pin point the noise. You will be happy it is only a push rod.

[soopertruper]

OK found a pushrod that was loose. I adjusted it in 1 full turn to take out some of the slack now its somewhat intermittent. I'm still working on it at my parents house with limited tools and a freshly paved driveway, so I don't want to get too involved until I get it home. The adjusting nut was very easy to turn, do I need to go to a dealer or can I get a crushnut at a hardware store? thanks guys

[soopertruper]

I drove the truck home today after getting the #2 intake valve adjusted properly, and just a few minutes after I was driving it, the noise was back again. The stud on the head is tight. Could a lifter have gone bad?

[retrorocket]

Have you checked to see if the cam lobe galled up?

[soopertruper]

Not yet, I guess I should take the intake off so I can check some stuff out.

[stroker1]

Hate to hear that. Sounds like you have a lobe gone off the cam.



Stroker1 http://www.s10v8.com/images/smilies/icon_mad.gif

[retrorocket]

Remove the rocker arm & pushrod assembly and use a long magnet to fish out the lifter. You can use a flashlight to inspect the lobe through the lifter bore.

[ChevyKiD_69]

i hate to say the same thing but if it was me i would take the intake off and check that way you could do it the magnet way but it would be easier to just pull the intake off that way you can check all if you needed to.

[soopertruper]

I pulled my intake off, checked the #2 intke lifter and I can't get it out. So I assume I galled that lobe and friction made the bottom of the lifter larger than the hole. Any ideas how I can get it out? How come it didn't seem to run poorly?

[stroker1]

You do what you want, but if it where me (and it has been me) I would pull the engine and remove the pan. The engine has alot of fine and not so fine metal particles floating around everywhere. When it happened to me with a mechanical flat tappet cam I removed the rod caps and main caps one at a time to check for damage. Then washed the oil pump out and reinstalled after lubbing it with a little engine assembly lube. Also I washed the pan out and sprayed the inside of the crankcase with WD40 to wash off any metal residue. The lifters that galled on my cam I got them out with a pair of vise gripps. But they where not real tight. After I removed all the lifters and the cam I honed the lifter bores with a brake cylinder hone. I was told by the cam guys that the only way that a lobe will gall is if it stops rotating inside the bore. This can be from improper break in (not my case), something binding with the pushrod and it cant spin (not my case), or lifter bore problem (I believe this might have been my problem). In any case my block has ran many flat tappet cams before but never a mechanical flat tappet cam. I believe the increased spring pressure and aggressive lobe profile was not as forgiving and maybe the lifter bores on my block where questionable. So I installed a mechanical roller with horrizontal bar lifters. It required many upgrades to run this cam but I'm happy now. Should have done it the first time.



Just my opinion. Depends on how much you love your engine. I wouldn't just stick another cam in without having some peice of mind.



Stroker1

[soopertruper]

I've been slowly building another short block for a while now. This is the kick in the pants I needed to get that finished. I'll use my heads that I already have and do a hyd. roller cam.

[Melonhead]

Sounds like time for a decision. http://www.s10v8.com/images/smilies/icon_eek.gif Finish the new project, or dump more money in the current motor? I guess it would depend on the amount of time and money ether direction. The current motor should be taken out of service to clean and check for damage. The top end would still need cleaning also to avoid any debris in the oil system. Stroker1 has a good point, your option. http://www.s10v8.com/images/smilies/icon_confused.gif http://www.s10v8.com/images/smilies/icon_confused.gif http://www.s10v8.com/images/smilies/icon_confused.gif