ok, my motor drives fine, and hasn't had any misfires... yet. There is some really LOUD noise. Sounds like rocker noise. I'm thinking maybe one got loose. I got it home and will not turn it on again. I fear I may have cracked a piston or bent a rod or worse.

What would you do? Should I do a compression check first? If it's a bent valve wouldn't it show no pressure also? How could I make sure it's one and not the other? If it's a bent rod or valve do you think I should just get some heads from a porter like LE? Basically can someone break it down as to what could have happened? and what I should do first?? It sounds terribly loud above 2500 rpm.

HELP!

 

So it won't turn on, what does it do when you try to start it? Is it seized? Can you turn the engine over by hand? Does the car have any codes present?

 

There is way too many possibilities for you to just say a loud noise, that could be anything. You need to try to describe it a little more/better, even if that means you have to turn the car on to listen to it a little more.


You suspect a loose rocker, so best thing to do would be to remove the valve covers and check them your self... simple enough, then let us know what you find.


Does it sound like an up and down noise, or a circular noise? If it sounds like a circular noise you might have a converter bolt (or two, or three... lol) that has backed out.

 

He is saying that he does not want to start it until he knows what is wrong with it.

 

Oh, sorry. As mentioned above, we need more info.

 

just as stated above, pull ur valve covers and check ur rocker arms. if it happens to be one of them ur in business otherwise its probably in the bottom end sumwhere on the bright side...that would give ideal conditions for a nice 355 or 383 good luck to ya, let us knwo

 

It sounds like a loose rocker arm or bent something in the valvetrain. I am going to pull the valve cover and look around for anything before I go deeper, thanks for the help!

 

One other thing... the motor before this happened yesterday was doing something weird. It might have been because I haven't fixed the vacuum problem, not a big one, but the idle has been messed up, but i felt the motor knock. Not HARD but I felt it. Once the rpms got to normal it didn't do it at all. It almost felt like a hard start and it wanted to die. Is this normal for the motor to do this when it's trying not to die? Again, the idle is caused by the vacuum problem.

 

You may have more than one problem. If you have vacuum problems at idle it could be worn valve guides and it will do this at idle and go away as the rpm's get higher. Get those valve covers off and see what is going on under there. If you have a vacuum gauge see what its doing. There are a lot of things it gould be.

 

Sorry, I should have clarified. The PCV tube is basically disconnected from the side of the intake. That's what I meant by vacuum problem. Not really what I said at all. I is retard. Ever since I tried to fix the leak (thereby making it WORSE) idle has been erratic and wanting to die on me.

 

Pull the valve covers, check the rockers.

I would pull the rockers off, yank the pushrods and inspect them as well. Just because you see the top of the pushrod sticking out, doesn't mean its not bent or broken. I pulled 4 broken/bent pushrods out of that motor before.

 

my car made noises like that, it ended up being a bent connecting rod, no way to diagnose other than to tear it down, get the valvecovers off and start it up and listen to try and pinpoint the noise

does the noise sound fast or slow, a problem in the valvetrain will occur at 1/2 the rate of a problem with the rotating assembly

 

faster sound.

That's a LOT of messed up pushrods robert! Was that because of the rockers though? Do you know what else was replaced with those in the valvetrain when he did the scorpions?? Obviously they are not on anymore, but just wondering.

 

He was racing a Viper and over revved it a little. The geometry with those 1.7s probably had something to do with it. Those rockers were all gouged up like they had been moving around a bit.

The car was making a similar sound and he yanked the valve covers and replaced the 2 obvious fubared pushrods and the car fired right up. When I got it the next day, it was still making some noise. Pulled the intake manifold off and found 3 halves of pushrods laying in the valley. Found 2 pushrods that had broken and the top halves were still pokin' out under the rocker arm so it wasn't obvious by just taking the valve covers off. The third half must have been from one he replaced. Once I pulled all the pushrods out, I found another 1 or 2 that were *slightly* bent.

No other visible damage at all, just some really messed up pushrods and gouged up rockers arms. I think only rockers, springs, nuts, and the addition of guidplates was all that the 1.7 conversion entailed.

Just pull the rockers off, pull the pushrods and check them out.

That car ripped with those 1.7s though! 13.0@108 in a full weight, 6spd, T/A with 3.42s, 1.7s, a cutout, and crappy headers!

 

He didn't do hardened pushrods? Isn't that a necessity with guideplates?