Help with Tapping Noise!!

That is a really good looking truck. Hope to hear you are able to get it back to running properly soon.

 

Gonna keep it forever, then a remanufactured motor is a good choice if the cash is available.

 

How are you verifying mileage on the used motor? I have seen a lot of places remove engines from high mileage vehicles that suddenly had 80k on them when they hit the shelf.

 

Wise financial move.

 

I have not, I might have to give him a call just to ask if it he knows anything about this. I’m pretty sure that I won’t get much out of him. :/

 

200 miles after purchase and this happens... I think the odds are pretty slim he didn’t have a previous issue.

 

“Never ascribe to malice that which can be explained by ignorance” -Napoleon Bonaparte

 

Judging by the noise, the bent electrode and the low compression (presumably a bent valve), I would say something fell into the combustion chamber. Either it shot out the exhaust, or it's stuck on the head and the piston is still hitting it. Maybe it just bent the valve bad enough to cause that noise. I chased a noise just like that on a Mazda. One of the screws for the variable intake runner flap came loose and went into the cylinder. It got stock on the piston and smacked the head with each stroke. Sounded very similar to the OP video. Was the starter replaced recently? See any mismatched nuts or bolts on the intake? Just a theory...I would definitely pull the head before deciding on a used engine. Maybe you just need to pull a nut out of there and replace a valve.

 

Nothing worse than having a screw loose.

A busted nut can cause all kinds of problems.



Damn it I’m sorry. I dunno what’s wrong with me this week. I’ll see my self out.

 

Dropped it off at the mechanic. Gave him my findings and let him listen. He’s now writing up estimates for valve work on both sides :’(. He’s still going to pull off the one side and look at his. But after showing him the picture of the piston(confirmed it has damage from hitting a valve) and my compression test he’s confident it’s a valve that has failed. Still unsure what caused it but think the timing might not have been set right. We will see once he tears it down.

 

I had a 86 ford ranger and it had a bad tapping noise that would change with RPM then all of the sudden go away and sound normal.
When I tore it down it had a small crack in the head under the valve seat, it was causing the valve seat to come loose and make a bunch of noise.
My motor had cast heads.

 

Good luck. Hopefully it's just the one head and you can be back on the road without needing an engine swap.

 

Any updates ?

 

The truck is still at my mechanics. We decided to replace the motor. . I haven’t talked to him about what the inside of the heads looked like yet. We decided to go that route since he was confident it was a bent valve and tearing down the heads/rebuilding both sides would cost almost the same as a new motor. Not knowing what caused the valve to bend meant it could happen later down the road again so I just decided to play it safe. Should have the truck back this week and I can talk to him more about it.

 

One of a few remanufactured engine rebuild shops to look at. Google for reman engines if you don't have the tools and/or know how to do it yourself. NAPA and other local part places also sell short blocks with good warranty. Do your homework now, or spend a lot of cash later. And don't forget, you have to break in the engine whether a rebuild or reman engine.

https://www.jasperengines.com/gas-engines

 

I thought about doing a reman. He found an engine with low miles and said he’s going to replace lots of things that will ensure it’s g2g for a while (timing belt, rear main seal, plugs, etc). It wasn’t too much and sounds like I’ll be set for a good while so I went this route. Also didn’t have all the tools / time to do it myself. I would have loved to though.

 

What's the compression on that engine. Good luck and best to you...Keep us informed.

 

See if you can ge the old motor back and tear into it. Maybe you can rebuild it and sell it to recoup some $$$.

 

I know you guys like updates so here you go for anyone following this.

I got the truck back Friday it ended up getting a used motor with low mileage. My mechanic put a new timing belt, water pump, rear main seal, plugs and a few other things to make sure it was good. I drove it off and it drove awesome for about 80 miles....

Was on a back country road doing about 55 and came up to a stop light and the truck died out at like a 5 mph roll (this happened just like the first time). I started it back up since I was in traffic and the truck was sputtering and felt like it was running on just a few cylinders. I pulled off to check under the hood for anything. Didn’t find anything and tried to start it back up. Nothing happened. It felt like the motor was bound up, didn’t even turn over. Had it towed to the mechanic and he said he couldn’t turn it manually and it has another dead cylinder. He’s going to check a few things but not really sure what happened at this point.

 

Wow. You have some seriously bad luck. So sorry to hear this. Sounds like the "new" engine was a dud. How qualified is this mechanic?

 

Warranty I hope. Not sure what you mean by a "bound up motor". Are you saying the starter would not engage? Starter gear was grinding teeth against the flywheel?

To recap, you bought a used truck, drove 200 miles, motor died, had a shop put in a used motor, drove 80 miles and now that motor died as well. That's some horrible luck. Remind me not to ride in any airplanes with you...

 

NOOOOO way Jesus That sucks man.
Hopfully they gave you some kind of a warranty. 30day or 1000 miles something?

 

Yeah luckily there was a warranty on the motor so he’s going to check it out. No kidding, I’ve purchased lots of used vehicles and never had these types of issues so it’s a real bummer. Hopefully the third one is a charm.

 

It didn’t turn over or make any noise when I tried to start it up. I turned the key and you can hear the starter click on, then the motor sort of twitched like it wanted to start and that’s about all. Kind of hard to explain but I guess it’s similar to a seized engine.

 

That changes things. Maybe just a dead battery. Your mechanic goofed up the install and the alternator circuit was not charging the battery. That's why the motor kinda died a slow stalling death. No starter engagement with faint clicking is classic dead battery.

 

BTW, did you check the dipstick for engine oil before your 80 mile jaunt?

 

Good god man you must have some Zen like patience because I would have lost mine long ago and there would be a toasted Tundra frame sitting in my pasture.

 

It would not be hard to miss one connection that could cause something like this when doing something as significant as a engine swap...hopefully this is the OP's problem.

 

I was thinking the exact same thing. He's handling this a lot better than I would. I'd be in meltdown mode for sure.