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Ok Oldsmobile family I'm back and this stuff gets crazy to where I'm bout ready to switch back to the 307 . The stress is killing me but my love for this car and engine keeps my drive going . So we pretty much narrowed it down to cracked flexplate knock after i posted the video . So bought new flexplate put it on and what do you know it's worse .now before it was knocking in park and neutral only now it seems to have moved to only knocking when i give it gas what could this be guys here's a video of it . at start up its not there , at idle if you didn't know what to listen for you can't hear it , but once I give it gas sounds like hell . And yes this continues if it's in gear and going down the road . I know I have an exhaust leak and some air leaks ( egr and the oval plate on opposite side of manifold) but they shouldn't make this ruckus right . Any way what's yalls thoughts . .
That sounds like my old '69 4-4-2's spun crank rod bearing. At idle there was no sound. Anything above idle, especially under load, it knocked like hell.
That sounds like my old '69 4-4-2's spun crank rod bearing. At idle there was no sound. Anything above idle, especially under load, it knocked like hell.
The cheapest and easiest way to find out if engine noise is bearing related to to cut open the oil filter. If the filtering media is full of metallic debris, the engine is eating itself.
Usually if an engine spins a bearing the crank is damaged.
^^ This.
I was young and broke at the time (1984). I was able to trade in my 4-4-2 for $1,500 toward a $5,300 1979 TransAm (with Olds 403 engine). I got the better end of that deal at the time. At time of trade-in, I didn't know for sure exactly what was wrong. The dealer didn't know there was a problem at all - he only heard it idling. When I went back to the dealer a week later, he told me I screwed him - that's when I found out for sure it was a crank-rod bearing. That 4-4-2 was on a clearance lot a week after that with a $600 sign in the window. Hindsight being 20/20, I should have borrowed the $600 and bought it back...
I wish I still had BOTH of those cars, LOL!
Last edited by BackInTheGame; January 13th, 2024 at 03:31 PM.
Bottom line pull engine out, pull crank out send crank to shop , get new bearing , install and I'm good ? 👍 or check this out I'm thinking of just going ahead buying a new crank and new bearings pull engine pull crankshaft out and put new brarings and crankshaft in . Will this work or do i have to get new rods too ? also I've found an ad for some 81 to 87 olds/buick door panels b and c pillers . The door panels should fit my 79 with no problem right ? I believe so but just want to check .
Last edited by Kapos79kutlass; January 13th, 2024 at 05:51 PM.
Ok I thought about a major mistake I did make . I bout a rering kit of ebay but did not plasti gauge the bearings . I believe that is my issue . Upon look up bearing kits last night I notice that you can order standard bearings for rod but they might send .001 undersized main bearings or vice versa . So now my retarded question goes to if that did happen my crankshaft is still gfod maybe a polish and plasti gauge the new bearings will work ?
Last edited by Kapos79kutlass; January 14th, 2024 at 05:58 PM.
There is no way of knowing whether or not the crank is good without looking at it. If it looks good then it needs to be measured. It might just need a polish but it may need to be reground, don't buy bearings until the crank status is known. If a bearing insert has spun/rotated inside a connecting rod or main cap, the rod or block will also need work.
If you are trying to do this on a budget which I completely understand, and avoid a rebuild I'd suggest a compression test before removing and dis-assembling the engine.
Plan on doing A TON of cleaning to the rest of the engine if the crank is bad.
Others have suggested cutting the oil filter open, that is a good suggestion and may be very telling.
Like I mentioned earlier, I had a '60 Plymouth Valiant that knocked like that because of loose bell housing bolts. I had an '82 Trans Am with a 305 SBC in it that ate the crank, never spun the rod bearing but the crank sure looked like it did. It didn't knock until it reached 2200 RPM, kinda like yours. I also worked as a fleet mechanic for a packing shed and heard a bus with a International 355 sound like that because of a broken piston skirt. And another was a Ford F-700 with a 370 Lima fresh rebuild knocked like that because of "cam walk".
Take everything off the engine except the flex plate and starter and see if it still makes noise. If so, it is internal. It could even be simple as a broken rocker bridge. I haven't experienced that one, but I hear they can sound like a rod knock. You won't know unless you do thorough diagnostics. One thing at a time!
Hey Olds family , well I'm tired boss , well the last time I posted we thought it was the flexplate ticking . New flexppate the monster is still there. Start it up and after 30 to 45 seconds give it some gas you can barely here the tick the as it warms up it gets louder . I can't figure it out oil starvation issue maybe I don't know .anyways I'm on the hunt ( might have found a ) olds 307 just pulled for $150 suppose to be a good running engine . So I'm get it or something like that to drop in the cutlass for now but my question is when I take my block to a shop what all do I need to ask them to do to it ? I'm just going to start over want it cleaned checked and see if I had the right size bearings and all that but it was all good until I put it in the car tho so I don't know just frustrated and venting . Anybody want to trade a olds 350 for a olds 455 lol starts up easy on first lick but can hear a tick after warm up all new bearings maybe a total of 1 hour run time between set up and trying to figure out what the tick is lol . Has stock oil pan so maybe just not enough oil running through it I don't know but open to trade if anybody wants to . 931 636 2523
Ok family it's the neighborhood big dummie here . So some may remember once I got done with this 455 rebuild and put my header on she sounded great . Once setting it in the car the headers wouldn't work so I used the fabricated stock exhaust Manifolds that were chopped welded and fitted for dual exhaust it's was around that time I started noticing small issues . So long story short , damn I feel ******* stupid saying this , when I put the exhaust on the donut gaskets didn't exactly fit perfectly but I got the exhaust and Manifold connected good and tight . But let's say it really is not could a leak that close to the block (both sides ) sound like flexplate or rod knock? If so would it sound off up top ? I hope so but feel so stupid that I didn't add this in to the quest earlier. So yea or nay ?
Last edited by Kapos79kutlass; March 18th, 2024 at 02:35 PM.
Reason: Titled was wrong
This is a HUGE issue with the Dodge Ram community. Do a search for "Ram lifter tick" and you will be amazed. There are an enormous number of issues that can sound like a lifter tick, including a valve lifter.
Have you used a stethoscope to try and locate the sound? Using an automotive stethoscope will mute external noise and enhance the sound from any point you touch the probe to. It is an incredibly accurate diagnostic tool. A quick interweb search shows they are from $6 to $30 at Amazon and many other sources. More if you buy it from the tool truck.
January 13th, 2024, 12:22 AM
