s10 either rod knock or valves dying

[VetteOwner]

the autoparts store that suggested that was advanced auto (same as checker)

i dont think they have a machine shop attached.

ive tried countless stuff and none seems to last long. valve medic (supposed to free sticky lifters/lube them/seal them) works the best for about a week then back to clackety clack. the engine restore in a silver metal can does seem to do wonders but is short lived.

ive tried some oil additive (stp somehting that makes it super sticky so it clings better, supposed to help) i think that made it worse personally haha.

well like i said ive maybe driven a whopping 20 miles on this oil and filter so id like to reuse it (im saveing it no matter what, maybe change some lawnmower oil or somehting)

yea i figured magna fluxing couldnt hurt but theres been no leaks and runs beautifully besides the clacking haha. plus its like $40 + time for them to do it.

i plan to clean up the head real good. ill take pics of everything so you guys can see what 158K mile engine thats run on dino oil looks like.


lol and its true, i changed the chevette oil today and those cars cant run without coating the whole underside in oil... it looks like it leaks from everywhere but level never goes down...

[theholycow]

I don't see why you can't drain and re-use the oil. Drain the coolant before the job too. If you think you got any coolant into the oil during the job, be sure to drain it again after the job before refilling. Maybe flush it with some old oil, if you have any.

[GasSavers_Erik]

Before you tear it apart, here is something to try- The older Chevy small block V8 rocker arms could be tightened down from under the valve cover. If yours are similar, perhaps you could just tighten the rocker that is worked by the faulty lifter a turn or two and reduce the tapping noise.

If you do decide to tear it down:
I wouldn't risk running the engine with coolant contaminated oil. I have heard that the coolant can trash the bearings.

Here's an idea to eliminate the coolant/bearing issue:

Drain the coolant and replace with plain water. Run the engine.
Drain and replace with plain water. Run the engine.
Drain and then pull the head. If anything enters the crankcase, it will be plain water- which will not hurt the bearings and will boil off completely when the engine gets hot after the job.

The other issue is small chips of head gasket material that fall down into the oil return passages as you scrape the block clean- changing the oil helps get rid of these. Maybe you could just flush the passages out with a funnel and a quart of cheap oil after you finish scraping (leave the drain plug open). Stuffing rags in the holes while you are scraping will also help minimize this.

This website mentions "plastic lifter guides" http://www.enginebuildermag.com/Arti...2l_engine.aspx That could also be part of the problem.

Expect to spend at least 1-2 hours cleaning off the old head gasket material. Just don't gouge the head or block surfaces (which is easy to do if either is aluminum). Don't be tempted to use the abrasive disks (that you put on the end of a drill) to remove head gasket material if the surface is aluminum. You will remove aluminum from the surface and make the new head gasket less likely to seal (I found this out the hard way).

[VetteOwner]

yea ive done headgasket jobs before so i aint worried about it. i had to do it on the chevette but cant remember the steps i took to do it...

i could always drain the good oil and coolant, do what you said replace the coolant with water and fill the truck with cheapo oil or half full bottles (we have tons of half filled bottles around here i can use)

yea i knew about those bastard plastic holddowns. that is a very good site tho, thanks for the link.

[bowtieguy]

update?...

[VetteOwner]

havent had time to fix it, started a new 3rd shift job that is turning out to be craptastic haha. trucks still tickin away

[flapdoodle]

My S10 sounded like that. I was certain it was collapsed lifters because it was worst at startup.

The factory manual said the temperature sender to the pollution control crap can cause knocking if defective. Mine read open. Replacing it ($10.46 including tax, NAPA) made the knocking disappear 100%

At 77 degrees F it should read about 2700 ohms across the two spade terminals on the sending unit with the connector removed.

At operating temp it should read less than 1000 ohms.

[VetteOwner]

what year is yours? mines still OBD1

[92ranga]

Did you ever figure out what was causing the noise? Unfortunately my girlfriends truck is doing the same thing.

[bowtieguy]

just run a good cleaner like seafoam or transmission fluid in the crank case several days before you change the oil. then, run a TRUE synthetic oil, like mobile1 or amsoil when you do change it. try a 40 weight variety...stay AWAY from 20 weight!