Tell me this noise isn't what I'm afraid it is.
 

This noise started in the engine spontaneously a couple of weeks ago, barely perceptible. At first it seemed like it was just premature detonation so I tried the usual fixes: Pulled the choke out a bit. It seemed to help a little at first but as time went on I had to choke it almost to death - just barely able to run - to benefit at all. Put larger jets in the carb. Again, at first seemed to help but not any more. Cranked the vacuum brake on the distributor down as far as it would go. Again, only short lived benefit. Same with putting the highest octane gas available in. No help.

It has always had the characteristic of premature detonation - only exists at full vacuum under power over 40 mph, not when accelerating nor decelerating. Now it's heard at fast idle without any load after getting up to stable RPM as heard in the video.

I'm afraid that it is sounding more and more like the sound I had last year for a short time just before a piston came apart and I had to have the engine rebuilt (21,000 miles ago).

What do you think?

Here's the noise: http://youtu.be/1BXBh417e_w

Re: Tell me this noise isn't what I'm afraid it is.
 

Sounds like a rod knock to me, sorry

Re: Tell me this noise isn't what I'm afraid it is.
 

How's the oil pressure?

Re: Tell me this noise isn't what I'm afraid it is.
 

Dunno? I'd pull all the plugs first and see if they can tell you anything. If they all look the same, then pull the heads and take a look at and massage the pistons for bearing or wristpin issues.

Jack E/NJ

Re: Tell me this noise isn't what I'm afraid it is.
 

Oil pressure has always been good. New oil pump with engine rebuild last year.

Re: Tell me this noise isn't what I'm afraid it is.
 

If I identify a bearing or wrist pin issue can it be fixed without removing the engine?

Re: Tell me this noise isn't what I'm afraid it is.
 

almost every thing can be fixed with the engine in the car, except a flattened throw on the crank, sounds like a rod knock to me

Re: Tell me this noise isn't what I'm afraid it is.
 

I had a very similar noise an it turned out to be a broken piston. I didn't know it was broke till I pulled the piston completely out. Hope you have better luck than I did.

Dan

Re: Tell me this noise isn't what I'm afraid it is.
 

Henry,I feel for you,you and me both do a lot of miles in our old fords,ours is resting at home as the engine couldn't,t be fixed in time for our big trip around Australia,so we are away in our fairlane.
Back to your noise,I too think it's a rod bearing. But to cheer you up,here is a pic we took the other day on our holiday ,a croc eating a kangaroo,I was going to go in for a dip till I saw this.
Lawrie

Re: Tell me this noise isn't what I'm afraid it is.
 

Professor,
Pull one plug at a time and see if the knock stops or diminishes at any cylinder. If it is a rod this test would take all the pressure off the offending cylinder. Just a thought
John

Re: Tell me this noise isn't what I'm afraid it is.
 

I was looking forward to the travelogue of your trip. Sorry you couldn't take it. Fortunately, this engine problem has just come after I have taken every road trip on my bucket list - 20 total over the last 3 years. I was just thinking I'll now have to start repeating them. Then this happened. It may be that I just take a rest from "Old Henry" for a while.

Re: Tell me this noise isn't what I'm afraid it is.
 

I was hoping that. It seems like if it's just a piston breaking or a rod or something like that I could take the head and the oil pan off and replace those parts without removing the engine. That's what Old Chuckles up the street has always done. I expect he'll give me a hand if I decide to do that.

Re: Tell me this noise isn't what I'm afraid it is.
 

Good idea. I'll go out and do that right now and report.

I tried to identify the piston with the problem with a stethoscope but can't hear anything through the heads. It is definitely on the drivers side though.

Re: Tell me this noise isn't what I'm afraid it is.
 

Re: Tell me this noise isn't what I'm afraid it is.
 

I actually had worse luck than you last year when my piston totally broke apart, gouged the cylinder, and I had to have the engine rebuilt: http://www.fordbarn.com/forum/showthread.php?t=104413

Re: Tell me this noise isn't what I'm afraid it is.
 

Same here, Rebored all new parts. I had the machine work done and did the assembly myself. Was $$$$

Dan

Re: Tell me this noise isn't what I'm afraid it is.
 

I feel bad for you, Old Henry. But you'll figure it out, get it fixed, and be back on the road for more adventures.

Re: Tell me this noise isn't what I'm afraid it is.
 

Bugger ! Sorry to hear Henry.. Mines out of action too at the mo'
NO swimmin' up there Lawrie too many snappy jaws!

Re: Tell me this noise isn't what I'm afraid it is.
 

Prof.
If not for bad luck, you would not have any.
Bruce

Re: Tell me this noise isn't what I'm afraid it is.
 

Henry, For a quick test you could just pull off one spark plug lead at a time and see which cylinder causes the knock to go quieter. What a pain, always something going wrong with Old Henry. Regards, Kevin.

Re: Tell me this noise isn't what I'm afraid it is.
 

Might be apples and oranges here, but 30 some odd years ago I had a similar sound in '66 Chevy straight six. Turned out it was chipped tooth on timing gear. Might be easier fix than a rod.

Re: Tell me this noise isn't what I'm afraid it is.
 

It does sound bad.

I wouldn't run it too much.

I might just run it shortly without any belts connected just to rule anything external out, but it does sound deep in the motor to me.

Time to pull the motor down again by the sound of it. (Sorry to say).

Mart.

Re: Tell me this noise isn't what I'm afraid it is.
 

This is a real long shot but maybe a loose crankshaft pulley? A few years back, mine was making a very similar noise and it was the crankshaft pulley.

Re: Tell me this noise isn't what I'm afraid it is.
 

When the engine is cold does it knock immediately after starting or after it runs for a bit?

Re: Tell me this noise isn't what I'm afraid it is.
 

Remember the original post. How could a crankshaft pulley cause "just barely able to run"? I think that girl at Jiffy Lube may have over-tightened the Johnson rod. DD

Re: Tell me this noise isn't what I'm afraid it is.
 

Yup, my eyes missed that part. Better start eating more carrots! Steve

Re: Tell me this noise isn't what I'm afraid it is.
 

this is what I would try first...anything mechanical can be repaired...

Re: Tell me this noise isn't what I'm afraid it is.
 

I'll offer a WAG... based on events as they happened on my own 47...
burned piston(s). I had problems with pre-ignition/pinging, and eventually found three pistons with holes on top, at edge, down into the ring-lands.
With heads off, easy to see on top of pistons.
Oh, the fun :)

Re: Tell me this noise isn't what I'm afraid it is.
 

The knocking is the same hot or cold

Unfortunately, pulling the spark plug wires one at a time didn't identify the offending piston (if there is one). It would sure be nice to know which piston it is before I tear into it so I don't have to remove both heads and all pistons to find out. Any other test to find out?

How do I "massage the pistons for bearing and wristpin issues?"

Re: Tell me this noise isn't what I'm afraid it is.
 

That is certainly a possibility since, just a couple of weeks before the noise started, I put my old Stromberg 97 carb back on in place of the Holley 94 I'd been running. Then after the noise started I checked the spark plugs. They were a bit lighter than tan, more toward white, so I checked the jets in the carb and found that they were the .44's I'd put in to climb Pike's Peak and probably too lean. That's when I put larger ones in hoping it would stop what I thought was just premature detonation but it didn't. Maybe the damage was already done.

Re: Tell me this noise isn't what I'm afraid it is.
 

Well that sucks... Maybe talk to Walt about building you an engine over the winter for round 2?

Re: Tell me this noise isn't what I'm afraid it is.
 

Why did you pull the 94?

Re: Tell me this noise isn't what I'm afraid it is.
 

I had rebuilt it myself because it was seeping gas when I parked it in the garage at night and stinking up the garage. I also thought it might be part of the missing problem I had. After I rebuilt it, including replacing the power valve, it wouldn't hold gas after parked at night and I had to fill it with my electric pump every morning and choke it to start it. The engine didn't run any better either. So, I decided to put the Stromberg back in and see if it did any better.

I had Uncle Max rebuild my 97 but he left the .44 jets in thinking they were OK at my elevation of 5,000 feet. Maybe they were and that has nothing to do with anything but the plugs looked a little lean to me so I put bigger ones in. Didn't help the noise.

Re: Tell me this noise isn't what I'm afraid it is.
 

I just tried removing a spark plug to see if that made any difference, planning on removing one at a time to try to identify the offending piston. Unfortunately, the noise from the air rushing in and out of the spark plug hole drowned out all other sounds and I couldn't hear anything else.

Other ideas to identify the bad piston?

Re: Tell me this noise isn't what I'm afraid it is.
 

I would do a compression check.

Re: Tell me this noise isn't what I'm afraid it is.
 

>>>I just tried removing a spark plug >>>

Do all the plugs looks the same now? Tan, white, black, wet, etc?

Jack E/NJ

Re: Tell me this noise isn't what I'm afraid it is.
 

Prof, try removing the lead, rather than the plug.

Mart.

Re: Tell me this noise isn't what I'm afraid it is.
 

My thoughts since there is a noise and poor engine performance, it will require pulling a head off and see what's going on.

I can't see (in my mind) how changing jets, adding more choke, etc, would reduce a bearing/wristpin noise.

Re: Tell me this noise isn't what I'm afraid it is.
 

Henry, there are six pistons that will come out the bottom of the engine with out pulling the head, I have done that when one of my pistons burnt a hole in itself, I cant remember which ones that can come out, been a lot of yrs, the hard part is collapsing the rings one at a time to get the piston back in the bore

Re: Tell me this noise isn't what I'm afraid it is.
 

Just checked compression and got:

1-72
2-78
3-72
4-68
5-75
6-80
7-74
8-74

Does that tell you anything? It doesn't me.

All plugs looked the same - dark - 'cause I just put the Stromberg back in with .47 jets.

Did that. Didn't make any difference.

Any more ideas?