Rocks/Pebbles in my engine? Options

[dabazied]

Hey peoples...... Pretty much my question is what do you guys think this could be? It sounds like rocks/pebbles are clanking around in my engine. When I rev the engine it gets louder and as the rpms go down it slows/quiets(the rock like noise). Would this be a fuel filter issue? The celi has been sitting for a while now and the gas is kinda old but i'm gonna drain that out soon before actually driving it. Let me know what you guys and ladies think. Thanks ahead of time

[95st-celica]

maybe your valves?? is it like a clanking noise or more of like a taping sound? do you know what an engine sounds like when you have a rod knock? if its more of a tapping noise it could have a bent valve...if its knocking and sounds like theres a rock in your engine then its blown and i wouldnt suggest reving it up...if you absoutly HAVE to drive it then dont beat on it at all untill you can get it fixed because its only going to make things worse...a video would be best

[dabazied]

Ill try to get a video up soon but I know what it sounds like when a rod is blown/rod knock, it doesnt sound like that to me, at least not when I had a crappy buick that had one. I of course have a lil engine tap, but thats not what im talking about. It really just sounds kinda like some tiny rocks are clinking around in there. Just like if you throw some sand onto a metal pan or some pebbles on to a metal pan. Its quieter when its idle, but when rev at all it just gets louder and sounds like more pebbles. I just changed the oil before starting her back up again, just thought i'd throw that out there just for some more info on the issue.

[Bitter]

try some octane boost or a higher octane fuel and see if it lessens.

[dabazied]

Sorry for the crappy vids. I dont have a camera and cant get ahold of friends that have em today. I took these on my phone though.

[xs94st]

Exhaust leak? Where does it sound like its coming from?

[soulshadow]

Sounds almost like your rod bearings are going out.

[stephen_lee]

did your oil by chance look sparkly? lol

[stephen_lee]

BTW, this is what a bad bearing (or lack thereof) would sound like:

[Blk94St]

I'm going with soulshadow on this.

Mine was doing it a while back, less than a month later, slung a rod. Something to check out.

That's just my .02 cents.

Mine when it did it though, when you would engage the clutch the lights would dim when it was making the sound. I'd turn the car of once or twice and it would stop. Since replacing my engine, it has yet to do it. A local shop told me it was the starter going bad, a family friend who owns a shop installed my new engine and said nothing was wrong with the old starter, they were just looking for money.

Good luck though, and hope that isn't what it is, it's a little expensive to fix.

[GriffGirl]

Sounds to me like a prime opportunity to do an engine swap

Good luck, keep us updated w/what it is once you find out.

[dabazied]

Thanks to all the replies..... Apparently, it isnt constant and doesnt happen all the time either(tried it a couple times today with a camcorder and it wouldnt make the noise for me).... I highly doubt its and exhaust leak...... When I changed the oil it was the same color as normal oil would be when it needs a change(no sparkles lol)...... Im going to look into the rod bearing stuff and try to see whats up with that, i actually had a car that sounded exactly like that vid a long time ago with a rod bearing that bad before and just got rid of the car cuz it was a p.o.s.......... Well just in case, while im looking to see if its a rod bearing, Im gonna look into my swapping options b/c I am not ready to pay to put in another eco 4 banger with little power lol....... Vrrooom vvvrooooooom here I might be coming lol. I'll update the post with my findings with whatever I find, and til I figure it out, if anyone else has any possibilities they think of, please post lol. Alright, ttyl

[korban]

If it does it when you haven't used the car for a while, and it's cold. It could just be piston slap. Nothing really bad about that. Some factory cars (Subaru's) do it even when warm.

[blu94gt]

If it does it when you haven't used the car for a while, and it's cold. It could just be piston slap. Nothing really bad about that. Some factory cars (Subaru's) do it even when warm.

Subaru's sound AWFUL tick tick tick tick lol. When I first had my WRX I was like WHY IS IT TICKING SO LOUDLY. Then I examined my buddy's WRX...same deal. Was just an excuse to get a louder exhaust

[Dragondog]

if u have the ability then take off ur oil pan check for shavings in pan mine did samething it was rod berings also sometimes did not make noise thats cuz it was not that bad but in progress of getting worse if it gets worse u will throw a rod thru ur block once the pan is off u can also try wiggilin the caps ( wats holting the rods to the crank) if any wiggle up down even sligly u have a bad rod berring it should not move up and down AT ALL........if so i recomend replace (rod berings) b4 u put it back together it doesnt sound like u spun them witch is good cuz ur crank will still be n goot shap if crank has groves of any sort wkere the berings go than replace motor......

u can also listien for the sound with a long screwdriver put tip to block put platic side on ear and move it from block to head and other various places till u hear the loudest point then post it back here if sound comes from block it rods if head it vaves....in most cases

may even be a loose pully

This post has been edited by Dragondog: Mar 12, 2009 - 2:56 AM

[dabazied]

Finally got around to checking up on this today......... Sadly to say it was my main bearings and the wrist pins arent in too good of shape as well...... The crank is a lil scored up also..... She still runs, for now. Its my only car at the moment so I hope it'll last a bit longer. I'm going to look into the prices on all the parts and see what I come up with. Well, I guess if nothing else, there's no time like the present for a swap, once I get up the cash lol. Thanks for all the help guys and ladies. I'll post up some pics in the next few days probably of the issues. Just kinda sucks I JUST got done spending 2500 on my lawyer and court costs and still need bout 300 to finish that off...... Oh well, good things have got to come from all of this lol.

[Dragondog]

sry to here that if its ur main berings and not ur rod berings then ur gonna have to pull motor anyway to replace them other wise ull just scratch up and bend new berings tring to get then in....the top ones.......witch will defet the purpose of getting new ones as well as scored shaft...mite as well drive it as is and save money but dont take too long and limit ur drive bum rides from friends if possible..ull get a better deal finding another st motor and doing a clean equal swap...then u would gettinn ur shaft machined and put all back together

unless these guys here know of a better way to patch em up

This post has been edited by Dragondog: Mar 21, 2009 - 8:01 AM

[dabazied]

Yeah, Imma take it easy and limit driving her, but Im definitely upgrading the engine if anything..... Im trying to decide between the 4a and the 3m engine, I can get em about the same price, and they are both about half the price of the 3s. We will see though.

[dabazied]

Update, fixed all of the above a long while back...... noise came back but happens pretty steady now, it's not sporadic. Funny thing is, when I push in the clutch the horrible pebble sound goes away........ I'm thinking release bearing is going out, any thoughts?

[cardshark525]

If it goes away when you push in the clutch it might be a tranny problem. If it does completely go away when you push the clutch... even if you rev it up, then its from the clutch-back towards the tranny so if you're looking to fully fix it I'd start looking there. I see this has been a lengthy problem for you and I hope you manage to fix it.