jerm1386

Click here for the video

The video doesn't come across this way, but it's pretty loud and something is definitely wrong.

I cleaned my intake/exhaust manifold 5 weeks ago, the noise showed up 2 weeks ago and has been getting louder ever since. Originally it just made that noise for a few seconds after startup, then it would go away once the coolant temp needle got above the 'C', now it takes about 10 minutes for it to go away, and the engine is fully up to temperature several minutes before it disappears entirely (though it does slowly get quieter before going away).

I can't pinpoint the exact location that the noise is coming from, sounds like it's coming from the engine itself, maybe a little moreso the passenger side

Once the noise disappears when the engine is warmed up, it won't come back until the engine cools down again. it doesn't get louder based on how hard I'm on the gas, it only increases in frequency with the RPM gauge. At idle when the RPM gauge says the engine is at 600RPM (10RPS), the noise occurs 5 times per second

No obvious leaking fluids, no loss of performance during warm-up or at temperature, no CEL or other warning lights, no overheating, just an annoying noise.

Any ideas what the noise is?

jerm1386

I use castrol GTX high mileage 5W-30 and a fram high mileage oil filter. 219K miles, timing belt was done at 205K, no obvious wear on belts, fluid levels are good though last week I noticed my oil was a bit low after just turning off the engine so I added a quart plus some stop-leak. The noise went away but then came back louder than ever yesterday afternoon.

kid spartan

It might just be the placebo effect or the video playing tricks on me but it seems like the time is synchronized with a timing belt. Notice near the end when you can see the yellow part of the belt going around, it seemed in time with that. i tried tapping my finger to figure it out but it was a little too fast.

Fabvsix

sounds like a diesel motor.....perhaps valves need adjustment?

jerm1386

a friend at work loaned me his engine stethoscope so I could track down the problem, and of course this morning when I went to start my car to listen to it . . . the noise was gone. I'm sure it will be back though.

jerm1386

I figure I have a right to revive my own dead thread.

After more than a year, i have gotten this problem to go away through various means.

Most of the opinions I got through forum browsing and colleague opinions suggested it was lifter noise, from the lifters getting stuck and failing to keep the appropriate spacing between the camshaft and the valve stems. Figuring it was just a couple of them, i bought a couple valve lifters online and planned to replace the noisy ones. We have a local pick-your-own junk yard and a friend recommended trying the rocker-assembly removal procedure out on a donor car first. Taking the valve cover off is a pretty straightforward procedure (though not covered in the service manual), especially if you have taken out your intake manifold to clean it to get rid of the EGR CEL code, and the lifters come out of the rocker assembly easily with a pair of pliers.

Apparently 220K miles leaves a lot of oil varnish on things.

When I did this procedure on my car (only the passenger side since that was making the most noise), I found nearly all the lifters had so much oil varnish on them that they were more or less frozen solid. Between the new lifters I had bought, the half dozen I scavenged at the junk yard, and the good ones remaining in that half of the engine, I was able to put it all back together and quiet down the engine.

Then the other bank started making noise. Not wanting to take the driver's side assembly apart, I resorted to a regimen of seafoam in the crankcase and a few early oil changes. That seems to have fixed the problem for good about 6 months after I started

phins2rt

Glad to hear it!