Well, two weeks ago my car started a ticking sound (on top of the exhaust leak), so I decided to investigate. There was a coolant leak coming from the rear of the engine, so I replaced that hose, and for kicks I popped the rear valve cover.






and this is what came out:

 

WTF is that? Is it the shim?

 

ouch. time for a rebuild.

 

No no no, 3.5's going in in a few weeks. It's been in my plans for awhile.

 

lol it was last straw when you had the leak...or your car wouldnt start...lol airplanes hit my car and your engine just dies though matter what..

 

Are you putting the RWD IM on when you do the swap? Or are you going to wait, get the car running before you start messig with the 3.5?

 

i'm gonna put it right when i do the swap. It'll be a bit easier, as I don't have to wire for the VI that the FWD IM comes with, all i have to do is run vacuum lines, extend the wiring for the MAF and TB, make a bracket for the throttle cable (i would have to do that anyway), and make a custom intake, not hard, i'll just buy piping off ebay, and get a cone filter.

 

thats happened before. good timing for you (no pun intended).

 

You're an effing beast, man!!! Good luck!!!

 

holy ****...so we aint hiting the track this weekend i assume?

 

Those are your shims. you may as well go 3.5. Or else, rebuilding this engine will cost more. Good luck. I rebuilt my engine with jwt double valvesprings and new shims. i can vouch right now---go for the 3.5L engine at once. Best wishes.

-Peter-

 

tavarish - could you describe the ticking? many people say a ticking/clacking sound coming from the #1 area is normal on these engines (say its the tensioner) -- you obviously had something else. what did it sound like?? where exactly was it coming from?

the reason I ask is because I recently started to notice a ticking sound. I hear it loudest from the passenger front wheel well. an oil filter change seemed to quiet it down for a little while, but now its back. thanks.

 

your case sounds like the tensioner going bad (common problem) but since you mentioned that a little oil made it run better for a while I think your Oil pump could be malfunctioning. Either way have it checked before it gets any wor$$$e.

 

tarvish - how many miles are on your current engine? Are you going to keep running it for a few weeks or start the swap sooner than you planned?

 

i still wanna hit the track, i hope my engine blows up. I'm sick of it. I'm hittin 14's...I have to.

 

i'm gonna keep it running for a few weeks, and my engine has 128k on it. All it does is make that ticking noise, doesnt really do much else, I cant really FEEL a performance loss, considering it's on the exhaust stroke anyway, so i'll leave it alone to do its own thing while i really scrounge up the dough for the 3.5

 

Are you sure it isn't the tensioner? What you're saying describes the symptoms my car had perfectly. I was getting a ticking/clattering sound and it kept getting worse, didn't really notice any loss of power, but the noise scared the hell out of me. Now that i've replaced the tensioner (it's not just the early 4th Gens that have tensioner problems) it's completely gone and my car feels better than ever. If you haven't checked, it might be a good idea.

 

did you not see the pictures? It's pretty clear what's causing the ticking.

and btw, Requin6 had the EXACT same problem.

 

it looks like the top of the piece that the cams push down on to push the valves open. Im sure you could replace it or it if runs don't worry about it.

 

That's what it sounds like.

 

yikes! yeah that's definitely not a tensioner. thanks for posting the audio clip. I wonder how the h3ll that happened? do you redline often?

 

yeah thats definately the same problem i encountered....





i guess the lifters didnt like 11psi @ 7200rpms

 

Audio clip sounds like a lawn mower...

 

i'd say sounds more like a tractor with my exhaust leak.

 

No, I don't redline often, and I do oil changes religiously, with Castrol GTX and Mobil-1 filters at 3k.

 

my god that almost sounds something like a few RX7's around here, we call em weedwackers.. but man you're lucky though bro that 3.5 is gonna make you smile like never before.