Knock, Knock, Knocking on heavans door...

[Someone]

Poor baby woke up this morning with a bad knock..... I was hopping it would go away and get better, but it looks like I am going to have to put her down #-o

It has had an occasional knock on cold days at start up for about a year now that only lastet a couple of seconds... I knew the time was coming.... the damn thing sounds like a caravan now...


Dont know where I want to start, I guess I should find out if it is a rod or a valve... either way I would assume you pretty much have to pull the motor to do either... space seems a little tight, but I have not had to do much work under there... any ideas on how to check...

after diagnosis I have the big 3 choices....

Repair the V6
V8 Swap
Scrap the van (or sell it cheap)

anyone have a ball park on how much a 4.3 to 5.7 vortec swap will cost in extras? I am not worried about the motor as I can get that for next to nothing, just wondering were I am going to get nickel and dimed...

[SoCalli V8]

You could call me tomorrow and hold the phone over the motor and I could tell you if it is a fatal knock......?

[GEJ]

You could call me tomorrow and hold the phone over the motor and I could tell you if it is a fatal knock......?

Calli-the engine whisperer?. :-k :-k

[Someone]

I will try to get some video of it... with audio of course.... It sounds like a caravan valve noise, but I have had some rod knocks in the past that start off pretty quiet. Either way I am not going to drive it anywhere as I have learned that lesson before... once it starts to knock you are eventually going to get stranded and stuck with a big tow bill.... but I have to do something as this is my work van.

It was a bad day all in all for my cars... started out with the van, it sounded awful so I took the truck to work (k2500)... about an hour from home on a delivery I start feeling the ass end wander when I get on and off the gas... turns out one of the lift blocks in the rear axle cracked and the u-bolts all backed off... barely made it home, by the time I did the drivers side rear of the truck was 2 inches lower than the passenger....

so I go down and borrow my dads truck so I can get to work tommorow, hit the drive threw for a coffee and the power window dies... I just replaced the motor 6 months ago, and it is cold out....

I am not going to touch any more cars untill I sleep off this day... I will have to get the window up in the morning... lets hope it does not snow

[peter]

I had a loud knocking or ticking noise on my 83' S-10 Blazer way back when. It was really cold out and I believe a lifter collapsed. Dunno why. I panicked because the truck had just been sold, the guy was coming by in a week or so to pick it up. It made noise all the way home, next morning I started her up and she was fine.
You sure it's something serious? These engines usually last quite a while. Oh, and a rod/main knock doesn't go away by itself. To hear a slight knock on start-up is one thing, but if the noise goes away after a minute or so, I'd be willing to bet the problem's somewhere else.

[SafariRob]

You could call me tomorrow and hold the phone over the motor and I could tell you if it is a fatal knock......?

Calli-the engine whisperer?. :-k :-k

Now Gary, you've met Darren, so you know he's anything other than a 'whisperer'. I suggest we call him "Dances With Engines"; that's DWE for short.

[Rockwerx]

I had a small crack in an exhaust manifold that sounded like a bad lifter at first. As the vehicle warmed up the crack would close and the noise would go away. It gradually got worse till it was obvious that it was not a lifter. Found the cracked manifold and replaced it. Maybe you have a similar problem hopefully.

[rlsllc]

after diagnosis I have the big 3 choices....

Repair the V6
V8 Swap
Scrap the van (or sell it cheap)

...

You can't be talking about the beautiful silver van in your sig. Scrap? Would you even consider that? Maybe the pics are hiding something, but it really looks worth fixing. If you do scrap it, sell me the wheels!!

Roy

[phr1$k37]

Someone HALT!!!!

LOL I just felt like saying that.
You are probably much more mechanically inclined than I am but think simple first. About 1 1/2 years ago I had a terrible knock where I even posted sound clips for folks here. I was told I blew a rod. I went to three shops for opinion where I SAID NOTHING to them but "what's wrong?" most of them freaked that I was still driving her (and I was ... but I had no choice) -
In short I thought to myself no way I blew something inside my engine - sure it sounded REALLY bad, total lost of power (had to 3/4th throttle to get to 40kph) and you could feel the "bam bambam" ...

I changed dist cap + rotor as they were still original ... no change in the banging. I thought no way it would timing but maybe the NGK sparks and wires? Nawh cant be it is less than 1 year old with what ... 20-30K km? I changed them to AC Delco and wham ... butter me up! The knock was gone! The Sparks and wire still look good to me ... I tested the wires, good. I have no clue. But I figured I just share what happened to me.

[Someone]

Thanks for the tips guys, as soon as I get the truck out of the garage, I will bring it in and do a proper diagnosis... It was above zero yesterday and I let her run for about 5 minutes... noise did not change... It is definatly internal... but my gut is pointing towards the top end.... when it used to do it on start up it seemed like it only did it untill enough oil got pumped to it then it would disapear... since the oil is all around the crank I am going to assume it is a little higher.... a lifter is a good guess... doesnt really sound like an exhaust tick, but I will definatly take a look...

the van is not as beutifull as it once was... Damn Ontario and there salty roads, the rust is getting worse and the cancer is spreading... I cracked one of the wheels last summer on those rough michigan roads, so I have been running the stockers ever since... I dont think I would actually scrap it... I would be more likely to let it sit around for the next year untill one day I felt like V8ing it...

but alas... I do need my van back as I have deliverys todo... The K2500 is in the autotrader and getting lots of calls... cant be caught without a vehicle....

I will kepp you all updated!

[phr1$k37]

Oil!?
Oops I missed reading that some where :( Hoping for the best for you.

[Rockwerx]

Someone HALT!!!!

LOL I just felt like saying that.
You are probably much more mechanically inclined than I am but think simple first. About 1 1/2 years ago I had a terrible knock where I even posted sound clips for folks here. I was told I blew a rod. I went to three shops for opinion where I SAID NOTHING to them but "what's wrong?" most of them freaked that I was still driving her (and I was ... but I had no choice) -
In short I thought to myself no way I blew something inside my engine - sure it sounded REALLY bad, total lost of power (had to 3/4th throttle to get to 40kph) and you could feel the "bam bambam" ...

I changed dist cap + rotor as they were still original ... no change in the banging. I thought no way it would timing but maybe the NGK sparks and wires? Nawh cant be it is less than 1 year old with what ... 20-30K km? I changed them to AC Delco and wham ... butter me up! The knock was gone! The Sparks and wire still look good to me ... I tested the wires, good. I have no clue. But I figured I just share what happened to me.

So what was causing the knocking? How bad a knock was it? Did it sound like hitting an anvil with a four pound hammer by chance? Maye all I have to do to my new project is change the spark plugs! lol

[phr1$k37]

So what was causing the knocking? How bad a knock was it? Did it sound like hitting an anvil with a four pound hammer by chance? Maye all I have to do to my new project is change the spark plugs! lol

Not to hijack Someone's post here but it was BAD. I probably still have the sound clip some where. You could feel the "banging", engine shook the whole vehicle, lost of power and loud as heck.

[Rockwerx]

Thanks for the tips guys, as soon as I get the truck out of the garage, I will bring it in and do a proper diagnosis... It was above zero yesterday and I let her run for about 5 minutes... noise did not change... It is definatly internal... but my gut is pointing towards the top end.... when it used to do it on start up it seemed like it only did it untill enough oil got pumped to it then it would disapear... since the oil is all around the crank I am going to assume it is a little higher.... a lifter is a good guess... doesnt really sound like an exhaust tick, but I will definatly take a look...

the van is not as beutifull as it once was... Damn Ontario and there salty roads, the rust is getting worse and the cancer is spreading... I cracked one of the wheels last summer on those rough michigan roads, so I have been running the stockers ever since... I dont think I would actually scrap it... I would be more likely to let it sit around for the next year untill one day I felt like V8ing it...

but alas... I do need my van back as I have deliverys todo... The K2500 is in the autotrader and getting lots of calls... cant be caught without a vehicle....

I will kepp you all updated!

My brother in Calgary has been working on one of his AWD Astro vans as of late. It had a ticking sound which he found out to be a loose rocker arm. He is just finishing up an engine replacement in his 99 AWD LT. He has been aclling me up on the phone every few days with some questions. He should have it running this week.