engine knock!

[deathcharger71]

i only drive my car about twice a week now and today i started it and noticed an engine knock ive never heard before. its coming from the drivers side of the engine and i can feel it if i put my hand on the drivers side valve cover, but cant feel it with my hand on the passenger side valve cover. my oil preassuse is still 30psi warm in gear and 60psi driving so it doesnt seem like i have any shot bearing. the first thing im gonna do is inspect under that valve cover when it cools down, anybody have any ideas of what it could be? and can somebody tell me what the rocker arms are supposed to be torqued down to on a 360.

[mikepmcs]

Can't tell you the torque but I would sure go for a lifter that went down.  How bad is the knock?? Is it a tick or a valid clunk?
Will wait for more info and then the guru's will start coming out.

v/r
Mike

[deathcharger71]

its a clunk, not super loud but i noticed it right away. and the clunk speeds up if i rev the engine a little bit then disapears at higher revs im guessing simply because the engines too loud and i cant hear it anymore.

as soon as i felt the difference with my hand on each valve cover i thought it had something to do with the valve train.

[mikepmcs]

Maybe a wrist pin?? I'd still check the easy stuff first.

I'm done, we'll just wait for Ron, Chryco, Chall 340 and some other engine gods to chime in.


v/r
Mike

[deathcharger71]

just to clarify, i can only feel the knock on the drivers side valve covers, i cant feel it anywhere else on the engine or intake.

[tan top]

  is the knock there all the time or only when you rev the engine as it hits a certain RPM then goes away ...   

[deathcharger71]

its most noticable at idle, it speeds up when i rev it but doesnt get louder, then the engine gets too loud and i cant hear it anymore so i dont know if it goes away or if engine noise is just canceling it out. it honestly almost feels like a rocker or osmething is barely hitting the inside of the valve cover and that what im feeling, but thats definitely not what im hearing.

it also has the same rythem of a header leek, it knocks just as oftan. but its definitely not a header leek. so im thinking it knocks whenever one specific cylinder fires or gets to a certain position.

[Challenger340]

Try "shorting out" the plug wires on that side, one at a time, and see if you can change the noise.

By "shorting out" I mean, remove a plugwire, one at a time, with a set of insulated pliers( so ya don't get zapped), so that cylinder doesn't fire.
And so on
And so on
Down that bank.
See if the sound/knock changes.

Get back at us with the results.

[deathcharger71]

pulled one wire at a time...nothing. took off the valve cover and BINGO one of the rockers was hitting the baffle. i changed the gaskets and used a thinner material so im guessing a thicker gasket will fix the problem. just so i can be sure, does anybody know what the rockers are suppose to be torqued down to, i never re-torqued them after engine break in.

[mikepmcs]

That's awesome you found the problem. 

You could torque to Harley Davidson specs....... Tighten it until it strips then back it off a half a turn.
Just kidding of course.

Good job though, glad it wasn't serious.

v/r
Mike

[tan top]

pulled one wire at a time...nothing. took off the valve cover and BINGO one of the rockers was hitting the baffle. i changed the gaskets and used a thinner material so im guessing a thicker gasket will fix the problem. just so i can be sure, does anybody know what the rockers are suppose to be torqued down to, i never re-torqued them after engine break in.

 

  thats good  news, nothing  bad requiring a strip down

[deathcharger71]

could having the rocker hit the valve cover cause any stress or damage to that push rod or lifter?

[tan top]

not sure .. depends how much & how hard it was hitting...  although the rocker was hitting. i assume the valve was opperating correctly ,  going to guess that a hydraulic would be ok , but a solid .. it might of been  slightly bent  at the very worst , like i say i am only guessing . if it were me just to put my mind at rest i would check the push rods &  lifter  ,then do a compression check .