OK, it's an m20b27, 223k miles. Good condition. Last weekend I did the timing belt, cam seals, water pump, spark plugs, and valve adjustment.
Drove it about 175 miles, no problems, I drove it hard and also some highway cruising. It sounded great, with no valve noise.
I let it sit for 2 days, and then start it back up to go for a drive (5 days since the work was done at this point). I notice a weird noise, pop the hood. Sounds like my valves are WAY out of adjustment, or a rocker nut fell off or something. This noise is definitely coming from under the valve cover.
It also sounds like some sort of tapping/knocking coming from the front of the engine, maybe near the water pump. Using the screwdriver-to-ear trick I couldn't trace it down.
It spitting some black shit out of the exhaust, not sure if it's fuel or oil. It's leaking oil, looks like from the cam seal or head gasket. Those seals were perfect, I spent a long time oiling them up and getting them flush. The head gasket never leaked before.
It seems to make good power, and idles smooth as hell.
Any ideas? I'm going to tear into it tonight, but if anyone has a simple idea to check before I rip the front of my car apart I would highly appreciate it.
My possible ideas:
Drove it about 175 miles, no problems, I drove it hard and also some highway cruising. It sounded great, with no valve noise.
I let it sit for 2 days, and then start it back up to go for a drive (5 days since the work was done at this point). I notice a weird noise, pop the hood. Sounds like my valves are WAY out of adjustment, or a rocker nut fell off or something. This noise is definitely coming from under the valve cover.
It also sounds like some sort of tapping/knocking coming from the front of the engine, maybe near the water pump. Using the screwdriver-to-ear trick I couldn't trace it down.
It spitting some black shit out of the exhaust, not sure if it's fuel or oil. It's leaking oil, looks like from the cam seal or head gasket. Those seals were perfect, I spent a long time oiling them up and getting them flush. The head gasket never leaked before.
It seems to make good power, and idles smooth as hell.
Any ideas? I'm going to tear into it tonight, but if anyone has a simple idea to check before I rip the front of my car apart I would highly appreciate it.
My possible ideas:
- Timing belt slipped 1 tooth or tensioner came loose (wouldn't explain noise OR smooth idle)
- Rocker nut loose/fell off
- Broken rocker (does an engine even run with a broken rocker?)
- Tool left under valve cover (I will punch myself in the mouth if this is the case)
- Broken valve (wouldn't be related to the recent work, just coincidence)
Comment