Rust Advice 78 280z

[Mark Maras]

 If it's a rod bearing, disconnecting the spark plug wire from the plug, while it's idling, will substantially lower the ticking noise.

[gotham22]

I forgot to mention.  I removed the spark plugs one by one yesterday and the sound did not change.

 

[Zed Head]

On 5/25/2021 at 6:28 AM, gotham22 said:

Engine ran fine before removal.  I did a compression test and it looked good.

Engine Work done:

new fuel injectors

oil pan gasket

lashed valves

replaced EGR

new oil filter

rear main seal

pilot bushing

What procedure are you using to adjust rocker arm clearance (lash)?  If it ran fine before then your work must have done something to change something.

Are you rotating the engine and camshaft as you measure and set lash to be sure that each lobe is on the base circle?  Seems like a very loose rocker arm is the most likely possibility for that kind of noise and the work you did, considering that it "ran fine" before.  Don't really see any other moving parts in the engine that you touched that could cause it.

[ETI4K]

It's also interesting that there's so much smoke.  Is it coming from an active oil leak or is it part of the exhaust gases leaking out? 

If it's leaking from the exhaust system, you've a lot of blow-by.  Sorry, I don't recall if you did a compression check.  It's just all the sounds coming from your engine suggest a problem beyond valve lash, which is usually a "lighter" sound, like a tick (which it sounds like you've reduced).  Your othrr engine sounds suggest larger masses with excessive clearnces as @Zed Head
has mentioned.

No one wants to pull a motor unnecessarily just to check bearing clearances, etc. but after listening to your vid, I for one would not be letting that car out of the garage just yet.

[Racer X]

On 5/31/2021 at 4:31 PM, gotham22 said:

I checked all the valves.  I few of them were too tight as you guys mentioned.  Here is the new video.  It sounds much better but I am still getting that clicking noise.   

I’m, why is the intake and distributor on the right side of the engine?

Oh, and the knocking sounds like a bearing, a main or rod bearing.

[Patcon]

Has oil pressure been confirmed at the block?

What oil is in the engine? Is there sufficient oil in the engine?

[gotham22]

Bunch of questions to answer:

 

Zed:  The procedure I was using was to turn the engine until the lobe was pointing up,  Adjust clearance.  Turn engine again and adjust the next one.   I then re-did the same procedure the other day and the engine sounded better than the first time I ran it.  Clicking was still there

ETI4K: I am also curious as to why there is so much smoke and where it is coming from.  I did not remove the intake or exhaust manifolds when the engine was out.  I had 3 studs break where the exhaust manifold connects to the down pipe.  I thought I repaired them correctly. I will re-do a compression test and see if the numbers are different from before I pulled the engine

Patcon:  I am getting a mechanical oil pressure gauge today to confirm pressure.  I put 4 1/2 quarts of this oil in - Lucas Oil LUC10679 10679 10W-30 Petroleum Oil 

 

 

 

[siteunseen]

1 hour ago, gotham22 said:

The procedure I was using was to turn the engine until the lobe was pointing up,  Adjust clearance.  Turn engine again and adjust the next one.   I then re-did the same procedure the other day and the engine sounded better than the first time I ran it.  Clicking was still there

A couple of suggestions you may already know but they helped me over the years. Our motors are not straight up in the engine bay, slight tilt to the passenger's side. If you mark the center of the cam towers and use that as your up reference it'll be more precise. Also you can get two to come up at a time so that helps speed things up when you do them hot. They're spread out though so I started making a mark off list on a piece of a case box for something like beer.  Anyhow write it out and place it under the passenger's wiper blade and X them off as you do them. Here's a picture of what I'm talking about. Cold setting on top and the hot is the bottom one. It may help since you say the clicking is better after your second adjustment. Good luck with it, that ticking sound drive's me nuts.

 

[gotham22]

thank you for the guidance siteunseen.  I did something similar.  I have not checked them hot though. will do that next

 

 

 

[Patcon]

If you show oil pressure. ..

I would experiment with heavier oil 15w40 or 20w50

If the sound gets better it's a bearing issue. If it goes away, run the heavier oil until it breaks or you're ready for a rebuild

[Racer X]

On the noise in the video:

It is a knocking sound, not a ticking. It is deeper and not a noise that the valve train would make. It is most likely a main or rod bearing.

The only way to know for sure is a tear down.

 

As for the valve adjustment, here is how I do it.

Set the engine at #1 top dead center, using the timing mark on the crank pulley as a reference. The #1 cylinder will have both valves closed and can be checked and adjusted. Also, half of the other valves will be closed, or the cam lobes will be in a position to allow adjustments.

Then rotate the engine one full turn until the timing mark is again lined up with the zero mark on the pointer. I forget which cylinder is then at top dead center, but the other half of the valves will also be in a position that they can also be checked.

I have done it this way hundreds of times, and can run through a valve adjustment in less than 15 minutes. Remember, the lash settings are specified on a hot engine, and if you fiddle around too long, the engine will cool too much to facilitate proper adjustment.

 

Edited June 3, 2021 by Racer X

[Dave WM]

for sure not a valve tic. before tearing into bearing issue I would make 100% sure its not a exhaust leak. Does not really sound like one, but with all that exhaust fumes flowing around, you may as well address it just in case. This is getting to be a long thread. Did the car always make this sound? or was there a change then it popped up.