engine knock after top end rebuild

[cerberusaardvark]

title says it all. i started up the engine tonight and right away there was white smoke and a loud knock coming from the passengers side.

i can hear the engine sound underneath the knock and i think it sounds okay.. but after about 2 minutes the engine starts smoking from the passengers side. ive narrowed it down to the oil filter area.

quick rundown of what i did

engine stripped to the block and cleaned(still in car)

new heads from titan engine, preloaded with valves

new rocker arms and pushrods from sealed power

head gaskets from felpro

upper and lower intakes and exhaust manifolds hot bathed and sparkly clean

new gaskets on everything with a gasket

cleaned and primed the lifters with atf and then oil, all were moving freely

bathed the injectors in cleaner for about a week then installed with new o rings

timing cover gasket replaced and all timing components from sealed power

motorcraft spark plugs and wires

new radiator, fan, fan clutch, and hoses

i dont know what could have happened.

everything is stock except for the addition of exhaust manifold gaskets between the heads and manifolds

new fuel pressure regulator and purge valve.

it took a few tries to start the engine up, then i had to keep my foot on the gas.

any suggestions?

 

[cerberusaardvark]

so after lots of looking it seems that the white smoke is just curling off of the y pipe. not from any of the connections, just like curling off the pipe itself. it starts after about 1 min of being on. im scared to let the engine run for too long because i dont want to damage anything.

the engine also seems to idle very roughly. its chugging hard but im not getting a check engine light. could it be throwing codes with no cel?

 

[zomb92]

Check and make sure the plug wires are all connected correctly from the coil to the plugs.

I know it sounds simple and stupid, but I had very similar symptoms due to a simple crossed wire.

As for the smoke, it could be just something spilled on the y-pipe and as it heats up it starts to smolder.

I am no professional, but I understand after a long repair, simple things are easily overlooked.

Best of luck!!

 

[jd4242]

How long has it ran and at what rpms?? You used ned head bolts right? Didnt see it on the list..like suggested check the plug wires and for vacuum leaks.

 

[cerberusaardvark]

Yea new head bolts.. I turn it on and it idles around 600 rpms. In neutral I go up to 1500 but the smoke gets crazy and the knocking gets faster. After some digging I think it might need an ecm. I have an extra set of head bolts but I really don't want to go down the rabbit hole again. I'll recheck my plugs and wires.

It does this thing where as jt fires up there's a loud double bang the sounds hollow and tinny like somethings hitting the valve cover. Then the rhythmic knocking.

I'm scared to let it run too long because I don't want to damage anything. I do also have a lot of white smoke out the tailpipe.

 

[jd4242]

Ecm wouldnt cause white smoke...ticking should go away.I normally run it at about 1,500-2,000 for like 5-10 after first start and a check of fluids..but if you getting white smoke still after 30seconds or so something is wrong.you tq the heads and LIM at the same time? How does the oil and water look?? What does the white smoke smell like?

 

[cerberusaardvark]

yeah i torqued the heads in sequence with the LIM. the white smoke almost smells like fuel, its not very sweet.

i used the same injectors but i soaked them for a week and looked at the holes and they were fine. i used new o rings and even replaced fuel pressure regulator. i made sure to lube the o rings with some white litium spray grease and wiped off the excess.

i also made sure that the spark plug to wire order was correct, with 123 on the passenger side and 465 on the drivers side.

the only thing i can think of is that somehow one of the rocker arms is hitting the mounting tab. when i replaced the rockers i noticed on the of the arms the clearance very very tight, but none were hitting. my oil looks fine, my coolant looks fine, and i had a small tranny fluid leak that i fixed by adding one of the new fittings at the radiator.

 

[jd4242]

Hmm I would say run it for awile at about 1500 but the white smoke is what concerns me not the noise.mine sounded like it was about to come apart for 4mins then shut up and runs fine.post a short video.

 

[FR-425]

White smoke is transmission fluid.

Blue smoke is oil.

So I'm guess'n it's sucking trany fluid from the vacuum modulator.

 

[cerberusaardvark]

is there a way to check that? if i remove hoses from the vaccuum tree they would be coated in tranny fluid if the mod has failed right?

 

[cerberusaardvark]

let me take a video real quick. the smoke is still puzzling. ill get that in the vid

 

[jd4242]

is there a way to check that? if i remove hoses from the vaccuum tree they would be coated in tranny fluid if the mod has failed right?

Yes.definitely worth a look

 

[cerberusaardvark]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fgrhGjHWc5o&feature=youtu.be

excuse the flashlight. i thought it might have been too dim to see anything.

when i get in and shift to drive it gave a bang and almost died.

 

[cerberusaardvark]

i checked all the vacuum lines and they are still dry. old, but dry

 

[jd4242]

That can be one of two things...collapsed lifter or it just hasnt built up pressure yet..I didnt see any obvious smoke around the truck though. .I would run it up to about 1500 for a bit and see if it shuts up.if it doesnt after a minute or so you know you got a collapsed lifter.mine took 4 minutes. .let me upload the unedited video of my refire..only reason I stay on it because I knew everything was good, it just had to free up and build pressure.

 

[jd4242]

Here.this is the 2nd fire up after checking fluids.given I knew nothing else was wrong and this is about my 10th ohv build so..it frees/build pressure up at 4:00 ..runs smooth and quiet now..

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sc3l87xcPKY&feature=youtube_gdata_player

 

[cerberusaardvark]

man that would be a bummer. i did find one on the teardown but i replaced it with a new melling lifter. i took off the plastic guides and caps on all the lifters and sprayed them with cleaner and primed them in atf. they all went up and down freely.

i switched through the gears and when i put it in drive is sputters and tried to die.

 

[cerberusaardvark]

that sounds nice though. wish mine could get that smooth. maybe ill try again tomorrrow to let it build pressure and free up.

 

[jd4242]

man that would be a bummer. i did find one on the teardown but i replaced it with a new melling lifter. i took off the plastic guides and caps on all the lifters and sprayed them with cleaner and primed them in atf. they all went up and down freely.

i switched through the gears and when i put it in drive is sputters and tried to die.

You have to get it to run right before moving on to the gear issue but running right should solve that..run it up at rpms for a bit and see if it shuts up..if it keeps getting louder and louder at same rpms definitely stop tho..

 

[cerberusaardvark]

well i tried running it up to 1500 rpms for about 5 minutes and the noise it still there. every time the engine catches theres a hollow knock or bang that worries me.

im going to start removing stuff down to the lower intake manifold. i know i can get at the lifters without taking out the heads. hopefully i can avoid that. is there any way to spot a collapsed lifter upon sight?