So, there I was...

[Hevyg]

another peek... The heat shields didnt hamper me, The only real complication was the old plastic looms... yep im shopping lol

 

[Hevyg]

Yes, I did the tune up. I added seafoam and ran it another 300 miles. Changed the oil with high mileage synthetic. the knock/tap is still there. The strange thing is; When the engine is cold its silent... after the engine comes to temp its taps.... louder when you put the coal to it. BUT not all the time.. every now and then its silent. And especially now it runs smooth and strong. Im stumped. I dont want to tear down the top end; I cant see doing that without doing a complete rebuild (at 126g)...
The tap is in the front of the engine... seems to be coming from the area of the cam shaft... but why when its warm, not when its cold?? Any ideas?

 

[hworksinc]

Just for the heck of it, did you try removing the belt? That would eliminate a few possible causes of noise. I once had an alternator with failing bearings that made a noise very similar to valve lifter tap.

 

[MrQ]

Just for the heck of it, did you try removing the belt? That would eliminate a few possible causes of noise. I once had an alternator with failing bearings that made a noise very similar to valve lifter tap.

If you do that, don't run it very long, about 5 minutes MAX. Without the belt there is no coolant circulating and you could make your problem worse. Also this will put a strain on the battery as the alternator is also not running. If you just replaced the battery you should have no problem, if not you could kill an old battery.

 

[Hevyg]

good ideas, both. Thank you. I am going to put a new battery in it... thank god the eagle pooped today. Then I'll try taking the belt off for a few minutes. I tried the long extension/stethoscope method... its weird.. i cant find the origin. Id be friggin ecstatic if it was the alternator. I'll let you know