just started noticing a knock in the engine. only hear it around 2000-3000 rpm range anyone have any idea? i'm thinking posible broken ring, because i have found a large amount of oil in the #1 spark plug well.

 

Oil in the plug well?? As in oil when you pull the plug wire off it and look down or oil residue on the actual tip of the plug when you take it out of the engine? If in the well when you pull the wire then you have a blown valve cover gasket but that won't be what's causing your knock. If there is oil in the cylinder itself then yes you have blowby on your rings on that cylinder. Also run compression tests on all cylinders that wil tell you if you have blowby on any of the rings. The knocking could be anything from valves to a rod to lifters to rockers. Depends what the knocking sounds like. Is it a pinging? Or a definate knock? Is it loud? Does it come from the top or bottom? Is it all over the engine? Need to know things like that to properly diagnose the sound. The more description the better the diagnosis.

 

there is when i pull the plug wire off, it is to the point where i can't see the plug itself. the knock is a definite knock around the upper portion of the engine near the #1 cylinder. i also have a drop in compresion in that cylinder. the knock is only audible around the 2k-3k rpm range.

 

anybody have any idea?

 

K here's my thoughts on it (Posted for other readers' reference since I PMed you my opinion). Knock coming from upper area could possibly be valves. Oil covered spark lug tells me either A.) Blown head gasket leaking oil into the cylinder (Check coolant for oil and oil for white milky subtance which would be coolant). Or B.) you have blow by on the piston rings. The knock being that you heard it fromt he upper end could also be the wristpin for the con rod. (The wristpin holds the piston to the rod). Loss of compression leans towards either a rocker being off leaving a valve in the open position OR blowby on the rings again. The loss of oil pressure could be caused by either one of those as well.
Here is my recommendations. First remove the valve cover and check the rockers make sure all are in place that nothing has fallen off. If all the rockers are on the valves and springs are all in decent shape that nothing is broken and whatnot. Next check your oil dipstick for a white milky substance meaning you have coolant in the oil and that you've got a blown head gasket. Then check the coolant for oil as well if your head gasket is blown in the right place then you will lose compression in the cylinder as well as the oil and possibly pressurize the coolant. but the loss of pressure leans towards the rings being blown which means you'll be tearing the engine out to pull the bottom end.
I hope this advice helps and good luck tearing into this beast of an engine.

 

well i work at a used car lot and i told my mechanic about ur symptoms, and he said that the cylinder is leaking and it is possible that your piston may have ruptured, and he also said that the rods may be getting loose. Those are som pretty expensive fixes. Hope you can get the work done.

 

The knock could be the rods or it could be the valves/lifters. Depends on if the sound is a definate KNOCK or more of a tapping sound. And also I'd get a timeing light to figure out which cylinder it's coming from. The oil covering the plug can be a REALLY bad leav on the valve cover gasket or an accumulation over time (Unless you cleaned it out and it was JUST as full the next day or something). I'll run the symptoms by a guy at the shop I work at. He is a Mitsu expert. He worked at a dealership and has all the books and whatnot.

 

my cousin had this problem and it was bad cam bushings. worth a check?

 

It's worth a check sure. If you know someone with the equipment to do it. It'll be something easier to get to to check.