Well I guess this is my introduction as well, so hey all, here I am. My story is this, I spend my days working on other peoples' cool cars and I end up going home in an '02 gallant with paint peeling. And now complete with an odd noise.

When I got the car, I ended up doing lash adjusters to kill the tick in the top end, I mostly bring this up to say that I know this isn't it, because it is a different sound.

It honestly sounds like a rod knock, except that it happens at all the wrong times. Here's what I've got:

At idle, no bad noises. Sounds like a an old car, but nothing bad. This good idle is what makes me think it's not rod, and here's what's weirder. Under acceleration or higher engine load, no noise to speak of, but when you let off the gas, or just coast at the right RPM, it sounds like bad rod knock. A deep knock.

What I'm honestly thinking is that I have a bad wrist pin, but I haven't dealt with that problem before, so I can't really speak from experience. Knowing engines though makes me think that might be what it is......

Any ideas without me actually tearing into the engine? I'd like to know what I'm attacking before I jump at it. I would love to start poking around with a screwdriver to try to listen for it and get a location, but since it won't make any noise at idle I don't know what to do. I can't listen for the noise in the engine bay when I'm driving down the road, and that seems to be the only time I get it.

Another anomaly possibly related, possibly not. Oil light yelling at me at idle. Oil level is good, and it is 10W30 so not terrible. I could run a little thicker, but the issue just came up in the last couple days. The knock has been a couple weeks. The oil may just be a dieing oil pump, but who knows. The light goes out as soon as I get it over 1000 or 1100 so I am not too terribly concerned about that, but it is noteworthy.

Any help would be GREATLY appreciated. I figure if noone knows, it isn't too much work to pull an oil pan and feel up the rod bearings, but I hate doing it if someone knows otherwise. And If we know something needs to be replaced I'd rather buy it first. It is always inconvenient trying to work on the daily driver car that you have to have working. Can't just leave it on the lift for a couple weeks. If I could, I'd just pull the engine and go to town.

Help would be great!

 

un/fortunately youve probably diagnosed your own problem and solution.
Have fun!

Altho, if it does need the oil pump, it could be good time to tear down,..

 

Which diagnosis do you feel is correct? Wrist pin? Will that cause low oil pressure the same way lower bearings can?

Or do you just think it is a bad oil pump? If it's an oil pump, can they make nasty noises when they go? Or are they two separate problems?

Thanks!
-Drew

 

Well I played a bit more and found some things I didn't want to find. I pulled spark to cylinder 1 (or 4, I'm talking the utilities side) and all the noise went away. I just went poking around with a screwdriver (cheap mans stethoscope) and it sounded like it was around that cylinder. I pulled spark and away went the sound. That seems to tell me that it is normal rod bearing, but the lack of noise at idle and the fact that the knock is primarily coming off power or simply cruising is still throwing me off.

I got a filter, new oil, and a pan gasket. I'll be pulling the pan to see what I find before long.

The big question is going to be how much it is worth putting into it. The car is peeling paint, and has 162k on it. That tells me it isn't worth it. The other side of me says that it is my only daily driver, and that I'm too broke to get something else without either selling the bike or selling the camaro.

I guess it is all simply a crap shoot until I actually figure out what all is bad. My fear is crank shaft, oil pump, and if I'm doing that, main bearings as well. probably might as well do rings at that point. This **** can nickel and dime you do death.....


If anyone has any pointers or thinks they know more definitely what might be wrong please chime in. I love the opinions and help!

 

Start shopping for junk motors dude. They are fairly inexpensive for these cars.

 

That answer scares me.

I can probably rebuild everything for 500ish if I shop right. That is for a full overhaul, assuming no crank shaft. If I need crank shaft, add 1-200... I have equipment to do all the machining myself...

Think I can find a junk motor for less?

My thinking is if I throw $500 at it and drive it another 100k, it is money well spent. And I have more time than money so it tends to make more sense to rebuild MOST OF THE TIME.

Thanks for your suggestions! If you can point me at a $400 motor with decent miles I'm all for it, but uhh, it seems slightly improbable. But hey, I'm used to shopping for V8s, so maybe they are out there...

 

You've just got to call around dude. That motor was slapped into a few different Mitsubishi's of that era. I'm willing to bet you can find them for less than $500. Craigslist, junk yards, and part outs are what you want. I'd say even if you get 20k out of it, it's worth it if you're not paying someone to do the labor. Think about making payments on a new rapidly depreciating ****heap, and paying for full coverage? Fawk that nonsense. State minimum liability, junk yard parts, and away she'll go.

You could spend the time and rebuild it, but if you're going to do it properly it sure won't cost you just $500. Remember, one tiny speck if bearing material in the wrong place can be catastrophic. Your oil pump is likely jacked, and I bet the cams are gouged, as well as the crank. Better to just start fresh, aye?

Do you have the I4 4G64 engine or the V6 6G72? At least knowing the engine code will help you track down the vehicles that had the compatible engine and eventually a motor.

Good luck.

 

I understand the suggestions to just look for a new engine, but I am trying to make it happen anyway.

I opened her up and found a bad rod bearing. (what a surprise right!)

It is actually really weird looking, and I'll post pictures when I can.

It is a 4G64 engine. When looking for rod bearings, I have found several but I found a set on amazon (of all places) that appears to be right. They are marketed towards the evo I-IX, and they claim to be for 4G63/4G64 2nd Gen 7 bolt flywheel.

Does all that sound good to you guys? Is that the right set? Are they truly the same rod bearings?

Lucky lucky for me, the crank shaft is fine. No real discoloration, and only some wear marks perfectly perpendicular to the centerline. Visible marks but totally undetectable to a fingernail, and they look more like little lines than grooves. The journal is shiny and looks truly fine.

The concerning part is some very minor wear showing on the rod. I know I need to post pictures before any of you can actually help me, so right now I'm just looking for advice on the rod bearings.

I know that when something goes like this, many other things are to follow, but I am going to try to simply replace the bearings and go from there. If that allows several more months out of the car, then it is a win to me. I'll finish another project to drive by then. I don't think this car is truly worth a full rebuild. Even if the engine is totally fresh, who knows what else is going to go bad on the rest of the car. I don't need another money pit, so I'll try this on the cheap.

Let me know what you guys think of those "evo" rod bearings!