cstarbard
Member
- Joined
- Aug 10, 2017
- Messages
- 225
- Reaction score
- 4
- Points
- 18
- Age
- 30
- Location
- Oakham, MA
- Vehicle Year
- 1996
- Make / Model
- Ford
- Engine Size
- 2.3
- Transmission
- Manual
- My credo
- It do like it be
Hey guys,
This one has me confused. I have a 1996 2.3 truck (manual trans) and the engine which by all measures seems very healthy, makes an awful knocky sound that can be heard at idle (realistically I'm sure it makes it at all RPMs I just can't hear it above fan noise etc past idle). Sounds like rod knock, but I really hope not/don't think it is. I just filled up with 93 octane to make sure what I'm hearing isn't some sort of weird spark knock, and with a full tank of premium it still makes this noise, so I'm guessing it isn't spark knock... truck doesn't even really spark knock anymore anyway even on regular... I have been under the truck and can not find anything external vibrating that might cause that noise, I have a brand new PS pump that is super quiet, water pump is not damaged, so I don't really think an accessory is making the weird sound. When you listen all around the truck it seems like the sound comes from near the bottom of the engine.
Truck has 150k miles, does not burn or lose a drop of oil, runs pretty good. Oil never has shavings or other foreign stuff in it (last oil change I inspected the used oil in direct sunlight on white paper towels, could not find anything metallic or otherwise in it at all)
The next thing that is odd is that sometimes my oil pressure gauge will freak out a little bit. Sometimes it falls quite low on the gauge, and then bounces between low and midway. This just started happening and does not happen often, and when it does nothing changes in how the truck is running, so I *hope* that's an issue with a sensor or the gauge, but I wondered if it might be related. I heard this is a dummy gauge setup, is that true?
I've heard some year 2.3 trucks have an oil pan gasket that breaks down over time and starts clogging up the oil pump screen. With a 96 could I have this issue? Could it be related to the strange sound? Should I be worried about clogging my oil pump and or could this be contributing to the knock sound and oil pressure fluctuation? What do you all make of such a rod-knock like sound in a truck that does not burn oil or have shavings etc in the oil? I'm obviously no expert but I would think that if something was rod-knocking, it would show some other signs of being quite unhappy
The sound has always been there, but has gotten much more pronounced over time. I haven't modified the engine in any way, all I have done so far is regular tune up stuff and switched to synthetic (same weight that manual recommends changed on same interval as manual suggests)
Thanks in advance to any info on any of the above issues and how I might be able to diagnose better. I will record a video of the noise ASAP.
Chris
EDIT: I'm not sure if this is the case or not, but it seems like all of this only started after I did a timing belt. I did turn the oil pump sprocket and cam sprocket by hand to get it re timed right, which caused some strange top end like sound after the initial startup, but which quickly went away... not sure if any of that could be related but thought I ought to mention
This one has me confused. I have a 1996 2.3 truck (manual trans) and the engine which by all measures seems very healthy, makes an awful knocky sound that can be heard at idle (realistically I'm sure it makes it at all RPMs I just can't hear it above fan noise etc past idle). Sounds like rod knock, but I really hope not/don't think it is. I just filled up with 93 octane to make sure what I'm hearing isn't some sort of weird spark knock, and with a full tank of premium it still makes this noise, so I'm guessing it isn't spark knock... truck doesn't even really spark knock anymore anyway even on regular... I have been under the truck and can not find anything external vibrating that might cause that noise, I have a brand new PS pump that is super quiet, water pump is not damaged, so I don't really think an accessory is making the weird sound. When you listen all around the truck it seems like the sound comes from near the bottom of the engine.
Truck has 150k miles, does not burn or lose a drop of oil, runs pretty good. Oil never has shavings or other foreign stuff in it (last oil change I inspected the used oil in direct sunlight on white paper towels, could not find anything metallic or otherwise in it at all)
The next thing that is odd is that sometimes my oil pressure gauge will freak out a little bit. Sometimes it falls quite low on the gauge, and then bounces between low and midway. This just started happening and does not happen often, and when it does nothing changes in how the truck is running, so I *hope* that's an issue with a sensor or the gauge, but I wondered if it might be related. I heard this is a dummy gauge setup, is that true?
I've heard some year 2.3 trucks have an oil pan gasket that breaks down over time and starts clogging up the oil pump screen. With a 96 could I have this issue? Could it be related to the strange sound? Should I be worried about clogging my oil pump and or could this be contributing to the knock sound and oil pressure fluctuation? What do you all make of such a rod-knock like sound in a truck that does not burn oil or have shavings etc in the oil? I'm obviously no expert but I would think that if something was rod-knocking, it would show some other signs of being quite unhappy
The sound has always been there, but has gotten much more pronounced over time. I haven't modified the engine in any way, all I have done so far is regular tune up stuff and switched to synthetic (same weight that manual recommends changed on same interval as manual suggests)
Thanks in advance to any info on any of the above issues and how I might be able to diagnose better. I will record a video of the noise ASAP.
Chris
EDIT: I'm not sure if this is the case or not, but it seems like all of this only started after I did a timing belt. I did turn the oil pump sprocket and cam sprocket by hand to get it re timed right, which caused some strange top end like sound after the initial startup, but which quickly went away... not sure if any of that could be related but thought I ought to mention
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