Hello to all.....

I am at a total loss and ready to put a gallon of fuel on my s40 and light with a match. I have redone the top end of my T5 S40 with 112000k miles. As I stated in several prior post. Started with a clogged breather system, know cleaned and renewed. Over heated, blew head gasket and head was to badly warped. Replaced head with a good reman... used all new OEM gaskets and seals. Put it all together, timed it with the tools, filled with oil and crank, yes it started. Well joy quickly turned to anger.... Knock knock knock... damn. engine runs smooth no miss, no smoke, just that knock. It was Not knocking prior to all this work...... Do I pull the engine and machine it totally and redo. Or give it last rights and burn it?

 

Ouch - hate to hear that.

Thing is, it's hard to imagine a real bottom-end engine (rod) knock just starting up out of the blue. Unless there were other noises masking the knock, the bottom end bearings are in exactly the same condition they were before you started this whole process.

I'd double- (then triple-) check for other sources that might be causing the "knock", like a motor mount failed to the point of metal-to-metal contact, or something "out of place" far enough to contact the engine or body. A mechanic's stethoscope might make it clear where the sound is coming from (even if it only validates that it's from the bottom end of the engine). I've had episodes of what sounded like engine knock turn out to be something else (including one where a bad landing after a Dukes of Hazzard stunt in my Pinto wagon bent the bottom of the pan enough to push the oil pickup over far enough to touch the crank). ;-)

Good luck with your diagnosis and ultimate repair!

 

@habbyguy. Thanks again for some tips to check over, I’m just lost and frustrated. I never touched anything on the lower end nor dropped the pan. Replaced timing belt and water pump,head gasket. Reused cam followers, Springs, kept them in the proper order and thoroughly lubed them up prior to reassemble. It was not knocking when the head gasket blew just stuck on what else it could be now.

 

I hope you find that it's something other than a rod bearing. Logically, it's hard to imagine that would be the problem, since it wasn't knocking before you did the top end refurb. It could just be Murphy exerting his influence, I suppose... ;-) If there was a problem with the reassembly of the top end, it would seem inevitable that it wouldn't be running and idling smoothly.

 

Thanks,...
Guess what after all that, now it is dumping oil from the hubs of the camshafts..... I replaced the seals and replaced them again with OEM ones this time. First the oil gush from the back of the engine, turned out to be the turbo return line came out of the block. So I reinstalled that, now this. Anyone have a Match?...

 

I wonder if the knocking could be related to the VVT mechanism? I'm not really familiar with that part of the engine, but it seems like if it had a serious oil leak, it could be acting up, causing some pretty significant mechanical noises.

 

considering the VVT is up top, listening with a mechanics stethescope would be easy to do. Its driven by oil pressure not by mechanical action and usually fail by getting bound up (and not rotating the cam timing) or by springing leaks (duly noted). worth a listen just the same. I'd also pop off the timing cover and watch the gear with the engine running to make sure the gear is not walking in or out or has some unusual wobbles that could project to losing the timing belt.

 

@mt6127...Thank you and everyone else for all the input and help with my project car. It still has that slight knock but all gauges are good and NO leaks of oil anywhere.
This weekend I am going to put the S40 on the road gently and work it up to full pace. Need to see how she does. I will keep everyone up to date on progress. I figure the worse would be an engine replacement or rebuild my bottom end, since the top has been done. Oh yea side note, Has anyone pulled a automatic and replaced it with a manual transmission? I am considering that as a future task...

 

there's been a few posts regarding manual conversions on 850 Turbos - most sourced a donor car for the tranny/shifter and othe rodd parts (pedals etc) and then had to fashion some wiring to deal with the PNP switch not being used. Since the manual S40 Neds car never came to the US, you'd probably have to find parts overseas. Probably be easier to import a Euro T4 S40 with a manual then make that US legal.

 

Thanks mt6127

 

So much for the ease into it.... I am done with this motor and or car. another leak back of engine, and did not pass state inspection, appearantly the car/engine does not get hot enough to provide enough info for the CAT and O2 sensor. OBD2 will not allow it to pass because of that.

 

how many miles did you put on the car after completing the build? Some of the long term codes may need a few hundred miles to clear.

 

If you clear a code with an OBD reader, it will reset all your readiness indicators (the ones the inspectors use to determine if you pass or not) to "not ready". It can take days for these to eventually cycle to "ready", sometimes taking several cold/hot/cold cycles, or dozens (or more) miles of varied driving.
Or perhaps there's an actual O2 sensor error - that's a different problem / fix. Probably a good idea to read the readiness status before driving to the inspection station.