shortsguy1
Jedi Hopeful
Offline
Hi-
First of all, I wanted to thank everyone for your help in my prior threads. I am sorry I am primarily a recipient of assistance on the forum right now, rather than a provider. But I hope to be able to return the favor someday soon. I will start this thread with my main concern, and then give some background in case it helps solve this mystery.
The engine of my 1966 Austin-Healey 3000 BJ8 makes a ticking sound which is troubling me very much. The sound is most noticeable at idle. It is a ticking or clicking sound, at the same speed as the engine. I have adjusted the valves twice (0.015 inches cold the first time and 0.012 inches cold the second time) and it hasn't changed the noise. I have filmed the engine with the valve cover off, so I am hoping someone can help me figure out the problem.
Both videos are at idle, although I don't recall if the RPM was slightly elevated because the engine wasn't very warm. I think the loud clack is pretty obvious, but let me know if you aren't sure what noise I am worried about:
https://youtu.be/nAYgH7i2atQ
This second video used the iphone's slo-mo feature. It is actually pretty cool because you can align the noise (now muffled, but clearly louder than the other noises) with the valve movements. At 0:24, you can see that the noise aligns with valve 1 and 3 starting to open. At 1:45, the same noise aligns with valve 8 and 11 closing up. I have no idea if these sorts of noises are more commonly associated with opening or closing of a valve.
https://youtu.be/Cfv1scOIiwk
Before I filmed any of this, I used a mechanic's stethoscope to try to find the problem. If I had to guess, I think the noise was towards the back of the engine. I had trouble getting any more specific than that. But this does make me think that valve 8 or 11 are more likely the culprit than 1 and 3.
Nothing else looked awry in the engine, but I am not very experienced with these cars. I checked the pushrods by rotating them and they all seemed straight. There seemed to be plenty of oil pooling up there, but I guess I don't know for sure.
And now for some possibly extraneous information, or perhaps not. My family was given this car by a close friend who was no longer using it much. Its engine was rebuilt at 78,000 miles, in 1998. In the last 10 years, the car has literally only gone 200 miles. So it has a lot of deferred maintenance and is now at 82,000 miles. The car resides at my mom's house and I try to work on it whenever I find the time to visit. She has had the car a year now, and has hardly been out for a drive, which is sad and frustrating to me. The prior owner didn't realize that the car has as many problems as it has and there unfortunately aren't any decent shops near my mom.
When the prior owner delivered the car to us about a year ago, it had developed a massive oil leak on the drive from his house to my mom's. An old aftermarket oil-cooler/oil-filter adapter had formed a major leak at one of the fittings, and it was purging oil very quickly. I don't think I saw any oil on the dipstick when I first checked. It could not have been leaking at this rate for the entire 2 hour drive, because it would have run out of oil. I have no evidence to support this, but perhaps it just barely started to not have enough oil as he pulled into the driveway. So perhaps some damage occurred, but not enough to seize the entire engine.
Also, when the car was delivered, it had a lot of rust on the underside of the valve cover. The valve cover rust was worst at the back of the engine. It was flaking off and small chunks were landing on the valve train. Clearly this could cause damage which might cause the noise. I tried my best to clean off all the rust and wipe away any chunks, but who knows what happened before I ever touched the car.
Anyway, sorry for all the background info, but I wanted to provide it in case it is helpful. I guess my main request is for someone to watch the videos and let me know if you recognize that noise. Thanks so much for any assistance you can provide. I really need your help with this one.
First of all, I wanted to thank everyone for your help in my prior threads. I am sorry I am primarily a recipient of assistance on the forum right now, rather than a provider. But I hope to be able to return the favor someday soon. I will start this thread with my main concern, and then give some background in case it helps solve this mystery.
The engine of my 1966 Austin-Healey 3000 BJ8 makes a ticking sound which is troubling me very much. The sound is most noticeable at idle. It is a ticking or clicking sound, at the same speed as the engine. I have adjusted the valves twice (0.015 inches cold the first time and 0.012 inches cold the second time) and it hasn't changed the noise. I have filmed the engine with the valve cover off, so I am hoping someone can help me figure out the problem.
Both videos are at idle, although I don't recall if the RPM was slightly elevated because the engine wasn't very warm. I think the loud clack is pretty obvious, but let me know if you aren't sure what noise I am worried about:
https://youtu.be/nAYgH7i2atQ
This second video used the iphone's slo-mo feature. It is actually pretty cool because you can align the noise (now muffled, but clearly louder than the other noises) with the valve movements. At 0:24, you can see that the noise aligns with valve 1 and 3 starting to open. At 1:45, the same noise aligns with valve 8 and 11 closing up. I have no idea if these sorts of noises are more commonly associated with opening or closing of a valve.
https://youtu.be/Cfv1scOIiwk
Before I filmed any of this, I used a mechanic's stethoscope to try to find the problem. If I had to guess, I think the noise was towards the back of the engine. I had trouble getting any more specific than that. But this does make me think that valve 8 or 11 are more likely the culprit than 1 and 3.
Nothing else looked awry in the engine, but I am not very experienced with these cars. I checked the pushrods by rotating them and they all seemed straight. There seemed to be plenty of oil pooling up there, but I guess I don't know for sure.
And now for some possibly extraneous information, or perhaps not. My family was given this car by a close friend who was no longer using it much. Its engine was rebuilt at 78,000 miles, in 1998. In the last 10 years, the car has literally only gone 200 miles. So it has a lot of deferred maintenance and is now at 82,000 miles. The car resides at my mom's house and I try to work on it whenever I find the time to visit. She has had the car a year now, and has hardly been out for a drive, which is sad and frustrating to me. The prior owner didn't realize that the car has as many problems as it has and there unfortunately aren't any decent shops near my mom.
When the prior owner delivered the car to us about a year ago, it had developed a massive oil leak on the drive from his house to my mom's. An old aftermarket oil-cooler/oil-filter adapter had formed a major leak at one of the fittings, and it was purging oil very quickly. I don't think I saw any oil on the dipstick when I first checked. It could not have been leaking at this rate for the entire 2 hour drive, because it would have run out of oil. I have no evidence to support this, but perhaps it just barely started to not have enough oil as he pulled into the driveway. So perhaps some damage occurred, but not enough to seize the entire engine.
Also, when the car was delivered, it had a lot of rust on the underside of the valve cover. The valve cover rust was worst at the back of the engine. It was flaking off and small chunks were landing on the valve train. Clearly this could cause damage which might cause the noise. I tried my best to clean off all the rust and wipe away any chunks, but who knows what happened before I ever touched the car.
Anyway, sorry for all the background info, but I wanted to provide it in case it is helpful. I guess my main request is for someone to watch the videos and let me know if you recognize that noise. Thanks so much for any assistance you can provide. I really need your help with this one.