Guest Anonymous Posted May 28, 2003 Share Posted May 28, 2003 My daily driver is a 88 olds cutlass 3.8 V6 and its developed a little knock should I A: blow it up(not good in my opinion) B: pull one plug wire at a time and rev the engine to determine which rod is knocking and then replace only that bearing (my favorite) C: attempt to obtain a crank kit and replace all bearings for insurance against future failure d: why don't you tell me smart guy!!! I ONLY PAID $500 FOR THE CAR SO NO TALK OF HEROICS any feedback is welcome. You can even call me stupid just so long as you talk about engine knock before you start or after you get done NO!!! I'm not puttin a V8 in it!!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan Juday Posted May 28, 2003 Share Posted May 28, 2003 You paid $500 for it, forget about it. A $500 car is suppost to have a little knock. Drive it 'till it drops and consider the money well spent. Then go find another $500 beater. I once put over 5000 miles on a Subaru with a serious knock. I pulled the motor and rebuilt it ONLY because two guys could pull it without renting a hoist and the total rebuild was less than $70. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
denny411 Posted May 28, 2003 Share Posted May 28, 2003 The knock you are hearing could be from a worn or defective timing chain tensioner. 3.8`s are notorious for the plastic glide coming off of the tensioner. This allows the timing chain to knock agaist the cover. NEVER disconnect the plug wires on an electronic ignition system while the engine is running. The high voltage arc could fry the module when it is searching for a ground. You should disconnect them one at a time and ground them with the engine off. Then start the engine to listen for knocks. You should also have the plug out of the cylinder in question. if it is a slight rod knock you may be able to get away with swapping rod bearings alone but who knows how long it will last. you may be just as well to use 20/50 oil. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
80LS1T Posted May 28, 2003 Share Posted May 28, 2003 Ok first of all it is probably more expensive to buy just one set of bearings for one rod. I think a whole rod bearing kit for something like that would only be like $40(maybe?) Then once you did replace it, it would probably fail again unless you figure out why the first one failed and then fix the problem. Of course unless it has like 150,000 miles on it then maybe its just old. Point is......I would just run it till it dies. It is only a $500 car what more can you expect? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Anonymous Posted May 28, 2003 Share Posted May 28, 2003 thanks for chiming in guys!! The only real reason I would consider surgery is because the car is power and EVERYTHING WORKS EVEN THE AC and I live in florida and those aren't tears they're sweat but seriosly(sp)my major reason for suspecting the rods is that I had a bottom end failure with a identical car once before( hole in the oil pan comfirmed it that time) and have heard the same knock in other cars of the same model on the street the timing chain tensioner could be the culprit as when the car is revved in neutral the knock dissipates at 3500 BUT under load it seems to be present in the upper rpm range as well(no I'm not revvin the crap out of it!) in conclusion, Do you think I could remove the oil pan and only replace one bearing if maybe I just had nothin better to do?? I'm only askin cause I live in a redneck town and people keep tellin me that's the best option(and I'm really cheap) by the way 198,459 miles Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
denny411 Posted May 28, 2003 Share Posted May 28, 2003 I would recommend replacing the whole set of rod bearings, and running at least 10/40 or possibly 15/45 oil. It should buy you a little time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaime240z Posted June 27, 2003 Share Posted June 27, 2003 Turn up the radio! That usually works 8) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pop N Wood Posted June 27, 2003 Share Posted June 27, 2003 Turn up the radio! That usually works 8) Definetely my suggestion. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Zachb55 Posted June 28, 2003 Share Posted June 28, 2003 I third the above!!! -Zach Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaime240z Posted June 30, 2003 Share Posted June 30, 2003 Damn TSW Trophies look sweet on early Z cars! Hey Zach are you using adapters with yours? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Zachb55 Posted July 1, 2003 Share Posted July 1, 2003 not my car in that pic, sorry dude. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Anonymous Posted July 1, 2003 Share Posted July 1, 2003 DELETE Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Anonymous Posted July 1, 2003 Share Posted July 1, 2003 DELETE Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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