The build of Dottie Blue

[Busta Nut]

Oics.......lots of oics........

[DottiBlue]

Today I plan to cleanup the garage and then dig in. I'll take oics as I go.

[Busta Nut]

If you need anything.....let me know

 

......I get parts cheap.

[dime'n daily]

you figure out the tick? single cams are notorious for noisy valves. take a stethoscope and see if its coming from the valve cover.

if so do an oil change and use some rislone. would always help a bit when I had my 240s.

[DottiBlue]

I changed the oil today as it was dirty and a bit low. Still ticking away. I used a stethoscope on it and it was loud at the valve cover. It was also loud down by the starter, so I'm not sure. I think I'm going to pull the engine next week and check the rods for slop.

 

There were some aluminum shavings in the oil when I changed it. First real oil change was today, after about 150 miles.

[DottiBlue]

I pulled the valve cover today and everything looked ok. A couple of the rockers had some slop and the timing changed seemed loose on one end. Picture and video.

 

 

 

[DottiBlue]

[Duke]

Bummer to hear about your engine woes.

 

An easy check for rod knock is to pull each plug wire individually while the engine is running.  If it is indeed a rod knocking, it will get quieter when you pull one of the plugs because there will no longer be a load on the bearing.

 

I have heard that the hydraulic lifters on single cams have a tendency to tick.  You may look into the procedure for bleeding the lifters.

[DottiBlue]

Duke, very good info, I will do this Wednesday and report back.

[DottiBlue]

So I have been very discouraged and have not touched Dotti since my last post. Today I pulled spark plugs one at a time and that didn't seem to make much difference, other than running like garbage. I listened with the mechanics scope again and it seems to be coming more from the top end then bottom, but I'm not really sure. Here is a video of it running. You can hear the tick very well, at least on my phone I can.

 

[Josh K.]

That sounds horrible :(

 

Have you check vavle lash on every valve? Sticky valve?

[DottiBlue]

There hydraulic. I found a website that says you can bleed them. It was a reman head that I put on there that may not have been bleed properly. Other issue is the engine set assembled for awhile. Maybe that allowed the oil to push out. Still doesn't explain why it hasn't done this since the beginning.

[Busta Nut]

Sounds like every stinkin' lifter is makin' noise.............. :crying:

 

You mentioned you had lack of oil pressure.......

 

...........that will take out the top end pretty quickly.....

 

The bottom stays submerged in oil.........need pressure to get to the top............

 

This......vv

 

Have you check vavle lash on every valve? Sticky valve?

 

 

I think you can still check it.......

[Josh K.]

You could've broke a lifter due to low oil pressure. Did you see the pics of my Audi lifter that blew up?...

[DottiBlue]

I remember that happening. Don't recall what I looked like. Next question is how low is two low. I was getting to about 10 psi at idle. Would quickly go up with rpm. When I had the valve cover off, nothing looked broken. I will go back in you thread and find your pictures though.

[DottiBlue]

Josh I found your picture. Kinda having a hard time orienting it though. Also are you talking about the grove on the cam? I can see there is a deep grove in the rear most lobe, but I don't see the rocker/lifter in the picture.

[Josh K.]

My Audi has "cam followers". What happened was a hole whore through the top and ate the cam. This made a hell of a racket....

 

I would expect oil pressure to be closer to 20psi at idle.

 

I would pull all the rockers and inspect the lifters. Check the top of the valve stems for damage. If any are mushroomed then the lifter is not pumping up.

[DottiBlue]

Will do next week. In talking about this, I remember that I had to race the head that came with this block because the rods that the cam followers pivot on were galled. Also some of the followers were as we'll. I didn't replace the oil pump either. Kicking myself now. I'm going to get a new oil pump and check the followers.

 

On another note, I read that the oil pump from a 280zx will bolt on to the ka and the pump from the auto is a high flow. Anyone know if this is true?

[Josh K.]

Sounds like you need new rocker assemblies. Hopefully the valves are OK. One of my valves was mushroomed but the length was fine so I let it slide. You could use a straight edge across the top of the valve springs and measure with a depth mic or calipers to check the length. Not exact but if in doubt its easier then pulling the head and valves.

[DottiBlue]

I'm hoping the rocker assemblies are ok. I bought a new head last time because it was cheaper then the parts.......

[Josh K.]

You bought a new head complete with valvetrain?

[ggzilla]

Next question is how low is two low. I was getting to about 10 psi at idle. Would quickly go up with rpm.

The KA24E spec is minimum 11 psi idle and 60-70 psi at 3k rpm.

[DottiBlue]

Josh, yes. It was a fully rebuilt head.

 

Ggzilla, I'm at the bottom end of the spec, or just below. New oil pump for sure.

[ggzilla]

Usually that means the oil is leaking too quickly somewheres, like worn bearings. A high-flow pump might keep up but doesn't solve the underlying cause.

[DottiBlue]

The engine has about 150 miles on it since complete rebuild, minus the oil pump. At rpm it gets up to 60 psi +