Topic: motor knocking sound...

[toyotanner]

okay so i have a rebuilt 22r in my truck it has about 50k on it. i took it out of a 2wd i had... its been in my 4wd now for about a 1 1/2 years. i dont ever remember making this sound in the 2wd but maybe i just wasnt paying to much attention...
SO anyways..... it has been making this sound forever  but theres no knocking when idling or accelerating but if i hold a constant pedal anywhere above about 2,500 rpms it makes a sort of knocking sound.
does this mean i have a rod knock?
maybe valves need adjusted?
something loose?
i have never seen any metal flakes in oil. i never really thought much of it cause i always thought if it was a rod knock it would make the sound all the time, because when i have heard rod knock sounds they always make the sound no matter if its idling, accelerating, or whatever its doing it is knocking.... just looking to see if someone might know whats going on?

[jimbo74]

could be any of those.... drop the oil pan and look to check for shavings, also check the main caps..... could just be valves, could be any of the stuff you suggested... valves are pretty easy to do....

the 22r engines are noisier than most engines to begin with

[toyotanner [OP]]

yeah i was gonna start with valves... and work my way to the harder stuff.

[79coyotefrg]

what you described is piston wrist pin "slap" i had a S10 that did it, but  i ran it for 2 years HARD before it got any worse,

nothing really you can do besides rebuild,  it will only do it when its reved and under a "no load" condition, ie  not accelerating or slowing down

[93tonkatoy]

What you describe is what mine was doing earlier this year. Only knocks when holding steady speed on the road. I dropped the oil pan (before I drove it too long like that), and found that I had spun the #4 rod bearing. The other three were still good for having 250k+ on the engine. I checked the journals(for roundness and overall wear) and replaced the bearings, and it's still running (knock is gone). I am still going to swap the mains out, too, but it's still going for me.

[86bobbedtoy]

my money is on the rod bearings
there really easy to change.
normally you dont have to worry about the mains.
make sure you oil them with some thin oil, so that you dont have a dry start.
also keep all your caps in orday and torque them to specs.
also keep the groved sides on the same side.

[93tonkatoy]

I used the Lucas Oil Gear lube as my pre-lube (label also suggests this as a recommended use). It kinda "sticks" to whatever it touches. It seems to keep a thick coat where you put it. I would think that a thin oil would drain out too quickly. Just MAKE SURE the rod journals and the rods are still ROUND. The FSM doesn't give a very large allowance for out-of-round. If the bearings have "stacked" (1/2 of the bearing spins inside the other), you can pretty much bet that both the rod and crank are going to have to have further work. I hope you haven't driven it that way too long (unfortunately, engine #1, didn't figure it out in time  ). Good luck, and hope you caught it in time like I did with engine #2.

[toyotanner [OP]]

thanks for the suggestions guys. never really messed with the bottom end of a 22r so could be a learning experience.

[79coyotefrg]

thanks for the suggestions guys. never really messed with the bottom end of a 22r so could be a learning experience.

its a simple as any engine ive ever worked on

[Tallchevy]

I would try adjusting the valves 1st. The engine in my 89 was rebuilt with unknown miles. I have had it for about a year & it started knocking in the upper end only at high rpms. I removed the valve cover & found the valves were tight. I couldn't even get an .008" feeler gauge in the exhaust side. I adjusted them & the knock went away. This repair would have been free but it cost me the price of the valve cover gasket only cause it had been leaking 

[Wermz84]

I had a similar noise last year.  I checked and checked my valves but it never went away.  Mine was a cracke piston that finally went boom.


I would start with the valves, if that doesn't do it then I would go deeper.  The Red Line assembly lube worked really well for me. 

thanks for the suggestions guys. never really messed with the bottom end of a 22r so could be a learning experience.

It is a good learning experience, I'm glad I did it. 

[emsvitil]

What year motor?

If it's a later year, it would have the crappy plastic timing chain guides which break.

The timing chain then slaps against the timing cover.

You can check the condition of the guides with the valve cover off.

[toyotanner [OP]]

i have metal timing chain guides