Technical Fresh Rebuild Clacking

So you've been working on a new Motor with a known worn-out distributor and a balancer the motor rebuild shop didn't check to see if TDC was in fact TDC with the rotating assembly and you're trying to drive it till it starts running better. O.M.G!

 

I didn't know the distributor has a small rubber bushing under the mechanical advance that limits total advance! Some buick nut in the other forum I linked knew right away to check that bushing hahah

So maybe that will fix my timing issue for good

The engine builder says use the timing tape method to be certain the timing is accurate (timing tab may be inaccurate)

 

"I spoke with the engine builder and he suggests the timing tab may be inaccurate."

I'd say he should change his business card to say "engine assembler."

 

Timing tab

 

Or sumpthin' like that ...

 

So this was your opening post. Pretty clear you are way in over your head! With everything you have done since, you have not had good results. Your motor rebuilder was a bad choice and he's not going to step up and repair anything. We don't know how much he actually assembled for you and you don't know when to stop and find a better mechanic. I feel bad for ya pal.

 

Bless your heart.

 

that noise in the first video sounds like something metal hitting something metal as the motor goes through its motions. get an automotive stethoscope and listen at the valve covers, the timing cover, anywhere you can stick the thing and listen. get underneath and put it on the oil pan, everywhere...

it seems like is should be very obvious

 

THIS plus another set of eyes and ears to assist. Hopefully someone with more experience.

 

Some builders will offer suggestions to a newbie. Or assume that you should already know things that should be done. Or they simply do not care.

A fresh engine build always comes with a "while-you-are-at-it" laundry list of peripheral parts that also should be new or refurbished. At the very least, the engine should be able to undergo the initial cam break-in period.

I always go with a NEW distributor of choice, carburetor, fuel pump, damper and water pump. On the Ford I went rebuilt with the starter and alternator.

 

May I suggest do not get pissy when you are getting advice from one who has circled the block many a time.
Engines are not like other things, very difficult to get a grasp on what’s going on unless one is in front of it and has experience.
If you don’t have it, then following the advice of having someone there to assist, is very sound.

 

Sounds like the wrong intake gasket or carb base gasket. Heat riser talking back at you.

 

HELP is everywhere. This internet thing for you Young Guns is a misnomer (not so good). Any school that doesn't have an experienced teacher with hands on knowledge in the Room is bound to fail their job. Where you choose to go to school is up to you most often. There are a lot of things I would have done prior to connecting the Battery first time I'm quite sure you didn't do. Comes from hands on experience. Had I put your short block together one of the processes I would have done is degree the Cam, install the timing cover with timing tag and the Balancer to make sure TDC was in fact TDC on the marks on the wheel. Not doing those first steps is Foolish. Next would have given you the information the Cam requires to be timed correctly once running. I would have offered to have your Dist put it on a machine to spin it up and make sure it was up to the job at hand. Sound like your Guy did none of this. All of this may have been offered to you, but those costs fell outside of your Wallet size. None of us know why your where you're at but none of us want to do anything but help with whatever we have to draw from. Some are just better than others in our own way. I'm not close enough to go stand in front of your Grill but would if I could and you actually wanted me to. Maybe you're just flying by the seat of your pants for the fun of it, we don't know.

 

Hope that made you feel better , you've probably reduced your ability to get he!p here however !

 

I doubt this is your noise issue but I had a ticking sound on a SBC motor a few years ago. Sounded just like a lifter. Convinced myself I needed a new cam and lifters. Replaced them and still had the noise. Got a stethoscope from Harbor Freight and found the noise was the mechanical fuel pump . Changed it and the push rod. All good. Expensive lesson.

 

That noise is pretty loud, a piece of heater hose or a wooden dowel would work.

 

My truck had rattling in right exhaust, I took down exhaust, and pulled out chucks of metal with a long magnet, looked like parts of an old heat riser.

Yours is like rotating component hitting something. Try different trans speeds, or loose torque conv bolts.

 

I think there are a myriad of issues here. That first video sounds like something heavy hitting something else. The intermittent nature of it makes me think perhaps it's a flexplate, where it's hitting and if the crank moves forward on the thrust surface, it stops hitting and quiets down.

It's also running like an absolute horse's ass, which in my experience has been timing, not carburetor. You honestly have to start with the basics here. Compression test, leak down test, set TDC by mechanical stop. Does that match 0 degrees on the balancer? Since the engine is running, what are its vitals? Oil pressure especially. Put a vacuum gauge on it. What is the reading and is the needle moving or steady? You can't really say that it is or isn't the distributor since you have no idea what your actual timing is.

These are the questions that need to be answered before we can make any more guesses. We're pissing into the wind here.

 

the best way to find out the issue is run the motor at 5,000 RPM until it breaks. then take it apart and see what broke.

 

Or add nitrous....

 

The OP hasn't been on since Sunday with a snide remark. I think we scared him away.

 

57JoeFoMoPar; The last part of your post as quoted is spot on here. As DaneAmerica stated and I Quote; {I appreciate any suggestions y'all..[/QUOTE] He did Not appreciate any of my advice. Being I could not be in person and refuse to just send a person doing things above their skill level and get nowhere. He was already doing that on his own. You must have missed the opening post where it states the Motor was just rebuilt in a Machine Shop. To me that sound is closest to an Overheating motor on shutdown when it Diesels and runs backwards. His is doing it while still running on. I don't believe one can run 2 directions at the same time, so I repeatedly suggested he gets someone under the hood that knows their Shit and pay for it. He Did Not Appreciate it.

 

"The OP hasn't been on since Sunday with a snide remark. I think we scared him away."

Bless his heart.

 

Some of us have achieved the age to say ,' Well , I don't know ' ..

 

If he was by me, I would volunteer to go over and at least listen to what is going on. It is not rocket surgery. When your knowledge base is limited, it is wise to befriend those who can help. He has some serious coin wrapped up in the project.

 

Thought I would check out this thread. That was a mistake.

 

OP probably found somewhere else to go. 1966 is past the cut off date for this site anyway.

 

Lots of advice here, and we are all somewhat limited in helping because we aren't standing there next to the vehicle. It should be pretty easy to get a metal rod, a wooden dowel rod, or an engine stethoscope and keep moving it around on the engine till you isolate the area where the sound is coming from. So far, lots of good suggestions but basically hit or miss when we aren't there. Friend of mine asked me to work on a friend of his......truck. I told him I would not do it because it was a full on show truck and I was afraid I'd scratch it. My son and I did put it on a lift and check the exhaust as well as use a stethoscope on the motor. We could not find an exhaust leak and we could not pinpoint the lifter problem......but we tried. My point here is that we both had experience and we could not locate it precisely....or so we thought. We told him that it sounded like it was lower in the engine but we just thought we were not getting a good read. This was a recently built engine with low miles. You could eat off the underside of the truck. So he took it to someone braver than I and as it turned out, the problem was "piston slap". They replaced the piston and all was well. I'm telling you this so you don't feel bad about having trouble locating the actual problem. Most of us offering suggestions have struggled thru situations like this but usually had someone to ask about it. So don't get frustrated. The usual plan is to check the easy things first and hope for the best. If there are doubts about your distributor or your harmonic balancer, you should deal with them whether they are the problem or not. I do think the idea of checking for noise at the fuel pump is a good idea. Anyway, I would restart your effort by using one of the tools I mentioned and closely listen to different areas as the first step. Even if you did it before, try again. You can also use an infrared temp gun to check your exhaust manifold at each cylinder. Variations in temp can also help isolate the location if listening doesn't help. Anyway, don't get frustrated with us and maybe we'll find the problem.