i have a 64 galaxie, 289. i bought this car about 6 mths ago, i have replaced the timing cover [ previous owner cracked it by using bolts that were too long on the fuel pump, fkin idiot ] , water pump, thermostat, fuel pump, oil pan gasket and a few other things. the oil pressure is around 35-40 while driving, 20ish at idle. the compression is around 140 on all cylinders. when i start the engine from being cold it knocks for about 5 seconds and then goes away, it sounds like it is in the bottom end somewhere. i was setting my timing when i first noticed it, so i backed it off, it is now around 6' - 9' BTDC and the knock is still there and the car is missing on acceleration, so it feels like it needs to be advanced. The car runs really well when the timing is set right. the guy i bought this car off did not not know anything about the car at all, he didnt do the work, i have a feeling it has been re-built, but i dont know anything about what is inside, i check the numbers and this is what i got - C40E - 6015C Why is the engine knocking like this ? am i screwed ? ahahahahahaha Thanks all Help me L
Set the timing whereever it runs best and change the oil and filter. It might be a little piston slap when cold. Or it could be ready to grenade. If it were mine, I would drive it till it breaks. It might run forever. If it is only on start up and only for a couple seconds, just turn the radio up.
***uming that the cam and overall engine is basically stock then I would bump up the timing to around 11 or 12 btdc. I also agree with crusty nut that you might have some piston slap on cold startups. Does the engine knock only when its cold i.e. first fireup of the day or does it do it all the time regaurdless of temp of the engine. Just drive her till she blows then you have a good excuse for a rebuild. Lets us know what you find and good luck.
First of all, if it only knocks when you first start it, why not set the timing where it runs best? Second, of course the knock's not a good thing. But, in my broker days, i've had a couple like this that i drove for a LONG time. If it only knocks on startup, it's got too much bearing clearance somewhere. But if it's cool after you fire it, DRIVE IT!
wife's 99 silverado has done that cold knock thing since new, that was 152,000 miles ago....sometimes it's just they way they are. Sometimes it's not. Set the timing as other suggested, and pay attention to see if the noise changes over time. Or take it all apart and find out what's wrong....if you can find anything, that is....sometimes engines just like to let you know they are in control
Like others have said, change your filter. If its a Fram toss as far as you can and don't ever use one again. Stick with a Motorcraft FL1A. A different weight oil might help too. What are you running filter brand and oil weight?
I don't normally endorse oil additives, but I had a similar problem on my late model Chevy and my mechanic suggested trying Lucas Oil Stabilzer. It solved the knocking and I use it every oil change.
I think Frank has it! The Motorcraft has the proper anti-drainback valve in it. Any other filter I ever tried on a small block Ford caused it to rattle and clatter like a diesel when first started up. It may be too late to help, but the right filter sure won't hurt! Sure, you might have too much bearing clearance, but it might just survive for quite a long time with these clearances...........drive it and find out! Tim D.
I had this happen many years ago on a SB Chev and it turned out to be a wrist pin knocking. As soon as the engine would warm up a little the metals would expand and the knock would go away. Of course, the knock never really went away and as time went by it got louder and lasted longer until I finally had to get inside and find out what was going on. Once I got in there and found the bad wrist pin I also found that the piston was turned 180 degrees in the cylinder!!! Whoever put the engine together must have been using some heavy narcotics that day. Once the piston was out, it was an easy fix. Hope your fix is easy too.
My Rustang has piston slap at startup and sometimes it does only last 5 seconds. I was always told this was mostly a forged piston problem. The forged pistons expand and contract more than cast, and at startup they are a little small and bounce around a little until they warm up. CHAZ
How many miles on the motor? the small Fords are famous for egging the big ends of the rods somewhere between 80K and 120K; they can get pretty loud after 130K. one way to check these is to roll the motor up to about 2000-2200 and let it sit there for a few seconds; a loose Ford motor will clatter to beat the band at thas speed. What Groucho said, though, is right - just run it until it breaks.
Early 289 had a 1-5 firing order...you fire the front 2 cyl right after each other. This is not conducive to front bearing health. My old torino would rattle like that for the first couple of minutes or so...then calm down. By the time i got to work i had about 5lbs oil pressure. Drove the **** out of that car for 3 years... The 289 that was in the 46 when i first built it did the same thing. Polished the crank, new Bearings...start it up & it sounded like the pistons were gonna swap holes. Ran the fool out of that motor for a couple of years as well. Use a good filter (wix, Napa) and decent oil...20w50 if ya want. & go on down the road
Thanks for all the advice guys. I have changed the oil so many times over the last few months, i think i put in 10w30, i will change the oil filer and put in some 10w40 tonight i dont know how many miles are on the engine, but like i said the compression and oil pressure is good.
I had a knock on the first few revs after a cold start on a 472 Cad. It sounded deep in the bottom end of the engine. It turned out to be the bolts holding the converter to the flex plate were too long and bottomed out, so the converter was not tight to the flex plate. Put in shorter bolts and the knock went away for good. Brian
If your noise goes away in 5 seconds, it's NOT piston slap. The piston won't expand THAT fast. Yes, forged pistons need more piston to wall clearance than cast. But this clearance takes a minute or 2 or 3 to get taken up by the piston expanding from heat. NOT 5 seconds. The heat won't travel THAT fast from the top of the piston (where combustion takes place) all the way to the skirt (where the clearance is)
Once again - right! Forged slugs run a 0.004" clearance (more or less), cast slugs can run about half that. I like to build motors with big clearances cylinder to wall; they tend to be more forgiving if you get stupid with carburetion or timing - and frictional losses are minimized (read more HP). The downside is cold no-load clatter; my current DD sounds like a half-***ed diesel for the first 15 minutes of operation, with the clatter gradually fading. If the noise goes away abruptly - that's oil pressure/bearing clearance related, as the hydrodynamic cushion of oil ain't there cold; a loose bearinged motor will then clatter until the oil pressure comes up. when the motor gets REALLY bad, the clatter will show up between shifts - you're unloading the pistons then, and she'll knock. When it starts to do that - you're only days away from a spun bearing, as the clatter will pound the bearing loose from its mooring. If you want to catch it B4 catastrophic failure - listen for the upshift clatter - that's rebuild time.
Fords are notorious for having a "main bearing rattle" on cold startup.A deep down in there thump, thump, thump when they start. It is more prvalent on the larger motors, but still pretty common on the small ones too.I personally think it has something to do with the large main journal diameters.Probably takes so long to get oil all the way around the crank that they wipe the overplate off the bearings in a small area after high mileage and infrequent oil changes. They will go a million miles like that.(as long as you don't frequently thrash the beejezus out of 'em.) It's been a long time since I've torn a Ford down that didn't have copper showing on the mains.
I put in some 10 w40, a quart of Lucas Oil Stabilzer and a motorcraft oil filter Still knocking at cold start, im gonna look at the flywheel and check the bolts are tight, i dont think this is the problem though or it would do it everytime You guys got me feeling ok about it, if it makes it to Paso . . . . cool, if not, even cooler, i'll drop in another SBF
I respectfully don't recommend timing it where it idles best, my 289 idles best at 20 degrees advance, but guess what happens when it gets hot ... ( I had a bad balancer for a while ) It sounds like maybe your motor has been sitting for a while - I had some aweful noices that came from mine for the 1st few days (sticking valves?) I wan't sure I would make round up. I ran it for a while, did basic tune up stuff, and it all went away. Good luck.
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