Tapping, knocking, marble like sound coming from engine

[kevboost7]

Alright forum gods, i need your help again. RB26 just recently started making this very light tapping/knocking noise in the engine. It almost sounds like a bunch of marbles being tossed together. It just recently started happening or i might be going crazy because i didn't notice it before. It happens at idle, SOMETIMES. But it goes away the more i rev the engine. I'm not sure if i can't hear it because of my exhaust or if it actually goes away, but the sound DOSENT get louder the harder i drive it. In fact, the more gas i give it, it typically goes away but will occasionally come back. 

I did some research and i think it could be the lifters, i dont know too much about them besides that they help the valve open and close. Any remedy to this? And i'm i still safe to drive with it in the mean time? The weather is great now. 

 

[GTSBoy]

If it's valve clearances (the lifters, which are just solid buckets in your engine), then get the cam covers off and get the clearances measured.

[TurboTapin]

46 minutes ago, kevboost7 said:

Alright forum gods, i need your help again. RB26 just recently started making this very light tapping/knocking noise in the engine. It almost sounds like a bunch of marbles being tossed together. It just recently started happening or i might be going crazy because i didn't notice it before. It happens at idle, SOMETIMES. But it goes away the more i rev the engine. I'm not sure if i can't hear it because of my exhaust or if it actually goes away, but the sound DOSENT get louder the harder i drive it. In fact, the more gas i give it, it typically goes away but will occasionally come back. 

I did some research and i think it could be the lifters, i dont know too much about them besides that they help the valve open and close. Any remedy to this? And i'm i still safe to drive with it in the mean time? The weather is great now. 

 

If you're unaccustomed to engine internals and noises, you should cease driving it and seek a local mechanic. You only seem to be assuming it's lifters based on very little information. "Marbles" does not sound good. 

[kevboost7]

Alright so at the same time this tapping sound is happening, i'm also chasing a misfire from those red coil packs. On my way home from the store just now, it started misfiring really bad. I drove straight home immediately. The car was shaking at the stop light but it eventually went away when i started driving it. 

Could the tapping/knocking and the misfire be linked? 

When i say misfire, it acts like it dosent want to go past 4000k RPM for a few seconds and it eventually breaks past it and will drive normally. This happens very sporadically but on 50% of my drives. Spark plugs are already changed. 

[joshuaho96]

1 hour ago, kevboost7 said:

Alright forum gods, i need your help again. RB26 just recently started making this very light tapping/knocking noise in the engine. It almost sounds like a bunch of marbles being tossed together. It just recently started happening or i might be going crazy because i didn't notice it before. It happens at idle, SOMETIMES. But it goes away the more i rev the engine. I'm not sure if i can't hear it because of my exhaust or if it actually goes away, but the sound DOSENT get louder the harder i drive it. In fact, the more gas i give it, it typically goes away but will occasionally come back. 

I did some research and i think it could be the lifters, i dont know too much about them besides that they help the valve open and close. Any remedy to this? And i'm i still safe to drive with it in the mean time? The weather is great now. 

 

I would start by making sure that it isn't rod knock or low oil pressure. Until you diagnose where the noise is coming from you aren't going to figure this out.

[r32-25t]

Why are you still driving with those coil when you know they are faulty?

[joshuaho96]

1 hour ago, r32-25t said:

Why are you still driving with those coil when you know they are faulty?

I felt bad just going maybe 50 yards with my cylinder 1 coilpack melting down, I have no idea how people are ok with doing this for miles and miles. The stock ECU is so basic it has no idea that something is wrong and to shut down fuel injection.

[kevboost7]

I dont know, im just ignorant. im not driving it anymore till i figure it out. 

[joshuaho96]

50 minutes ago, kevboost7 said:

I dont know, im just ignorant. im not driving it anymore till i figure it out. 

Well, at least there's some hope that the engine can still be salvaged if you didn't just drive on it until you windowed the block.

[Blakeo]

100% best suggestion is to take it to a mechanic, RB26s aren't cheap these days hoping for the best for you! 

 

 

[kevboost7]

I'm not taking it to the mechanic. 

[joshuaho96]

45 minutes ago, kevboost7 said:

I'm not taking it to the mechanic. 

That's where I'm at these days. Far too many cases where "good mechanics" have done something to my R33 so I no longer trust most people to work on it. As mentioned before none of us really know if your issue is rod knock or not. I just mention it because you want to eliminate the worst case possibilities first before spending time/effort/money/heartache on what I can only describe as copium/hopium fixes. 

[Duncan]

description doesn't sound like classic rod knock, that tends to get worse from idle to 2000.

does it only happen when you are driving/full throttle/medium revs and sound like rocks rattling in a tin? that would be pinging.

Maybe take a recording of the noise to give us a chance

[WMDC35]

If the noise is just off idle then goes away could be loose cambelt

[joshuaho96]

On 5/6/2023 at 2:38 PM, Duncan said:

description doesn't sound like classic rod knock, that tends to get worse from idle to 2000.

does it only happen when you are driving/full throttle/medium revs and sound like rocks rattling in a tin? that would be pinging.

Maybe take a recording of the noise to give us a chance

I agree but someone local to me had rocks rattling in a tin as the symptoms and it went away with load/revs. Turns out he was wrong to ignore it and it wasn't just a bad input shaft bearing or something like that. It's surprising how idiosyncratic failures can be.

[MBS206]

On 5/7/2023 at 1:28 AM, kevboost7 said:

I'm not taking it to the mechanic. 

You've got little mechanical knowledge, but an issue that could potentially cost you an engine you won't seek out a professionals help to at least start to diagnose?

 

Rattles like described can be a lot of things.

It could be lifters, it could be oil pressure issues, it could be a bearing noise, it could be a baffle in your exhaust.

 

Since you've also got issues on the coil packs, you may have other fatal issues that have now cropped up.

With the coil packs failing, did you ever have anyone or yourself adjust the position of the Cam Angle Sensor?

The car might be pinging off it's head down near idle (which could destroy your engine very quickly).

[Dose Pipe Sutututu]

*looks into crystal ball* 

kevboost7: I'm wondering how much a basic rebuild will cost? Also should I replace those red coil packs at the same time?

[MBS206]

2 hours ago, Dose Pipe Sutututu said:

*looks into crystal ball* 

kevboost7: I'm wondering how much a basic rebuild will cost? Also should I replace those red coil packs at the same time?

*Shakes magic 8 ball*

"No, keep the red coil packs with the rebuilt motor..."

[admS15]

On 09/05/2023 at 3:51 PM, Dose Pipe Sutututu said:

*looks into crystal ball* 

kevboost7: I'm wondering how much a basic rebuild will cost? Also should I replace those red coil packs at the same time?

 

On 09/05/2023 at 6:52 PM, MBS206 said:

*Shakes magic 8 ball*

"No, keep the red coil packs with the rebuilt motor..."

I hear that those yellow ones are better 🤣🤣🤣

[Dose Pipe Sutututu]

3 minutes ago, admS15 said:

hear that those yellow ones are better 🤣🤣🤣

You should ask Trent at Chequered Tuning what he thinks of them lol.