[HWYSTR455]

Factory 'style' valley pan and windage tray, they are Tomahawk units.

One thing I personally haven't checked is plug wire/firing order, could use a once-over to at least eliminate.

Don't bother hooking everything up, you don't need to in order to test with the light, and will save you some time if it has to come out.

It's tough to zero in on where exactly the noise is coming from, like what general location, noise bounces off the firewall, the concrete floor, etc, and it just isn't obvious exactly what the source is. The source can also cause a 'ring' of other parts too, which are not the source.

Timing light might be a good way to tell if it's crank-rotation-related or valvetrain, but I think it would still be deceiving, and not matter. Removing the valley pan would be a sure thing, and thinking you might be able to sneak a peak down to the tray.

If the valley pan is removed, it would positively eliminate/confirm it's valvetrain. If not valvetrain, engine would have to come out regardless.

Removing engine with manifolds is not that bad, can be done in under 4 hours. Just need to make sure coolant drained as much as possible, and removing the block plug is a good way.

Need to figure out what gaskets were used, and how sealant was applied. (sure Paul can chime in on that). Would help with R&R, and possibly saving some gaskets.

What's the deal on RPM rods Clay? My understanding is if they are prepped right, there's no issues?

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["QUICK-SILVER"]

Originally Posted by HWYSTR455

What's the deal on RPM rods Clay? My understanding is if they are prepped right, there's no issues?

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The wide little end bumping the counter weight coming down on BDC. May not touch enough while building to notice. But once things get settled in....

Just got me wondering. Especially since the knock hasn't changed after this much run time.

Clay

[HWYSTR455]

Originally Posted by "QUICK-SILVER"

The wide little end bumping the counter weight coming down on BDC. May not touch enough while building to notice. But once things get settled in....

Just got me wondering. Especially since the knock hasn't changed after this much run time.

Clay

It really doesn't have that much run time, maybe a total of 2-3 hours max. I commented the same on the phone with Paul, but if it is a rod just barely touching the tray, the tray can flex just enough to get pushed out of the way.

My thoughts were if it were a tray contact thing, usually it just grabs it and twists it up, or punches a hole in it, and the engine doesn't run long, or looses oil psi.

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[HWYSTR455]

Originally Posted by "QUICK-SILVER"

The wide little end bumping the counter weight coming down on BDC.
Clay

Mental note made, thanks for explaining!

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[grivera]

Originally Posted by "QUICK-SILVER"

The wide little end bumping the counter weight coming down on BDC. May not touch enough while building to notice. But once things get settled in....

Just got me wondering. Especially since the knock hasn't changed after this much run time.

Clay

Not sure if Joe mentioned - the engine has h-beam rods

[Va68goat]

cnc,

You're right! I'm lucky to have the friends that I do that took so much time away from their own cars to help me. So, I convinced my wife to drive the GTO to the store with me. She drove like a 90 year old lady so I decided that I would drive home. Here is a sample of that drive home that ended with a punch to the leg..Hahahaha. She's a good sport and was only mad for an hour! Hahahaha.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oKacIUNvGQw

dataway,

Someone did mention that it may just clear itself but it sounded bad and I was kind of embarrassing to deal with that noise. I'm glad I just got it done and over with. Now I need to just get the rockers adjusted and it should be good to go.

[chiphead]

Yeah you don't want let that continue. A good way to crack a windage tray or vibrate it so bad that it comes loose. You're really lucky it just kissed it but didn't actually grab and fling into the crank. That would have been gnarly.

Hats off to all involved for handling it in a professional manner and getting it done.

Going through this right now on my 434 build. The milodon tray provides a good line of sight all the way down the bottom of the rod throws, so I can see if I've got clearance.

What should minimum clearance on a windage tray be?

[Va68goat]

Will,

Here is the build sheet. I don't know the answer to any of your questions. Maybe Paul can chime in. I did see a streak on one of the pushrods. Here are a couple of marks that are on two different pushrods. I don't know if thats enough to cause the ticking or not.

[Va68goat]

On Pauls recommendation, we did some more testing today. We verified the firing order and it was all correct. We unplugged and reconnected each plug one by one to see if the knocking would stop..It continued. The knocking noise has not changed and is the same sound as it was when I first heard the motor. It hasn't gotten worse or better.

Paul also asked us to check the timing but we couldnt get an accurate reading because the timing light was damaged and was not reading accurately. Apparently one of the wires to the light was cut.

Saga continues!