[ponchjoe]

Originally Posted by firechicken

Isn't that the crank counterweight?

After you said that yes, it looks like a counter weight to me. You can see the chamfer and a hole go by. I don’t believe there’s a smoking gun there...

[Va68goat]

torqhead,
That's pretty interesting. I don't know what Paul has the tech doing next. There have been so many hours diagnosing everything but the inside of the engine and I don't know how close we are to actually finding the source of the knock. I was really hoping to get some drive time this season but I'm starting to think the chances of that are slim!

[torqhead]

Originally Posted by Va68goat

torqhead,
That's pretty interesting. I don't know what Paul has the tech doing next. There have been so many hours diagnosing everything but the inside of the engine and I don't know how close we are to actually finding the source of the knock. I was really hoping to get some drive time this season but I'm starting to think the chances of that are slim!

I think you mentioned you guys did do the test pulling the plug wires one at a time to see if the noise changed and it did not. If that was done it's not a rod or piston issue and frankly there's not much else that could make a "tapping" noise on the bottom end as the baffle has also been checked for clearance.

Of all the Pontiac motors I've built over the years I've never seen anything like this and frankly it wouldn't be something that would be on a list, "crankshaft counterweight to oil pump driveshaft clearance", to check from what I've ever heard or seen. Maybe this is done by some folks, just never heard or seen it.

From everything you and the guys are saying that the sound is coming from that region, it's possible and the test is pretty simple to perform. You'd know immediately if it's touching and when the distributor is in it could be positioning the driveshaft a few thousandths forward and causing the "kissing" contact.

[Va68goat]

The tech is coming over Monday to check the spacing of the balancer to the timing chain cover. He noticed that the balancer was so close to timing chain cover that he couldn't even fit a piece of paper in between the two. He's coming over to possibly add spacing by taking a little more off the timing chain cover. Paul had to grind down the timing chain cover because of the aftermarket balancer.

The tech asked me to take off the balancer to save him some time. So my buddy and I did that today and we notice an oil leak at the seal of the pan. Whats a good fix for that? Just add more sealer?

[mgarblik]

If the balancer is a source of any type of knocking or ticking, there should be witness marks on the balancer or timing cover where contact has happened. Good luck.

[Va68goat]

64speed,
Paul doesn't think the knocking noise is piston slap and neither do my buddies that have been working on my engine. I think through the process of elimination, it's pretty safe to bet that this is internal / mechanical. The tech is coming over to do a few things today. I know he plans on checking out the balancer and possibly put a little more clearance on the timing chain cover. I'm not hopeful about the balancer being the source of the knock because when he was here last time he used his mechanics stethoscope and did not get a signature at the balancer / timing chain cover area.

[krisr]

Originally Posted by Va68goat

torqhead,
That's pretty interesting. I don't know what Paul has the tech doing next. There have been so many hours diagnosing everything but the inside of the engine and I don't know how close we are to actually finding the source of the knock. I was really hoping to get some drive time this season but I'm starting to think the chances of that are slim!

Why not try the suggested test yourself with a buddy to bump the key? It's not a hard thing to do and you'll have an answer in like 2 minutes.

[Va68goat]

grivera,
I just took some pictures of the back of the balancer. I spun it around a few times so you can see it at different angles. I don't see anything. I think the pictures of the balancer installed may have been a little deceiving. It looks like it's hitting but theres no evidence to show that it was.

[redhawk44]

My first thought when I saw the pic of the front of the crank was that it seemed short. I just closed mine up and put the balancer on and while I didn't measure it , it seems like there was more of the snub sticking out.

[grivera]

Originally Posted by redhawk44

My first thought when I saw the pic of the front of the crank was that it seemed short. I just closed mine up and put the balancer on and while I didn't measure it , it seems like there was more of the snub sticking out.

Seems the front crank journal and crank timing gear would affect the depth of the balancer rather than the length of the snub- I believe the balancer sleeve buts up against the face of the gear. That being said, I assume the short appearing crank snub is an optical illusion as it’s a factory 455 crankshaft. If so, the balancer dimensions may be off.

[redhawk44]

Originally Posted by grivera

Seems the front crank journal and crank timing gear would affect the depth of the balancer rather than the length of the snub- I believe the balancer sleeve buts up against the face of the gear. That being said, I assume the short appearing crank snub is an optical illusion as it’s a factory 455 crankshaft. If so, the balancer dimensions may be off.

I thought about that too.

[mgarblik]

Looks like that area between the timing case and the aftermarket balancer needs a little attention. Once the real problem is discovered and corrected, I would carefully trim the timing cover a little and/or the the oil pan lip just to make sure you have .060"+ clearance at the tightest pinch point. Of course verify the thrust bearing and crankshaft end play are OK, which I imagine they are. These are all typical fit issues we have to deal with on every build nowdays. None of the aftermarket parts really "fit" like the factory stuff. From what I understand the only factory part in this entire front assembly is the crankshaft. The crankshaft timing gear can have slight tolerance issues, the balancer, the timing cover and the oil pan. If each of these parts was off just .010" of an inch, you have contact when it's all put together. A scraping, sheet metal sound, possibly. A knocking sound, I don't think so. However, 1300+ posts have been wrong so far, including at least 10 by me. 45 years of building Pontiac V-8 engines, this is in the top 10 of weird ones.

[Va68goat]

STEELCITYFIREBIRD,
We've run a magnet through each time and didn't find anything concerning. I know the June 2, 2018 oil change Paul indicated that it was assembly lube.