CAMSHAFT CRAKING SOUND

[MOHAN]

SALAAM

I JUST BOUGHT MY FIRST FZJ80 VXR LC . WAS FACING SOME ISSUES . AFTER CHECKING IT AT LOCAL DEALER GAVE ME A LONG LIST . ONE OF THE PROBLEMS IS A CRAKING SOUND IN THE ENGINE ( I THINK ITS THE CAMSHAFT SOUND ) . WENT TO A GARAGE TOLD ME ITS REALLY EXPENSIVE TO ALLINE IT BACK BECAUSE IT WILL AFFECT CAMSHAFT IFFECENCY . ANY IDEAS HOW TO SOLVE IT ??

BEST WISHES .

 

[baldilocks]

Welcome to the community! I would like to help but from your description of the sound I can't give a difinitive answer.
Does the engine run fine and are you able to drive it?

 

[scottryana]

Please record the sound and post the video on youtube so that we can hear what it sounds like. Aligning a cam sounds like something is very off.

 

[dallen341]

I wonder if it is a chain tensioner issue

 

[Pin_Head]

Dealers and mechanics are notorious liars. Post a youtube video of the noise.

 

[MOHAN]

Welcome to the community! I would like to help but from your description of the sound I can't give a difinitive answer.
Does the engine run fine and are you able to drive it?

thanx . yes it is runing and i can drive the car .

it is missfiring alittle bit on 1500-2500 rpm then it goes smoothely + the cracking sound its when the car not moving .

 

[MOHAN]

Please record the sound and post the video on youtube so that we can hear what it sounds like. Aligning a cam sounds like something is very off.

im away from the car currently . but will do when i can .

I wonder if it is a chain tensioner issue

if its the tensioner it would be really easy to replace it .. garage told me it will cost arround 800$ to get it fixed .. ( from my point of view it can be less than that )

Dealers and mechanics are notorious liars. Post a youtube video of the noise.

i will .next week maybe . im at work for another week and the car is doing a paint job currently .

 

[MOHAN]

guys here is a video of the car doing the cracking sound.



waiting for your advice.

 

[Rusco]

Given that there's a misfire associated with the noise and that it does sound like a mechanical noise, I'd look at a lot of things, starting with valve clearances. I'd also want a cylinder leakdown test, as it might show a broken valve spring.
It's kind of hard to diagnose a problem from a noise only, especially one that's been recorded and being listened to on a laptop, but the frequency of the noise does make me think valve train somewhere, somehow. Having the valve cover off and doing a visual inspection is going to be essential.

 

[Pin_Head]

It sounds like it is faster and running at the frequency of the crank speed. You can get a better sense by listening to it while watching a timing light which runs at the frequency of the cam shaft. If you get two clacks for every blink, then it is the crank.

This is an important piece of information in terms of pointing you where to look.

 

[MOHAN]

Given that there's a misfire associated with the noise and that it does sound like a mechanical noise, I'd look at a lot of things, starting with valve clearances. I'd also want a cylinder leakdown test, as it might show a broken valve spring.
It's kind of hard to diagnose a problem from a noise only, especially one that's been recorded and being listened to on a laptop, but the frequency of the noise does make me think valve train somewhere, somehow. Having the valve cover off and doing a visual inspection is going to be essential.

if its a valve spring that broke i, it couldve gone inside the cylender and got the piston ring broken too. as a result of that there woudve been smoke.. but it aint smoking..

 

[MOHAN]

It sounds like it is faster and running at the frequency of the crank speed. You can get a better sense by listening to it while watching a timing light which runs at the frequency of the cam shaft. If you get two clacks for every blink, then it is the crank.

This is an important piece of information in terms of pointing you where to look.

cam shaft timing is the 1st thing that came in my mind.. i checked it in a garage. he couldnt do anything coz its not as easy as other cars to do it..
ill take it so somebody else and see what they will say

 

[MOHAN]

i was wondering if its the sound of piston rod that holds in the crankshaft.. might be loose.

 

[sbman]

It does sound more like rod knock to me than valve noise. One trick people use to diagnose rod knock is to disconnect one spark plug wire at a time. If the noise suddenly goes away on one of the cylinder disconnect, you've at least narrowed it down to the cylinder that is having the issue.

 

[BILT4ME]

It does sound more like rod knock to me than valve noise. One trick people use to diagnose rod knock is to disconnect one spark plug wire at a time. If the noise suddenly goes away on one of the cylinder disconnect, you've at least narrowed it down to the cylinder that is having the issue.

X2

What year is your truck?

This is not a "cam timing" issue. It COULD be:
Valve clearances
Rod bearing
Oil Pump clearances
Power Steering Pump clearances/noise
Idler pulley on belts

Tests that can help isolate:
Pull the spark plug wires one at a time to isolate a cylinder to see if the noise stops (indicates a rod bearing or wrist pin issue)
Use a mechanics stethoscope to touch multiple places on the engine while running to more directly locate the noise.
Change the oil to see if it affects the noise level (how many miles does the oil have on it?)
Loosen the belts and check the idler / tensioning pulleys to eliminate possibilities. (retension when done.)
Check your spark plugs to make sure they are all gapped correctly and see the condition of them. Take a picture of each as #1, 2, 3.... and post so we can assist in diagnosis. Clean=head gasket (steam cleaned), light tan is good, black and "dry" is running rich fuel, black and wet is oil fouled, dark brown is OK with some oil burn.
How does your coolant look?

When it starts cold is there any smoke from the tailpipe? Color? How long does it last?

My first thought was PS pump, but the noise appears more pronounced as you move to the rear of the engine above the valve cover and its a low enough sound that makes me think rod bearing or wrist pin. Thinking #6, but usually (from what I read here) is that #1 is the typical failure for rod bearings when they are a problem (which is rare).

A broken valve spring would get MUCH worse as RPM increases and will cause more of a "miss" than a "knock". Typically, an engine won't swallow a broken valve spring, but it depends on the failure. Valve springs rarely fail unless you are running REALLY high RPM.

Good Luck!

 

[MOHAN]

its a 1997
ill do the checks then ill come back with results..
i might come back after few hours as its mid night now where im based..

thnx guys.