Engine Noises HELP!!!

hello i have a b16a motor... for the past 2 weeks now i been getting this tapping/knocking sound in the HEAD just like something is tappin on the valve cover.....

it sounds like if you were tappin on the valve cover with a screw driver and nothing in the head coudl be hitting the valve cover unless im wrong?.... i took off the valve cover the other day looked at everything it seems fine then put valve cover back on and started it up and the noise went away but the next day it came back after getting on it hard.... THATS ONE PROBLEM


2nd issue is i put a racing crank pulley on about 2 months ago and recently it starting to squeek sounded like maybe the water pump was going bad but i took off the alternator belt and turned the car on and that squeekin sound went away.... the belt is fine brad new basically 2 months old... put belt back on and sound went away but also next day when i got on it hard the sound came back ....


if anyone has any ideas of how i can fix this please feel free to tell me thanks in advance

the first problem is valve tick, take the cover off and tighten the valves back down to spec. .0017mm i believe for the b16a.

2nd problem is prolly becuase either the belt was installed wrong, or you have a faulty alternator pulley.

the belt may just need a little tightening also...i personally dont like the idea of an aluminum crank pulley

the belt is very tite... like i said we took off the belt and turned it on and no squeeking.. then put it back on and titened it and it was fine... then enxt day it came back.. but belt isi still TITE!!!... someone had mentioned maybe the water pump making the noise.. also there's a grinding sound by the cam gears and water pump area... not srue though

you dobnt want the belt TIGHT!, you need to have some play in it or it puts stress on the bearings, the book(if you dont have one id get one their always helpful) it tells you how to emasure the play in the belts, also the first problem is valve tick and needs the lash adjusted, but this might not be it, my engine started doing this the other day and I adjusted the valves and the noise is still there, sounds just like it did on my old engine and the valve adjustment did fix that. adjusting them most likely WILL fix it but its not 100% guaranteed that thats the problem.

allrite cool deal i am going to get a valve adjustment soon... but also wat do you think bout wat i said about the water pump wat do u t hink is casing thw squeeling noise?

maybe you got the belt so tight that its a bearing going out on the acessory the belts going to? how long have you been running it with the belt "TIGHT"

the belt is tite enough its not like SUPER DUPER TITE!!!... its been on the car about 2 months now.. since i put the crank pulley on?

wat abou tthe water pump thing thougH?

what do you mean racing pulley ? you mean like a underdrive pulley, a UR piece ?

if you did, then if i was you i would take that pulley off and put back the stock one on

why is that? if u dont mind teling me

Check Your "Piston to Valve" clearance, their is an easy way to do it, but I don't know.
Could it be the sound of Detination: Wining or ringing???

As for the crank pulley, I don't know much, but after the engine rebuild, it did it to me, we just tightend the bold and boom FIX. How old are the belts, is their any oil or spilled coolant on the inside of the belts??

can someone tell me how to check all that please thanks

I dont know of any easy way, but you could take off the head, and put some kind of plastigage or clay or something on the pistons where the valve clearances are, put the head back on, turn the engine over with a ratchet by turning the crank pulley nut, or with the starter with the plug wires off, and the fuel line plugged so you dont burn or soak the stuff you put in there, makes sure youve cranked it enough so that each cylinder hasa gone through a complete cycle. then take the head of and inspect the crap you put on the pistons and see how thick it still is whee the valve contacts it.

and after all that I thought of another way that might work. take the plugs out and the valve cover off. and turn the engine over until you see ythe piston get at the top of its stroke, and then howeer the valves are sitting at that point, you can push on the valve and see how far down you can push it before it hits the piston, and check it on the TDC of each cylinder on both the compression and the exhaust strokes.

heres an easy way, get a feeler guage, take the valve cover off, find the correct setting for the valve clearence for your car, and slide the matching feeler guage in-between the valve retainer and the rocker, there should be a slight drag on the feeler guage when you try to pull it out.

thats valve lash, not piston to valve clearance. and my book tells me to put the feeler gauge between the lobe and the rocker. I always used ot do it between the rocker and valve stem, but I was glad to hear I didnt have to on this engine cuz its a pain in the ass to get a feeler gauge down there and plus Id have to cut them down since the rocker cups the stem and not just lays on it.

oh my bad, i thought i read that he needed valve lash. yea the plastiguage method is prolly the easiest for the piston to valve clearence.