Engine Problem - Help!

[dfontalbert]

Before blindly tackling my problem, I'd like to solicit any ideas... Recently I tried starting my car (a 1995 escort 1.9 liter) after parking for 15 min to find a VERY loud knocking in the engine. Before that, there were no problems, no oil loss, no smoking, no engine lites etc. All of a sudden, I have this extremely loud knock as if a rod has broken. I removed the valve cover to check the springs and rockers - no evident problem. The car will start, so I doubt the timing belt. Any ideas please? Thanks!

[mightymoose_22]

Very possibly the same thing that caused me to put a new engine in my '94 a year ago.
According to what I have read and found out since my own problem, it is not uncommon for these engines to drop the valve seats after a certain age.

You can do a couple things... and since nothing else is evident you may not have any other choice.

If you are up to it you can pull off the intake manifold. Try to blow it out with an air copressor and see what kind of debris comes out. If you find small bits of metal it is probably from the valve seats, which means you are in deep doo doo.

Second is just an extension of the first... go ahead and pull the whole head off and inspect the top of the pistons and the bottom of the head. If you find your piston heads pitted out... or good chance a piece of metal has been smashed onto the top of a piston causing the knocking sound... then you have found your problem. If it is all clear and the head checks out, breathe a sigh of relief.

The damage to my engine was extesnive enough that I opted to buy a new engine. If your valve seats dropped you may or may not be able to reuse the head... mine was toast.

If this is your problem, when it comes time to put it back together be absolutely certain that you have cleaned the engine out completely or else metal debris will find its way back in there and cause the same problem... this goes especially for the air intake. Clean that sucker out good.

[mightymoose_22]

Also.. mine happened the same way... drove to work one morning and parked the car with no obvious signs of trouble.
After work that evening I came out, started it up, and TAP TAP TAP TAP TAP TAP TAP... CRAP!

[dfontalbert]

Thanks so much - I plan to dive into it this weekend!

Dave

[A. Souphound]

Originally Posted by dfontalbert

Thanks so much - I plan to dive into it this weekend!

Dave

I agree you probably dropped a valve seat, and have lost compression on at least one cylinder. If that's true, you should be able to tell a difference in the way the engine rotates on the starter. (un- even) Of course a compression test would be ideal.
The rest of my Many times the timing belt will break when the engine is re-started. The reason it does is because there is more strain on the belt to get the valve train rotating. I know your belt is not broken because it will start but....it could have jumped a couple of teeth causing the valves to interfere with the piston tops.
I hope the problem is not as serious as we think.

[butch100]

When mine went I could see the intake valve on #4 cylnder was
sitting at a different angle than the others. Don't start the car
anymore until youv'e diagnosed the problem as it might cause
further damage..

[Mrgonzo1]

Originally Posted by dfontalbert

Before blindly tackling my problem, I'd like to solicit any ideas... Recently I tried starting my car (a 1995 escort 1.9 liter) after parking for 15 min to find a VERY loud knocking in the engine. Before that, there were no problems, no oil loss, no smoking, no engine lites etc. All of a sudden, I have this extremely loud knock as if a rod has broken. I removed the valve cover to check the springs and rockers - no evident problem. The car will start, so I doubt the timing belt. Any ideas please? Thanks!

If you did drop the valve seats, more likley than not you have chunks of metal in your pistons. It is a good idea to check your pistons as well, let me tell you why. I have a 97 ford escort that dropped the valve seats and I took the head off and had chunks of metal on the pistons and in the intake manifold and the EGR valve. I took the head to a machine shop and had it fixed. About 1 week later my family and I went shopping as I was coming out of the parking lot, the motor made a loud snapping noise. When I got it home I removed all the plugs and turned the motor over by hand and guess what, 1 piston was broke and that was the one the chuncks of metal were in when I removed the head the first time. I called the machine shop that worked on my cylinder head and the same thing happened to another customer. So I'm asking you, please check your pistons. Better safe than sorry.

[butch100]

I replaced my piston when I did mine as it was beat up pretty bad.
only cost $18 for a new one. It is also important to throughly clean
out the intake manifold when doing the job as chunks of the valve
seat can get blown up in there and fall into the cylinder AGAIN
after reassembly..