How did you adjust the rocker arms....or did you at all????

 

a rod knock means your bearings are shot. You would generally have to replace the crank, and some/all of the rods. turning the crank usually won't save it.
The knock is the pistons hitting the head. Lets hope thats not it.
A stethoscope can help you pinpoint the sound.
A good mechanic will have heard all the typical sounds, and can tell you what it is, better than we can over the internet.

 

ive got a manual (engine rebuilding and whatnot) and its got a diagram or whatever that shows tells how the rocker arms should be adjusted
i just followed that...
...i hope thats not it... son of a b*tch...
ill prolly just park it til i can figure out exactly whats wrong with it

 

could adjusting them improperly have something to do with a knock?
and the knocking isnt consistant, sometimes its lighter, lower, or fast or slow, and its not really depending on my operation of the throttle, it just kinda fluctuates...
its weird

 

Rocker arms wont knock, theyll clatter if they are too loose. To an untrained ear, it could be mistaken for a mild knock. But if the noise is irregular or inconsistent...that probably rules the rocker arm theory out. Anyway, its best to adjust them with the engine running.

 

yea, loose or misadjusted rocker arms usually rattle, or "tick". But yea, they're free to adjust so might as well check 'em. you'll get soaked in oil if you do it with the engine running (or use oil deflectors). But you can pull off a valve cover (or both) with the engine running. If the sound is louder, and you can see one rocker looking "funny". Shut'er down and check it. If it's loose and floppy, fix it.
I wouldn't be able to sleep at night parking my car with an unknown problem. You sure are having bad luck with the motor, but i'd at least find out what it is before heaving it on the back burner for the winter.

 

well im thinkin if i can find another 305/350, ill "just" swap them out and then illl take care of this engine when i go to college next year, because i plan on taking a course in engine performance, so ill be putting to use what i learn there
also ive kinda been thinkin and i came up with a stupid-ish idea,
but just for the hell of it
could it be possible to replace the rod bearings WITHOUT completely removing the engine? maybe jack it up, remove the oil pan, stuff like that?
it would prolly be hard... but its just a thought

 

good thought, but it's physically impossible. Also, the rod bearings won't save you from a rod knock, the crank will have worn too far.
Hey, got a digital video camera? get some sound of it. Or like I said, show it to a mechanic, get an opinion to be sure.

 

son of a b*tch
well ive decided to just rebuild the motor,
using alll the same parts (save for the crank) unless something like the cam is worn or bent,
but i didnt really want to get into this right before winter is gonna start
but at least ill be done with it for awhile
til i get to college anyway

 

Well i tried adjusting the rocker arms,
but
now when i try to start it it starts, and then it starts squealing/squeaking, and shudders
wont hold an idle and dies after about fifteen seconds of running
wtf?!

 

what the hell?
squealing? Did you over tighten the accessory belts?

How'd you do the rocker arms? Musta screwed them up, try again I guess.

 

well some of them were loose enough to where i could turn the pushrods with my fingers,
so i tightened them until i couldnt move the rods any more,
then turned each one its respective amount of degrees according to the diagram i had used before
i dunno whats going on but whatever

 

whoa!
You just tightened them up where they were? You didn't rotate the engine over at all while doing this?

 

If the engine isn't highly modified, it should run properly on the factory timing, if it doesn't you got other problems.

If it's vacuum advanced then you should do it yourself. if it's computer controlled you can still do it yourself, but you'll need to disable the computer's control of the timing, and set it to factory spec (say 8°) because the computer is already programmmed for 8°. This procedure is equivalent to disconnecting the vacuum hose on a vacuum advanced distributor.

 

haha,
no
i turned it over about 2-2 1/2 times doing each valve or whatnot