i've read the other posts from what people said because yesterday it started clicking for me. my friend and i took a screwdriver and put it in places to hear where its coming from.

it appears to be coming from the bottom..

in another thread someone said if it was form the bottom it could be a rod bearing.

my question is, can i fix it without taking the whole engine out/apart?

 

Rod bearings knock, they don't click.
Is it directly related to RPM? (if so, you'd barely be able to make out a specific click, because it would be so fast...)
How did you determine bottom end? ear to screwdriver on oil pan bolts?

I think with the auto trans, you can remove the oil pan with the engine in place. You remove the scattershield, then remove the oil pan (if I heard right).
You can try that and find out what's wrong.

 

if by that, you mean it gets faster as the RPMs rise, then yes.

and yeah to the screwdriver to the ear.
idk we'll wait till a sunny day where nothing is going on so we can try to see whats going on.

i really hope she isnt gonna be out of commission for too long >.<

 

i was just talking to my friend that was there helping me figure it out, and he said it is a bad knock.

might be a spun bearing =/

 

I'd remove a valve cover first and check there. That's where "clicking" usually comes from. A "knock" is much more apparent. You wouldn't mistake a click for a knock...

If it is a knock, then yes, you could have lost a bearing. Hows your oil pressure? Typically a spun bearing will mean poor/no oil pressure.

 

Well befor you assume anything heres what ide do because how sound travles through the block can be decieving. Pull of each spark plug wire one at a time (use insulated pliers) and if you pull one and the sound changes you do have a problem in the bottom end on that cylinder. If you go through all the cylinders and pulling any of the sparkplugs causes no change in sound then ide say its valve train related.

 

well it sounded like a click when i first noticed it driving home on the highway doing about 80-85.

and the sensor or sending unit on my pressure gauge went bad a while ago and i haven't fixed that. i have some other bills that i need to pay off

 

thanks i'll try that.

 

if there's one gauge I wouldn't drive without it's that one...

 

lower end (connecting rod, thrust washer, harmonic balencer) failures are usually knock noise

Timming chain slack can be a knocking-rattle

Ticking is exhaust header/manifold leak, valve lash out to loose, lifter, arching plug wires.

Generally speaking you do not SPIN a bearing... abuse and misuse, lack of proper lubercation result in wearing the babbet material resulting in increase bearing to crank clearance dropping the oil pressure.. resulting in a knock

You can technically "spin" a bearing under high load if the crank or main bearing is subjected to mass failure due to lack of oil pressure, the bearing overheats, cracks or fails and the tab that locates the bearing breaks off aloowing both bearing shells to turn/"spin" within rod or cap

 

alright so with the recent nice weather i gave it an oil change and didnt find any metal shavings in the oil. my friend said it would be a good idea to drop the pan and check that too. i'll try to do that later in the week. but if nothing shows i'll go and check what you all said

 

a cracked flexplate or flywheel can make a knocking or click sound too

 

FOUND OUT WHAT IT WAS =)

so i took off the drivers side valve cover and yep, the first rocker was turned a little to the right, it was pretty loose. we took it off then tightened it but it seems that its the lifter thats shot.

at least now i know what the problem is =D
thanks for your help guys

 

Well i hate to be the bearer of bad new but i find most times when you have the "loose rocker arm nut" although its possable thats all it is i think more likely its the cam shaft is ground down as is common with cars with flat tappet cams. Might want to take a close look at it as i suspect the tick will be back soon as it grinds down further.

 

i'm not quite sure what you mean. the nut wasn't loose, the rocker was. but thanks i'll make sure to check it all out

 

Well yea like u were sayin the rocker arm was loose and by takeing it off and tightening down the nut that holds it down you seemingly fixed your problem. The chevys have an adjustable valve train by means of tightening or looseing the nut that holds down the rocker. Alot of times what people thing happened was the nut just backed off because by tightening it or readjusting it, it cleans up to tick for the most part. However 99% of the time its that the cam has been ground down and thats what cause the excessive clearance under the rocker arm.

 

oh my fault, i neglected to say that after we put the nut back on, the rocker was still loose.

 

how far did you tighten it down?

 

im sort of falling asleep right now so honestly i cant tell. it was tightened down fairly well, i'll look at it tomorrow morning report back

 

Yes it can! Guess how I know.... lol in about 10mins I'm gonna go try to drop the transmission (maybe even front cross member and exhaust if the mechanic I talked to knew what he was saying) and pull out the flexplate.

I will remember to get pics and maybe even a video of it... Ohh if anyone knows the exact steps to go thru to pull out the flexplate please send me a PM asap.
This would be much appreciated and now back to the OP:
Good luck to you man sucks when our cars are down.

 

people have also mistaken a bad torque converter for an engine knock. The torque converter will knock also but have a more hollow sound.

 

well i found out it was a collapsed lifter.
fixed it

 

i had a loose flexplate make noises similar to a broken one.
the part that confused me was that it was about 1/4 or so of engine speed, and varied with load... if the trans was in park, it was bad. in reverse, it was moderate, in drive it was gone. neutral was like park.
glad you figured it out.
one problem is that you will need a new cam and lifter set, otherwise you will wipe the cam lobe.
you need to keep your cam and lifters together, in the same order, at all times.
if you have a roller cam, then ignore what i just said

 

what did stock '84 LG4s come with?

 

flat tappet cam.



Cant he just put some break in lube on the lifter and the cam lobe and just do a normal break in? That wouldnt work?

 

no because the initial hard surface on the cam lobe is already worn to the shape of the lifter, and the lifter was worn to the shape of the cam curve.
it MIGHT work for a while, but it will be on borrowed time.