I am still trouble shooting a strange engine sound that has something to do with the oil pump and idle and just above idle RPMs.

I initially thought this was due to low oil, but since topping off with two quarts, and two weeks later now my oil level is still on the money, the sound still comes and goes just off idle.

When I checked the oil level on a white paper towel, at first look my brain triggered on "oooh looks a little greenish", but after a few wipes and rechecks I dismissed it from my mind. I sniffed it repeatedly (I hope my wife didn't see me) but couldn't discern anything really unusual.

I do not want to drain the oil (I just put in a fresh batch of Mobil 1)

Any ideas how I might be able to tease coolant intrusion from a dipstick check?

I know this can happen and it might explain the noise which might be the oil pump dealing with coolant in the oil. Lotsa "mights".

 

If it's small quantity you won't be able to tell. Have to send it in for oil analysis.

GD

 

Let the car sit for a while. Tgen loosen tge drain plug but do not take it out. Let it trickle into a small cup. Water will settle at the bottom of the sump and will be the 1st to come out. A quick taste of sweetness will reveal glycol

 

Coolant in the oil does not make the oil pump make noise. Especially not when you have brand-new oil and/or you can't see any evidence of it in the oil you just changed. Don't need to worry about that.

Coolant in the oil doesn't make the oil look "green".

Here's somewhat more what it looks like. This oil-based substance came out of a log splitter I borrowed from the guy that lives in my front yard, so it has only water (rain) in it, from a bad O-ring on the oil fill tube. But coolant doesn't make it look all that much different.

Describe what this noise sounds like, where it comes from such as front rear above below etc., when it does it such as cold hot idling under load etc., and what you've done to isolate it, such as removing the belts, probing around with a piece of heater hose, etc.

 

What, wait, wait...... What's a guy with a lot splitter doing living in your front yard?

 

Well, he hasn't died yet.... ??

Seriously, I live kind of in the boonies, about a quarter mile off the road; and there's some smaller older houses right along the road across the front of my zone. He lives in one of them.

 

Does he look like this?

 

 

Is this the same engine you had the trouble with the distributor gear?

 

Thanks all. Yes, same engine. It's that same sound I've been chasing on the other thread.

https://www.thirdgen.org/forums/tech...ery-sound.html

 

OK, so in that thread you say the sound is coming from the upper right of the engine.

The oil pump is not up there. It is in the bottom center at the rear. Furthermore nothing that it does undergoes ANY change related to load.

Therefore the oil pump is not making the sound.

Don't waste your time or effort on fiddling with the oil.

Abandon that entire line of inquiry, along with all the "coolant in the oil" thinking. See my signature for the correct mental attitude to adopt. Don't forget to include the flip side of the coin that it presents: namely, if your hypothetical "explanation" DOES NOT fit ALL the facts, then it CANNOT be the right one.

Forget about "oil pump" and "coolant in the oil" and use logic instead of letting imagination run wild.

You can have your assistant operate the brake and gas pedals at the same time, until the noise appears. Then, take a piece of heater hose and STICK IT IN YOUR EAR!!!! (I just LOVE telling people to do that) and probe around with the other end of it listening for the source. Be careful to stay clear of moving parts, especially watch out for electric fans which can start up unexpectedly.

I suspect you'll find that it's coming from something at or near the top right of the motor. My first guesses would be the AIR check valve up there, the AIR vent muffler, or the exh manifold heat shield.

I had a particularly weird noise once... it was a kind of scraping sound that came and went as the engine speed changed. It didn't happen if the RPMs stayed constant; only when they increased or decreased. It particularly did it when I shut the engine off: it would make it for about a second or 2 after the motor stopped. Drove me nuts for months. Finally I did the belt thing (V-belts) and discovered it was something on the WP/alt belt. I then had my assistant start up and shut down the car while I listened with my hose. (not THAT hose) Turned out it was the alt... when I took it apart I found that a ring inside there that was part of the armature, had busted loose and could spin on the armature. Since the alt runs at around 3 times the engine RPM, even a small change in engine RPM results in a YUUUUUJJJJE change in alt RPM. Anyway, I replaced the alt, and the noise disappeared.

The d00d in my front yard is just a kinda normal-ish sort of person... he only has a wood stove in his house for heat though, so he's all set up for mass-producing firewood. I just have a "decorative" fireplace so I only use firewood on occasions that I feel like it.

 

Thanks for the eye to eye. I will focus on the upper right corner with heater hose on my ear-*****!