NOISE COMING FROM MOTOR! ANY IDEAS

[rich v.]

THE OTHER DAY I HAD MY VIPER OUT AND I STARTED TO HEAR WHAT SOUNDED LIKE A "CHIRPING"/"SQUEEKING" LIKE METAL ON METAL NOISE COMING FROM THE ENGINE. HERES WHAT I KNOW SO FAR.
-OIL WAS A 1 1/2 QUARTS LOW. REFILLED IT AND STILL THERE.
-NOISE IS RPM RELATED
-NOISE SOUND WORSE WHEN LISTENING UNDER THE FRONT OF THE CAR.
-NOISE IS NOT ALWAYS THERE, SOMETIMES I START THE CAR AND DON'T HEAR IT AND IT SHOWS UP LATER.
-OIL PRESSURE SEEMS NORMAL. AROUND 60 ON COLD START AND 40 WHEN HOT.
-I WAS BEATING ON THE CAR THE NIGHT BEFORE I STARTED HEARING IT. NO OVERREVVING OR MISSED SHIFTS.

THE CAR WAS MODIFIED BY HEFFNER'S BUT I DO NOT THINK THAT THEY DID ANY INTERNALS BESIDES THE CAM.
ANY HELP WOULD BE APPRICIATED.
I'M IN LAS VEGAS IF ANYONE IS CLOSE THAT MAY WANT TO LISTEN THAT MIGHT KNOW.
THANKS

 

[Joseph Dell]

sounds like a spun bearing to me. don't start it again. put it on jack stands (or a lift), drain the oil, and then drop the oil pan. you can tell immediately with a flashlight if the bearings are OK or not. this is NOT a hard diagnosis w/ the pan off. but do NOT run the car any more if you avoid it. running the car w/ a spun bearing will damage the crank which isn't horrible... it just means that you'll need to remove it to have some work done.

good luck!

JD

 

[BruceW]

It might also be the alternator, water pump, or power steering pump (bad bearing). If you do start it again use a stethoscope on those and the engine to may get a better idea.

 

[Daddy Long Stroke]

Did you try to remove the sepertine belt, then start the car to see if the noise is still there?

JD went straight to the major stuff. He's alredy thinking about your excuse to build a new 510" Stroker!

 

[Joseph Dell]

Well, he did say the sound was coming from the engine... but i might have taken that too literally.

I had _exactly_ the same thing on a gen3 block last week. it was a bearing. and, yeah... a 510 is kinda fun and any excuse...

JD

 

[Tom F&L GoR]

In my case once the noise started it never stopped, but you should also think about a spun or failing lifter. The rollers don't roll when needle bearings fall out and the noise sounds very very much like a bad alternator/compressor bearing. You can find it by removing a rocker cover and the rocker arm will be loose. The bad news is there is a lot of labor, since the cam interferes with a frame cross member when trying to get it out.

 

[vegas guy]

If the car is in Las Vegas then give Garth a call at Leading Edge Preformance.

He can be reached at 702-375-4999.

 

[Go Fast For Life]

I had a solid roller lifter go bad on another car - 70 Chevelle. It did the same thing - that is made a chirping/squeeking kind of sound. The bearings in the lifter fell out of the lifter and the lifter body was rubbing against the cam. You might just pull the valve covers and look for a loose pushrod/rocker. If the lifter has gone bad, there should be enough play to detect it.

 

[rich v.]

thanks for all the ideas. i took the car over to Garth in Las Vegas. when i started it to take it over, there was no noise. and that was 5 days ago and still no noise. so now i am completely confused! all the gauges read good numbers so i am going to drive it until it comes back.
word from Garth is that there is no way it could be a bottom end bearing because the noise would not go away. makes sense to me, but i'd still like to know anyway.