New 4.6L stroker build

[amcinstaller]

the knock from in the bell housing could have been a torque converter bolt or two loosening themselves out. my xj was doing that. you would have fixed that when removing and reinstalling engines.

[SilverXJ]

It wasn't.

[lafrad]

I've had no issue with my HV pump either.... well over 15K miles. Just keep the oil thin enough when cold (5W oils) and all will be fine. 10 or 15W oil in winter months will cause trouble on almost *any* engine nowadays.

[YJason]

I know results may vary with the use of a HV oil pump. I used nothing but 5w-30 in mine. I called Hesco and asked them if they HV oil pumps in there engines? He said "NO!, you'll chew up distributor gear and cam gear". He even told me it will happen quicker with synthetic oils? So asked what they use and he told me a "blueprinted oil pump" that they "machine and test". They want $160 for one, I passed on that and just went back with a stock pump. I figured blueprinting probably just consisted of taking the spring out and stretching it to get a little extra psi like a lot of chevy guys do with there pumps.

[I6FAN]

I don't want to get too far off on Silver's thread here, but blue printing the pump has some to do with fitment of the parts inside; they plastigage the cover-to-impellor clearance for a specific fitment (I think .001"?). This may entail maching the clearence(?) or swapping different components to get it right. They say you need about 10 psi per 1000 rpm....I think they may change springs as well.

[SilverXJ]

I am very aware of the possibility of a cam gear and/or cam sensor gear failure. I do have direct oiling to the cam sensor gear to help prevent failure. But I also took into account all the people that use the HV pump with out issue and those few that I have heard of having failures. Right now it really doesn't make a difference if there may be failure in the future as I am dealing with a more drastic failure. It iwll be something I will keep an eye on though.

I did blue print it as well and all checked out. When blue printing you measure the clearance between components, gears and gears, gears and case, gears and cover. Similar to blue printing an engine.

[SilverXJ]

It has 198 miles on it. I wasn't planning on it this weekend, but curiosity got the best of me. I dropped the pan and checked things out. I didn't see any bearing material pushed out of the bearings nor any in the sump or on the windage screen. Cam end play hasn't moved at all. Usually, by this time, there is bearing material pushed out of the cam bearing. The fat lady hasn't sung yet and I am not celebrating just yet. I'm not going to say its fixed yet as its only 200 miles, but it is different. And the oil pressure hasn't changed. I'm going to keep my fingers crossed and check it again in perhaps 300 miles, unless I notice the oil pressure drop or something else happens.

[Muad'Dib]

So the conclusion thus far is that your cam was walking? Why do you think that is? Bad spring in the cam? Timing cover problems?

[Spliffotticle]

As a hardcore Jeep blowin-up maniac, I would recommend this as something to investigate: I'm sure you sages of this field know what piston slap is so I won't teach it. It can occur in a BRAND NEW ENGINE. It isn't about the looseness of the fit as much as balance across the fulcrum that is the pin. Have you simply tried a higher viscosity oil? I hear what you describe in my engine & I have the HV melling too & I'd swear it is the culprit because it is quiet as can be up front. I can heat it exactly where you can. It bugs the piss out of me for not getting a positive prognosis but I'm starting to think it's just slap. I actually had it bad in the old lady's liberty when we bought it but with frequent maintenance it has almost fully subsided, indicating that is was something pertinent to the maintenance. Too deep in sound to be a lifter right? no tapping on the valve train that would correspond to a lifter sticking? Yeah... me too.

[SilverXJ]

So the conclusion thus far is that your cam was walking? Why do you think that is? Bad spring in the cam? Timing cover problems?

Well, the theory is that the cam was waking and possibly pushing the oil off the bearings. The cam should only rotate in the bearings and not move in and out, so it would be an un-natural motion for the bearings. Why was it moving? Possibly due to the weak factory spring setup. The spring and pin were fairly new (less than about 10k on them). Possibly maybe still a bad spring or the pin could have been too short, not preloading the spring enough. Either way I didn't like that setup. Technically it should be held in the block by the tapper on the flat tappet cam, but it appears it wasn't. Maybe the more aggressive than stock cam over powered the tapper and maybe the spring.

I'm not calling it fixed yet need a lot more miles and a some more checking the bearings.

As a hardcore Jeep blowin-up maniac, I would recommend this as something to investigate: I'm sure you sages of this field know what piston slap is so I won't teach it.

It hasn't been cold enough to really hear the slap on the forged pistons.

[Spliffotticle]

I would give you mad props for rigging up some way to run the engine with the pan off and getting a visual on this thump. I have considered a 5gal bucket, old pickup tube spliced with a few feet of garden hose, and a dog kennel pan to collect the spillage but you could take the big nuts award & run with it. I'd probably blow it up like business as usual

[SilverXJ]

Why? I haven't heard the thump. The other problem with is that the thump was only present when good and hot.

[Spliffotticle]

I have 99 miles on her as of 30 minutes ago. Running fine as usual. Oil pressure is holding. I missed driving her. As usual a few bugs.

1) Something is hitting the transmission tunnel at idle causing a knocking sound. I must have a sensor plug or something out of place.

Sorry, this is what I was referring to. I hear the same thing & read all kinds of threads about loose flexplate bolts. Are you pushing an automatic or do you hear this noise with a flywheel? I am directed to the very back of the engine almost cam level, coming from underneath,so very subtle. Now I'm seeing you said transmission tunnel and I think I thought you meant bellhousing... Sorry.

[SilverXJ]

No, whatever it is, is external to the engine. I am unsure if I got it yet.. i did move a few things around but found nothing really hitting.

[SilverXJ]

291 miles. Oil pressure is right where it should be. Had a minor coolant leak due to reusing a factory hose clamp one too many times. It was the only factory hose clamp left and I don't know what possessed me to reuse it. They are easy and quick to use if you have the correct tool. And G05 coolant makes a mess when it leaks. Looks like dried salt when it dries.