Engine Question

My old boss basicly rebuilt my engine for almost free. I think I paid like $300. I got a new timing chain, head sent off to a machine shop, valves speced and all. But, it never sounded right. Valve clatter, or something. My oil dipstick was mounted in an unusual place.

So, I dumped almost 5 quarts of oil out of it. :eek It is supposed to have 4 quarts!!!

So, what does running and extra quart of oil do to your engine? I changed the oil today, so I know it has 4 quarts, as it should. Dip stick is in an odd position, but it shows the 4 quarts to be as it should show, the other was way over the full line.

Will see how it sounds on the way to work Monday.

 

Running with extra oil will cause the pressure in the oil pan to rise.
as the pistons fall they create pressure and that can lead to oil leaks as the pressure gets too much for the seals.

As for valve clatter that is not caused by too much oil.

If you take off the cover over the valves taking care not to damage the seals, it is easy to check the clearance between the the head of the valve and the cam.

Simply turn the engine by hand using the front pulley on the motor until the cam is at it's lowest point and the valve head is free and with a set of feeler gauges check the gap, if it is too big then you will get noise.

 

I had an engine that was so full of oil and gasoline it wouldn't start. The pistons were hitting the oil and stalling. But one extra quart shouldn't hurt anything.
Fred, you said your dipstick is in an unusual place. Maybe the crank is hitting it. Pull it out then start the engine. If your lucky that may be the clatter.

 

"If you take off the cover over the valves taking care not to damage the seals, it is easy to check the clearance between the the head of the valve and the cam.

Simply turn the engine by hand using the front pulley on the motor until the cam is at it's lowest point and the valve head is free and with a set of feeler gauges check the gap, if it is too big then you will get noise."

Thanks for the reply Bill, I can take off the valve cover, but the rest of what you posted makes me drool like Homer Simpson. :-D Simple stuff like brakes, plugs, I am on it. Valves, Cams, timing chains, I don't get it.

Sibeer, that would be nice, but the end of the dipstick is not in any way deformed. I think they did not as one mechanic told me, 'pin' it right. The alternator is maxed on the forward, I think position.

Really need this thing to run for another year or so...

 

Sorry for the late reply Fred but i just had another 8 days in hospital (not planned)
Feeler gauges are thin slivers of steel that are a guaranteed thickness to help get all the valves the same.

As for the rest when you have the valve cover off you will see the tops of the valve stems and on top of them runs the camshaft, the space between the camshaft and the valve is a set gap and if they are too big you get the rattle, if they are too small you lose a lot of engine power.

This is my first post after getting home and if you want to go further i am ready to help.

 

Really need to know what type of engine being talked about.
Some Ford engines and possibly some others did NOT need to be set. Just tighten as tight as you can. 351 Modified comes to mind. Had several of those.

 

Thanks for the info, hope you are feeling better! Mechanic tells me it is the distributer... Since it does not always clatter, only sometimes. Thanks for the offer of help, but adjusting valves and such, I think is beyond my skills.

Engine is a Nissan D21, circa 1992. :-D

Truck is back in the shop due to a short between the fuse box and brake lights that I can't trace, so hopefully they can fix both things. Some stuff on cars I will fix, but some stuff is better to let someone who knows what they are doing work on it.

I fix his computers, he fixes my truck. Works out well.

Thanks for the replies, will post back the results.

 

Too much oil can cause it to become aerated being whipped up by the crank shaft, can cause all kinds of thing especially for the guys that like to wind the pizz out of the mills on starved bearings. Lets HOPE you guy was not a silicone freak! I have found several engine with silicone sucked into the oil screens restricting flow which can cause the lifter clatter but lets give him the benefit of the doubt! Assuming the lifters were cleaned but possibly not lubed. So many people will disassemble and clean but do not properly lube them upon reassembly. Try a full pint of Marvel Mystery oil, drive it "easy" meaning just don't push it for a day or two to see if the quite down, if they do great do an oil change as it will be a bit thin. If they do not quiet down then you need to pull the cams and do a clean and lube job on the lifters keep them in order of the lobe they came from. Carefully clean them even if the look Bristol, check the side bleed holes! You can tell when they are done right, after reassembly the plungers move very freely when they are not full of oil! I use power steering fluid as the assembly lube but any thin high quality oil is fine. A very clean area, hands is very important tolerances are extremely tight the slightest fleck will jam them, a small bowl with the lube for dipping the pieces makes thing easier.

 

Come on Oldphil you are asking Fred to do major surgery here.

 

I appreciate the info Oldphil, but that is beyond my skills. I did replace valve stem seals once, with some minor help from a mechanic. Anything more involved on the internal combustion engine is achieved by magic or witchcraft. Will see what the local witchdoctor tells me he finds... :-D

 

Could also be worn valve lifters,as old as it is.

 

Guessing that is part of the 'Head'?? The head went off to a machine shop where they replaced a few valves, and reworked the head. LOL, I bought it in August of '92, it will be old enough to vote this fall. :-D

 

Valve lifters I am familiar with are about 3/4 of an inch across and about 1 1/2 inches long. Bottom rides on the camshaft lobes. Valve stem rests on the top of the lifter.
Rocker arm tops off the affair.
If the lifters or the rocker arms are too worn, you will have too much clearance, resulting in the clattering noise. Also loss of power and performance.
Won't really be noticeable, since it comes on gradually.

 

Come on guys let him try the Mystery Oil first it may just do the trick!

 

confused:confused

Thanks for the replied, but you are losing me there. It is back at the shop. But no loss of power, ugly as it is, is will surprise you with the power the old thing has.