engine knock when cold

[kouki_monstor]

im beginning to hear a sort of knocking sound when i first start my car in the morning. it only makes the noise when it's cold, and when warmed up after about 15 minutes of driving it goes away. it sounds sort of like the infamous timing chain guide rattle, but ive already removed both guides. would changing the weight of oil help this problem? its a 91 ka24, by the way. thanks in advance!

[funigui]

sounds like improper oil to me.

[kouki_monstor]

then what kind of oil do you recommend? ive been using 10w-40

[frankunc23]

It could also be a valve clicking. My eclipse does the same thing at first start and then goes away. Try a thicker oil.

[kouki_monstor]

yea valve clicking is what im leaning towards. is it a major problem that i would have to open up the engine to fix? or would just using a thicker oil solve it? if so, what type of oil do you recommend? im using 10w-40 right now. thanks!

[elks 240]

If it is lifter tap then you need to reshim the buckets. If you have a ton of shims around you can try and get them back in spec. It takes about 3-4 hours to do if you haven't premeasured the thickness of the extra shims. Or it could be the chain has stretched a little bit, how many miles?

But running 10-40 is fine. I have run 20 50 before but nothing really changed too much.

[kouki_monstor]

i have no idea how many miles are on it. i got this engine for free and i was desperate, so i just threw it in and fortunately it ran fine. im guessing maybe somewhere around 100k+, since it came from a 91. the noise sounds sort of like the timing chain guide rattle, but ive already removed both the top and bottom ones. What would cause the timing chain to stretch?

Also, the noise clicks faster as i press on the gas...

So it's fine to keep using 10w-40? Say if it really is valve ticking, and I just leave it like that and not touch it, would any major damages result?

Thanks alot!

[kouki_monstor]

bump

[elks 240]

I am leaning towards lifter tap instead of Valve issues. It should be ok for a while. It really shouldn't hurt anything unless you are revving the pi$$e out of it.

And chains just stretch with time.

I say this though..... It was a free motor so run it till it is dead, KA's can be found very reasonably. And you would be surprised with the abuse they can take.

[kouki_monstor]

cool. i really cant afford to do fix any major engine problems right now, so it's a relief that you said it should be okay. ill just be doing alot of city driving, no more than 4k rpm, so it really should be fine. thanks alot!

[elks 240]

No problem.