Re: Rod knock

[Scott Fisher <sfisher71@domain.elided>]

--- "Zacharey Cox (Siemens Business Services Inc)"
<v-ntxzco@domain.elided> wrote:
> 
> Just to clarify for some of you, this Alfetta
> started out as a $50 purchase.  

Got it.  So you're living inside the interpretation
that a $50 car isn't worth fixing or taking care of
properly.  Nothing wrong with that, it was your money,
it's now your car and where you go from here is your
choice.  It's just -- you know the overused saying,
"Think outside the box?"  Well, whenever you find
yourself saying "I only paid $50 for this car," you've
just bumped into one wall of the box.  What, if
anything, might be on the other side?  

I'd just like to suggest -- not like I'm right and
you're wrong, not like I'm preaching the Truth to the
Heathen, but just like it's another way of looking at
things -- that you have another choice: you can choose
to use the right stuff, do the right things, put in
the time and energy, and see what happens.

You might be surprised at how these cars respond to
being treated well.  

It could change your life.

Or not.  Your choice.  Chocolate or vanilla?  Neither
one's right -- it's just that what you choose gives
you how your life goes.  That's all.

But enough of that -- here's some tech advice that may
help you figure out what's going on in your $50
Alfetta's engine:

> I guess what I was trying to get at was where
> exactly does the sound come from [...]

Wish I was closer -- I had the opportunity to hear rod
knock a LOT when the engine in my Junior (well,
technically it was Jeff's Junior by that time) seized
up last September.  Unfortunately, the best diagnostic
I know of for rod knock is if the sound suddenly and
spontaneously goes away just as the engine becomes an
immobile chunk of aluminum and steel. :-)

However... you mention a diesel-like rattle.  Is it
louder than the exhaust and continuous at all RPMs? 
If so, then it's probably rod knock and you should
either do what Ian says and look for a $200 used
engine, or prepare to sell the car to somebody else
and get your $50 back.  (No, I'm not in the
market....)

But... if it's a lighter rattle, more like pinging or
"clattering," then answer one more question: do you
mainly notice it right at about 2800-2900 RPM, and
does it go away after that?

If so, there's a fair chance this is just the timing
chain needing adjustment.  Start with that and see if
the noise goes away.  I was talking with a club member
not long ago who bought an otherwise really nice Alfa
for a song because it had the 2800-2900 RPM rattle; he
adjusted the timing chain tension immediately after
the money and pink slip changed hands (takes a couple
of minutes), and when he started it up with no rattle,
he got to watch all the color drain out of the
seller's face.  (Note that if it IS timing chain
rattle and you don't fix it, your valves will very
likely meet your pistons, and nothing good comes of
that introduction.)

If, on the other hand, it's a constant rhythmic
clatter that goes up and down with engine speed... I'd
start saving for a used 2L.  Or try to get my $50 out
of it as a parts car.  

Or something else.  Lots more flavors than just
chocolate or vanilla in the Alfa world.

Best,

--Scott Fisher
  Tualatin, Oregon
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