Why so loud, motor?

[wegweiser]

Valve adjustment, cracked / leaking exhaust manifold, ignition timing (which can affect valve clatter at idle for sure) and loose chains, incorrectly fitting exhaust pipes, etc....ALL will contribute to engine noise. In YouTube videos, the valves always seem to be louder than they are in real life, so don't use that as a reference. 

[7502]

I'm probably off base but I'll throw this out there, try pulling outside. A small, brick walled, empty garage may be amplifying the noise a bit.

[irdave]

And another vote for a warmed up video...

[dang]

Check your oil level lately?  

['76mintgrün'02]

heat shields on the exhaust manifold often wiggle loose and can make an awful racket.

 

You might try pushing down on that with a broom handle to see if the sound changes.

[MattL]

All great suggestions! Thank you! I’ll get out there and get a warmed up, exterior video tonight. Tried last night but there were some monsters keeping my daughter up. Had to regulate. 

[MattL]

Well, after adding what little oil I had on hand, I took the car out for a drive to Pep Boys for some 20W50 and got a "video" in the parking lot of the engine warm. It's definitely much quieter than I remember, which is a relief, and clearly what you all expected. Feel free to sling all those "told ya so"s my way. There IS still a grinding sound, but it's not really audible over the squeaky distributor. 

https://photos.app.goo.gl/RAiN4sEbHwdWva7j8

 

On the way home, a new, nastier gremlin appeared. A knocking sound started all of a sudden in the rear left. Sounds like a piece of rubber hose tied to the left axle, slapping the bottom of the car. It started relatively quiet, but very quickly (within 300 yards) became more pronounced. It's definitely rotational and road-speed-dependent. Hard turning would alleviate it, as would GENTLE acceleration. As soon as I depressed the clutch, it would come back. Keeping just a little bit of gas on at very low speeds would also shut it up. As soon as I hit 15 or 20 mph, though, it would be back, no matter what the clutch and accelerator were doing. It got very loud and insistent, to the point that I feared driving any further, and left the car at a local Mr Tire in which I actually have some moderate trust. At the very least they have a lift: I've spent enough time on my back in pools of brake fluid this winter to last me a while. Hopefully they'll get it up on the lift and inform me that it's nothing serious, and certainly nothing expensive. ? Fat chance. I'll probably post this as its own topic, but any ideas? Maybe a CV joint? 

 

In any case, thanks for all your help and suggestions with the first of my noise-related panic attacks. Onward and upward.

 

[halboyles]

Damn! You are close to using up all the bad luck on the FAQ!  What are the rest of us supposed to complain about now?

 

I'd guess center support bearing or guibo even though you describe it as coming from the rear of the car.   Hope it isn't too costly or time consuming.

On a good note, you still have the shiny side up.

[Simeon]

2 hours ago, halboyles said:

Damn! You are close to using up all the bad luck on the FAQ!  What are the rest of us supposed to complain about now?

 

I'd guess center support bearing or guibo even though you describe it as coming from the rear of the car.   Hope it isn't too costly or time consuming.

On a good note, you still have the shiny side up.

 

I want in on this game. I guess...

 

rear half shaft bolts are loose. 

 

Internet mechanic-ing is fun!

['76mintgrün'02]

If that squeaking is indeed your distributor, I'd put that at the top of the list of noises needing to be addressed.

[MattL]

1 hour ago, '76mintgrün'02 said:

If that squeaking is indeed your distributor, I'd put that at the top of the list of noises needing to be addressed.

 

Yeah, it definitely is the distributor. Besides replacing it, what would constitute addressing it? I was thinking I'd just oil it up, but that doesn't seem like a "top of the list" -caliber remedy. 

[MattL]

Update: Mr. Tire wouldn't touch the car. I guess that's to their credit. So, before trying to limp home, I jacked it up to take a better look at the corner in question. (No jack stands, so it was going to be a very "shallow" dive.) It took me a minute to realize that the wheel was slightly wobbly! Two of the lug nuts were very loose, and the other two were being convinced to follow. I guess I didn't torque everything down correctly in my haste to get the car on the road. Who's got two thumbs, and a life-saving lucky break? THIS GUY!!! Whew! Lesson learned: check, then double-check all bolts and nuts after any project! I should go buy a lottery ticket.

 

I'm going to recheck all the wheels tonight, as well as oil the distributor and grease the "point rubbing block", per the nudge above. (Thanks, Mint.)

 

I think that should just about wrap up this episode of "Matt the Newbie's Carnival of Sounds!" Thanks, everyone. The help and input is very sincerely appreciated. 

Edited March 28, 2019 by MattL

[ray_]

Ensure your nuts have the proper taper for your wheels.

 

Cheers,

[dang]

6 hours ago, MattL said:

guess I didn't torque everything down correctly in my haste to get the car on the road

 

If someone hasn't had this happen to them then they've just decided not to admit it.