OK.....I have a '59 Austin-Healey Sprite with a Datsun A15 engine that has been in the car for 20 years now (I've owned the car for 5). It was running just fine, but the clutch was slipping (has been for a year now), so I decided to do a clutch job and replace a leaky rear main seal. I've had this engine out 3 or 4 times previous to this and have swapped cams, etc, so I am familiar with it. All I did was remove the engine, pull the pan, remove old seal, install new seal, install pan (w/new gasket, of course!) and install a new clutch. That's it....nothing else. When I got it all back together I had a noise. It sounded like valves rattling so I readjusted the valves (even though I never touched them or even removed the valve cover). Still there. Friends suggested I may have spun a bearing......against my better judgment I pulled off the pan and removed the main & rod caps. Bearings look pretty darn good for a 20 year old engine rebuild.....nothing wrong at all. I put it all back together again and, of course, the noise is still present.

I am curious of anyone can help identify this noise. I even went so far as to remove the valve springs to see if I broke a valve guide or had a busted spring......everything I can see checks out. I also removed the belt to make sure it wasn't the water pump or alternator.....still there. My only thoughts are:

- a loose valve seat (unlikely, but possible)

- bad lifter(s) and/or camshaft

- rocker arm assembly binding up (I did remove all the rockers from the shaft and inspected everything....all looked good)

- ???


I'm at my wits end. I wish I just left in the slippinig clutch! My next move is to pop off the cylinder head and have a look. Any thoughts before I do this would be great. Listen to the video and give me your opinions/ideas.


Thanks.

Hard to tell where it's coming from just from the vid. Have you tried listening with a mechanic's stethescope (or a long screwdriver) to pinpoint the location?

Is it possible that something is protruding from the new pressure plate that is slightly interfering with the inside of the bell housing?
Is it possible that the distributor cap is "leaning" to one side (maybe got bumped?) and the rotor is striking the contact in the cap?

[This message has been edited by Raydar (edited 10-04-2011).]

quote Originally posted by Raydar: Hard to tell where it's coming from just from the vid. Have you tried listening with a mechanic's stethescope (or a long screwdriver) to pinpoint the location? Is it possible that something is protruding from the new pressure plate that is slightly interfering with the inside of the bell housing? Is it possible that the distributor cap is "leaning" to one side (maybe got bumped?) and the rotor is striking the contact in the cap?

It sounds like an upper end noise. It seems loudest near the mechanical fuel pump (disabled since I am running an electric pump)......I removed the old pump and started it up and the noise is still there, so it isn't the pump. The fuel pump is located pretty much in the middle of the block just ahead of the distributor. I am leaning towards bad lifters/cam......nothing wrong with the cap & rotor (have had them off and on, but always aligned). It's possible the pressure plate is making noise......I do have a Centerforce clutch with the weights, but I ran one for the past 4 years with no issues and the noise doesn't seem to be eminating from down low.

[This message has been edited by mrfiero (edited 10-04-2011).]

If all you did was to change the rear main seal and then put the oil pan back on, and then install a new clutch, how would that lead to a noise coming from your top end? How would doing that make your cam and/or lifters go bad?

Ed

It really sounds like bad lifter tick to me (makes the Duke sound quiet in comparison, and it sounds like a pissed off sewing machine on crack )

You said you had the oil pan off, did you prime the oil pump again when you reassembled? Just spitballing here, but if you didnt (and again, shot in the dark), maybe you burnt a lifter from lack of lubrication on first startup? Not familiar with that engine, are they hydraulic lifters?

Only other thing I can suggest is check your plug wires and make sure they are seated. If its not lifter related (which to me it sounds to be), I'd spitball an idea that its spark knock (sounds are similar IMO)

[This message has been edited by Xerces_Blackthorne (edited 10-04-2011).]

Check the plugs as mentioned. Are you sure there isn't something with the clutch... a bolt or something that is hitting? I know it really doesn't sound like that, but it is hard to believe that changing a clutch caused something to go wrong in the engine. Maybe the moving of the engine caused something to dislodge and stick in a lifter? hmm

quote Originally posted by edhering: If all you did was to change the rear main seal and then put the oil pan back on, and then install a new clutch, how would that lead to a noise coming from your top end? How would doing that make your cam and/or lifters go bad? Ed

This is what is driving me insane. It very well may be completely unrelated to any work I did. At this point, the only thing that remotely makes sense is a bad lifter, but why did it go bad? Several years ago the oil pump seized and sheared the gear from the camshaft. I ran the engine for 10 or 15 minutes (even drove it around) and it never made a noise and I had it torn down for several weeks prior to it happeneing. It's only been a week since I took it apart this time and I can't fathom that I scorched a lifter from oil starvation, but who knows? BTW....they are solid lifters.

I plan on pulling things back apart tomorrow so by the weekend I should know what happened. I don't think it is clutch related......it has to be inside the engine.

[This message has been edited by mrfiero (edited 10-04-2011).]

Feel the engine. A noise that loud should make enough of a vibration to be able to feel. Is there an area that it feels stronger? Does it feel stronger at the bellhousing?

[This message has been edited by phonedawgz (edited 10-04-2011).]

It sounds rotational to me (is that a word?)
Raydar may be right. Or maybe something on the front of the engine got bent during the R&R.
Timing indicator, maybe?
Use the heater hose stethoscope to pinpoint the location of the noise, and you'll have it.
There just aren't that many parts IN this engine that could make a noise like that.
I doubt it has anything to do with the valve train unless maybe the timing cover got bent during the R&R.

[This message has been edited by NEPTUNE (edited 10-04-2011).]

I thought that was normal noise for a Datsun engine. Actually, I think Raydar is the winner. It's probably a clutch/pressure plate bolt sticking out hitting the cover/inspection plate/bell houing. Get a length of hose and hold one end to that area and the other end to your ear to see if that's where the noise is coming from. I'm betting the inspection cover is the culprit.

quote Originally posted by NEPTUNE: It sounds rotational to me (is that a word?) Raydar may be right. Or maybe something on the front of the engine got bent during the R&R. Timing indicator, maybe? Use the heater hose stethoscope to pinpoint the location of the noise, and you'll have it. There just aren't that many parts IN this engine that could make a noise like that. I doubt it has anything to do with the valve train unless maybe the timing cover got bent during the R&R.

Rotational is a word, so you're good there. You are pretty close to what I think is wrong with it. I believe I may have installed the oil slinger backwards when i replaced the timing cover gasket. I did not have to remove the slinger, but I do remember sliding it off the crank to look at it before sliding it back in place. I may have inverted it and it is now hitting the timing chain. I plan on dropping the pan and removing the timing cover this weekend and will let you guys know if that was it.

Sounds like a bent push rod or collapsed lifter to me.

quote Originally posted by spark1: Sounds like a bent push rod or collapsed lifter to me.

Brand spankin' new pushrods and solid lifters.....nothing to collapse. I thought the same thing and bought new pushrods......they made no difference. I am pretty sure it is the oil slinger rubbing on the timing chain. I'm going to pull it apart tomorrow, so I'll know then what it is.

Oh man.....are you guys ready for the source of my noise?? A gasket. Yep, a gasket was the root of my problem. More specifically, the oil pump gasket. The oil pump on this engine bolts to the side of the block and runs off a gear on the cam. I had to remove it when I had the engine out to replace the O-ring on the filter relocation kit (it was leaking) and the gasket tore. I tried buying a new one, but they do not exist unless you buy a new oil pump. So I made my own. Apparently it was too thin which caused the shaft to sit inside the block too far (probably 1 or 2 hundredths of an inch). This put the very end of the oil pump shaft gear in contact with the connecting rod on cylinder #1. It's a little nicked up, but no worse for wear.....I'm putting it all back together tonight and it should be up & running by tomorrow.

quote Originally posted by NEPTUNE: It sounds rotational to me (is that a word?)

I did not listen, as it would be hard to pinpoint without a stethoscope. I was thinking it is a flywheel bolt, which would be rotational, hitting something. I have had that happen to me.
EDIT
I should have read to the last post, .

[This message has been edited by cliffw (edited 10-07-2011).]

What a PITA for a freakin' gasket!

Good luck with it. At least you found the source, and it wasn't terminal.

Strictly curious: Would an L67 (Series II S/C) V6 fit in that car?

quote Originally posted by htexans1: Strictly curious: Would an L67 (Series II S/C) V6 fit in that car?

Why, yes. Yes it would.


There are a few out there with small block V-8's shoehorned in them (not recommended). Several people have put in 2.8/3.1/3.4 pushrod V-6's too. Even in stock form there is more than enough power to make a Spridget a screamer.

You would have to do a lot of modifications to get one to fit, but it isn't out of the realm of possibilities. Grab a late 70's MG Midget (they're cheap) and play with it.....the engine compartments are the same from 1958-1979 (MG Midgets & Austin-Healey Sprites) so you could make a mule out of a rubber bumper Midget and then transplant it all into a Bugeye or earlier chrome bumper Spridget.

I'm glad it was something simple!

Ed

Awesome! The last time I played with early English iron was a 67 Oyster with a '75 RX7 driveline, Racing Beat intake and Dellorto side-draft. Pretty sporty little roadster. The guy had me recover the dash and straighten out the switches.

quote Originally posted by mrfiero: Oh man.....are you guys ready for the source of my noise?? A gasket. Yep, a gasket was the root of my problem. More specifically, the oil pump gasket. The oil pump on this engine bolts to the side of the block and runs off a gear on the cam. I had to remove it when I had the engine out to replace the O-ring on the filter relocation kit (it was leaking) and the gasket tore. I tried buying a new one, but they do not exist unless you buy a new oil pump. So I made my own. Apparently it was too thin which caused the shaft to sit inside the block too far (probably 1 or 2 hundredths of an inch). This put the very end of the oil pump shaft gear in contact with the connecting rod on cylinder #1. It's a little nicked up, but no worse for wear.....I'm putting it all back together tonight and it should be up & running by tomorrow.

These guys don't sell what you need? Back when I had my MGB, they sold practically the entire car.


http://www.mossmotors.com/?...S32asCFUPt7QodSyUEQQ

quote Originally posted by carnut122: These guys don't sell what you need? Back when I had my MGB, they sold practically the entire car. http://www.mossmotors.com/?...S32asCFUPt7QodSyUEQQ

Decades old Datsun engine... gotta be hard to find parts for nowadays.

I buy a lot of stuff from Moss Motors & Victoria British, but the engine is from an '82 Datsun 210.....they don't carry anything for it.

I went to a Nissan dealer and they said the gasket was NLA and I checked all the parts houses in town with no luck either. I might have found somone somewhere who had one, but I figured I would just make my own.

I have most of the engine back together and hope to have it running again later today. It's cold and rainy today, so I may wait until tomorrow to tinker with it......besides, I need to make a junkyard run to replace the hatch on my CRX. For some reason the rear glass just couldn't stand up to the bandana wrapped padlock that someone threw at it. Go figure.

[This message has been edited by mrfiero (edited 10-08-2011).]

It's been some years since I was a Datsun guy, but as I recall quite a few of the motors were interchangable. Any of the "10" series motors swapped.

You could likely pick up a 2000cc 710 motor out of one of the bigger ones. They had 110 hp as I recall, totally stock.

Just a thought.

Arn

quote Originally posted by mrfiero: but the engine is from an '82 Datsun 210.....they don't carry anything for it.

Oh yeh, now I remember reading that. Sorry! There's been a lot of water under the bridge since 5 days ago.

[This message has been edited by carnut122 (edited 10-08-2011).]