Thread: help! at turkeyrun in daytona with engine problem!

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Drove 3 hrs here in my 34 ford with chevy 350. Started hearing a clicking noise from engine bay... increased in speed with engine rpms, not affected by A/C on or off. Assumed it was a .exhaust leak... steadily increased in sound. Finally arrived.. checked engine, no exhaust leak, belts tight, sound seems to be coming from direct center front of bay. Fan not hitting anything. Pulleys tight... any thoughts....??????
Bart in florida

rocker or lifter? fuel pump? tooth off T/Chain??

Take a long screwdriver or other long object and use it as a stethoscope. Stick one end up to your ear and the other to different spots around the engine. You can at least narrow the noise to a certain area. Just be careful around the moving parts of course.

I have had one 350 Chevy have one of the nylon coatings break off of a cam gear tooth and get stuck in the timing chain. It then hits the timing cover. But that was a pretty solid knock more than a tick.

Get a stick, broom handle, long screw driver, start the motor, put one end on the valve cover the other too your ear. Probe the left cover and then the right cover, if it's in the top end you will know what side it's coming from. As Charlie indicates rocker or lifter most likely, the motor running smoothly just some clicking? You could wait until you get back home and adjust it. Be careful if you need help as to who you get that from. it is the Turkey Run and turkeys are lurking.. friendly FYI. ;-)

Found it! Crank shaft pulley working its way off. Bolt in the middle sheared off. Looks like i`ll have to tap it out when i get home to pull the remaining piece out. Cannot get the new bolt in. I hammered the pulley back ad much as i could here. Somewhat tighter. Will drive us#1 home so i can go slower & check on it from time to time. Wish me luck,

Glad you found it but driving it home without fixing it is not advised. If it comes off while driving, who knows what will happen. It might just drop off on the road or it could bounce up off the road and damage a few other items in it's path.

Can you drill the center, use an easyout to remove it and then install a new bolt?

If the bolt is sheered off and not because of bottoming out in the threads, it can fairly easily be removed, sometimes with only finger pressure on the end of it------------

Keep us posted on your progress. Hope the show is fun, and your ride home safe.

My guess is an improper bolt for the application, then streached and fractured when tightening or having been over torqued. It really does not have to be so tight that it takes a breaker bar to get it off. Locktite on the threads and a decent amount of torque is all it needs. Most people overtighten them (encluding me), that is where the problem usually starts. At least that is what I have found.

With proper torque on a proper bolt there will be no need for lock tight---------and you would be able to get the broken bolt out without killing the crankshaft

Jerry, I agree completely. The issue is having the proper/correct bolt. I have seen bolts from the hardware store installed on these before. That is why it was mentioned about less torque and locktite.

Go to the dealer, get the correct bolt and tighten to the correct specs and there should be no issue. As long as the threads in the crank are good anyway.

My brother actually tack welded his balancer to the crank once. Of course that was on a crank that had no bolt provision.

I agree, you need to fix it before heading home. On bolt selection, this is not a place to substitute for "looks". Had a friend who used polished SS button heads for his crank pulley because "...they look good", but he wasn't so happy when they failed because of the dynamic force. Tap the old bolt out, get the right bolt, torque it to specs, and drive home in peace.

Oh yeah that's not good and have no prayer thinking you might wing it home. Removing that bolt is far more easier said then done. One needs some previous experience at extracting broken bolts before attempting this. Getting an easy out in there to back that thing out is not for the faint at heart.

Well, just following up... was never able to get a bolt in.. appears the head sheared off! Made it home driving 40 mPH or less and checking the balancer at every opportunity... Got her on the lift and the crank shaft, where the keyslot fits, is completely sheared off. Looks like the engine needs to be pulled and the crank replaced. Since I do not have the facility to do it, got a couple of estimates to R/R the engine and rebuild as necessary and it's almost as expensive as putting a new 350 in! Jegs has them priced between 1500 and 2000 for the 260 hp and 290 hp versions. With the 36month/100mile warranty, looks like she will be getting a new engine beginning of 2013~!

Well, I guess the good news would be that you made it home with the car anyway!!!! Hard to beat those crate engine prices, especially with the warranty!!