Could it just be an error on paperwork stating new style tensioner yet it has old style ?

 

possible i suppose.

 

And sometimes the older tensioner is used as they are arguably more reliable- tensioner isn't a clue

 

Quite possible a paperwork error as the tensioner mounting bracket is different between the two types of tensioner and would need to be changed too.

Mick

 

I'm still non the wiser to what this knocking is,I think a trip to the specialists is the only thing to do now.
I have a video clip of the noise,maybe someone can't identify the problem from this clip?


Cheers
Rich

 

I would say its valve train related, its far to light for piston or big end, only similar I can remember was cam bucket / cam lobe wear.

 

Thanks.
V3 STI heads so am I correct in thinking these have solid lifters with under bucket shims?
The noise is only coming from the LH bank so looks like taking off the head would be the only way to confirm this,or would just taking off the cam cover do to diagnose the problem?

 

Yes solid lifters, under bucket shims, quickest & cheapest way is as you say remove the cam cover, check clearances, look for abnormal wear, its sounds like only 1 to me.

 

Great help there.
Appreciate the advice

 

that does not sound good tbh. that said I missed the sleeve out of the belt tensioner during my build. when I fired it up it sounded like the dreaded knock. i was heartbroken! the next day with a clear head I spotted the error once I had the belt cover off and once I put the sleve back in the tensioner it was fine. defo worth checking all is well on the belt and tensioner/pulleys.

 

Agree doesn't sound too healthy
New timing belt kit fitted correctly,was knocking before that,thought it could have been the tensioner but sadly not.
Doesn't sound like the dreaded bottom end knock tho,noise doesn't increase with revs and no knock heard when coming off throttle.
Sounds like the noise is from the top of cyl 4 cam side so will take the advice of MOTORS S GT and check this next.

 

sounds like a miss on that cylinder too .valve spring or miles out clearances i.d say
30k miles and 8 years is a fair bit of use mate .a light refresh with bearings, clean up ,and fresh gaskets all round and it,ll probably last another 8 years .

 

I've been meaning to update but I've been stressed out!
Thanks for advice and support.
I checked valve clearance on the noisy LH head and results came back as very tight on all valves.
Should be 0.20mm intake and 0.25 exhaust,I got between 0.10-0.05mm.
Engine is coming out on Monday to re-shim,so with any luck this should sort the problem and get the car running well again.
Oil pressure is very good and compression test came back being not too bad.
I will update next week with some good news I hope

 

i do see a lot of peeps fitting or rebuilding bottom ends in cars without taking the time to check the condition of the head ,cams,or valvetrain ,if the heads were built/setup 30k miles ago they,d still be good as new .
everyone seems to expect to tune/improve quite elderly 90s cars into 400brake monsters with teeny weeny budgets lol (i know i did lolll)

 

Seems like this could be the case with mine,forged bottom end with the old heads put back on without a refresh?
Only had the car 6 month and it's giving me grief!
I don't want to take the heads off,so a re-shim to get the heads into spec should give me a bit of life

 

tell me about it
thats the trouble with buying some one elses "project" . got caught myself big time with a special chy wright creation .after it blew up(literally) the only thing zen salvaged from the old engine was 4 camshfts and the cd block lol the engine had done a whole 12k miles deeply impressive eh

i spose considering how cheapish 2.1 bottom ends are now its not worth buying someone elses "project" unless a well known tuner/builder has put it together .easy to spend thousands just having standard engines repaired/rebuilt as it is

 

Well it looks like your getting it sorted now.

Hopefully not going to cost you to much, i was abit cheesed off as daily driver started making a noise sounded like a ticking noise, turned out to be be manifold gaskets.

 

With any luck I should be running on Thursday.
Engine is out,clearances checked on both heads,all very tight!
Correct shims on the way thanks to merlin24

 

i.ll wager it drives a bit nicer too

spot on mate . glad its sorted mate

 

Thanks,I will be fingers crossed when I turn the key tomorrow!
Heads are now re-shimmed and all valve clearance in spec now,engine put back together,so just got to drop it back in and fasten everything up
Really praying all this sorts out the knocking and running issues!
Some of the clearances were as tight as 0.03mm so I'm still feeling positive.

 

Re-shimmed,got the clearance back,0.20mm inlet 0.25mm exhaust.
The original knocking seems to have gone,car idles like a dream,drives nice,3bar hot oil pressure on idle.
Car is now tappity as fukc on both heads!!! What the hell?????
From all the info I have read on here we set the valve clearance To 0.20mm inlet and 0.25mm exhaust. Also the data says we had a 0.12mm tolerance before we would notice any tappet knock.
What have we done wrong? Is the info we have on valve clearance wrong for my car?
Looks like the engine will have to come back out so we can tighten back up the clearance!
Gutted to say the least!

 

where are you getting the clearance info from ?

I got this
Valve clearance:
Intake: 0.20+0.04-0.06 mm (0.0079+0.0016 or -0.024 in)
Exhaust: 0.35±0.05 mm (0.0138±0.0020 in)

from here,

http://ken-gilbert.com/wrx/STi_Manua...0Clearance.pdf

Might be worth asking about or confirming to save the engine coming out a 3rd time,
Im sure one of the builders would help you out with such information.

 

Got my info from this thread
https://www.scoobynet.com/general-te...clearance.html

And from merlin24 plus Alyn at AS performance,so I'm pretty sure that 0.20&0.25 are the correct spec,that's what I don't get?
I will have a read of the ken Gilbert link cheers but 0.35mm is bigger so don't think that can be right for my car?

 

The above clearances are for a Newage STi with selective buckets and not for a Version 3~4 STi with under bucket shims.

Mick

 

Just had a look at the ken Gilbert link and that is for shimless buckets so not correct for my v3 sti.
Cheers anyway.
So I'm thinking I need to tighten up the clearance from the 0.20&0.25 but I don't get why?
Both LH&RH now sound awful

 

Any ideas Mick? Are all V3 the same? If wrx or even uk2000 heads had been put on there then would the spec be any different?

 

PM sent

Mick

 

Update:
So it turns out the original knocking was still there on the LH side after the reshimming.
But the LH clearance was good so why was it still noisy?
Well I took it for a drive around the block and the noise got a little louder,followed by a crack,the noise then went from a valve train sounding knock into a bottom end letting go knock Guessing I was mistaken when I thought it was top end knock!

So the engine's coming back out and thanks to a very kind member on here(johnlogie) I have a bottom end on its way to my house,this should get me back on the road when I put my heads etc on there
I will put my block in the garage and split it to see what failed(and if it's actually a forged short block?) if it's worth it then I will rebuild over the summer.
I'm no engine builder that's for sure,but with all the info on here and members that are so helpful then I think,,if I take my time and follow the advice then I should be able to build a good reliable engine

 

Why not just send it to someone that knows what they are doing the labour proper builds charge is nothing if you are guving them a engine and then fitting it yourself.

 

No probs Rich. Hope you get it back up and running soon