Good News & Bad News

[Pumpkin_Man]

No Valve Cover gasket can still mess up your compression, and cau cause oil to leak out onto the intake and exhaust manifulds. You may not have enough oil in the crank case, which could be why your engine is knocking.

Again, it sounds like the car might be a lost cause, unless you completely replace the engine. BUT, if they can fix any damage and replace the gasket for a reasonable price, then go for it.

Mike

[ilovemichaelmyers]

I think the you know those metal sticks that go in the engine? there's like 12 of them? I think one of them came out of where it was supposed to be. I don't know what it's called, it looks like a metal chopstick LOL I don't know but I'm gonna have them tow it back and I don't care what he says.

[Spookymufu]

thats your rocker, they ride on your cam shaft and cause the rocker arms to go up and down and those work your valves, you should have 2 per cylinder but I think some cars have 4 per, but most are 2. all this should be covered by your valve cover...

[MacPhantom]

You mentiontions a clanking noise. What it sounds like, is that a blade from your fan might be comming loose. Is your car a front wheel drive or a rear wheel drive. In the case of a rear wheel drive, the enngine is mounted facing towards the radiator, and the fan is mounted on the crank shaft. That was the most comon way cars were built back in 'the day. ' Very often, the fan would come loose, or one of the blades would come loose and start clanking against the radiator. IF THAT'S THE CASE, you are very right not to drive the car, because the fan could cut right through the radiator, and then your engine would over heat because the coolant would leak out.

In the case of a Front Wheel Drive, the engine is transversaly mounted (mounted sideways like a motorcycle engine,) and the fan is powered by an electric motor. The same problem can occur with the blade, all though it's not as imediate a danger because that little electic motor does not have nearly the torque as the engine does. What could happen, though, is that the fan can hang up on something, and lock up the motor, causing the fan motor to burn up, and then you don't have adiquate air circulation and the engine will run hotter then it should. Most electric fans won't cut in until the coolant gets up to a certain temp. My bike has the same thing, as does my Aveo. The electric fan will cut in if the engine is running hotter then is optimum driving rang temp.

In either case, the car should be towed to a reputable mechanic and checked out.

Mike

I think you just made all that stuff up to sound like you know what you're talking about.

[Pumpkin_Man]

Those are simply called push rods, and there are some engines that don't have them any more. The overhead cam engines don't have them. As Pointed out by Spookymufu, the rocker arm rides on the cam shaft, and the push rods are attached to the the rocker arm at the bottom end, and to the intake and exhaust valves at the other. There are 2 per cylender in conventional engines, and 4 per cylender in engines that have 4 valves per cylender. I found out about push rods the hard way, when my 1974 Pontiac Lemans threw one while I was on route from New Lenox to Spring field. The engine just started acting very sluggish and funny. As it turned out, I had to replace two push rods, at a cost of over 500 dollars, back in 1982.

A lot of the newer engines don't have push rods any more, due to the overhead cam designs of most newer engines. It's mechanicaly superior, and actualy reduces the cost to produce the engine.

Macphantom, I do a lot of reading, and my father taught ma a lot obout cars, as he use to work in my grandfather's garage repairing all kinds of cars, but I am not an expert by any means. At best, I'm an intermediat ameture. I would, and when I retire, I might take some classes in automotive tech, and build myself a 'street rod.' some day for fun. One of my fondest 'pipe dreams' is to drop a Triten V 10 and a 6 speed manual overdrive into a 1964 Mercury Park Lane Convertable. Again, that's a few years and a few thousand dollard down the proverbial road. And even if I did get proficient at engines, transmissions and the like, I would still have to pay some one to do the painting, art work and upholstery. OF course, I would also like a decent stereo installed as well.

The paint would be pumpkin orange with yellow flames for trim, and the interior would be black. That old Merc woudl be called "The Pumpkin Mobile."

Mike

[Spookymufu]

with out getting too long-winded....I read an engine rebuild manual a bunch of years ago.....

[Pumpkin_Man]

What make of engine was it?

[ilovemichaelmyers]

Um yeah push rods, that's what they are called! LOL I think they fell out or something, I don't know.

[Pumpkin_Man]

That sounds like it might actualy be an easy enough fix, provided there isn't any other major damage to other engine parts.

Mike