Engine Knock in 1990 C2
 

When starting the car cold or warm after letting the car sit for an hour or more, there is a noticable knock coming from the left side. The mechanic claims it is a collapsed hydraulic tensioner. Does this sound reasonable? How much should this cost? Does anyone have a mechanic recommendation in Orange County, CA or even LA?

Thanks,

Rockafella

Rockafella:

Should be no problem for you to pay for this! :D

You should better pinpoint the area where the noise comes from by listening yourself. Put a metal rod (e.g. a long extension, a breaker bar, a long screw driver, etc.) on the chain cover housing and see if you can hear the noise through the rod. Then try other areas on the engine. This way you will know if it is in the chain housing. If it is in the chain housing, your mechanic is correct.

The noise should be an irregular knocking that is more like a dampened rattle. It should not at all be a regular tapping.

Hope this helps.

Oh, the repair? I don't know for a C2. The housings are different on the 3.6. I would think 6 hours of labor plus the part (look it up on Pelican) should get you there.

George

If you're looking for a shop in the LA area, look no further than TRE in North Hollywood. Dave and the guys are the best, and they'll give you straightforward, honest answers.

Regurlar tapping could be a loose valve. Irregular chain rattle is the tensioner.

Thanks everyone for your insight. I forgot to add that it goes away after 10-20 min of running. This could be at idle or running it hard, doesn't matter. Does that help at all?

This is my brother's car in Southern California. Trying to make his experience as nice as possible. I've got an '85 Carrera, so I am unfamiliar with the 3.6 (other than everyone says watch out for the early ones).

This board is amazing!

Aubrey (aka Rockafella)

85 Carrera
85 BMW 325E (the beater)
01 Lexus IS300 (wife's car)

Aubrey: Send him to TRE. They're really, really good. Dave posts here on the board all the time (TRE Cup). Jeremy and Tyson also post on the board. They're good people. You (and your brother) won't be disappointed.

Will do. His regular guy (in north orange county) said to leave it. I figured that he needed a second opinion at least. Sounds expensive to me.

North Orange County to North Hollywood is less than an hour up I-5. Time well spent.

To say 'leave it' to any engine noise is plain nuts. The noise is created by something hitting something else. How long until things get beat up? We are not talking 5 second periods here either. Definitely send your bro to another wrench and tell him to quit driving the car until this is fixed. If it is the chains, timing can jump and he can rebuild the 3.6 ...

Good Luck!

George