Yay for irresponsibility....engine ticking now

boba383 · 12:00 AM

Well tonight I was driving around in some back roads in my area, and lo and behold a deer jumps out in front of me....I end up swerving off the road in my 1978 Porsche 911 SC and end up in a ditch. I couldn't get the car out because the ditch was muddy, so I walked a bit down the road, and thankfully the house down the road had a big diesel pick up and they helped pull me out of the ditch. Thankfully it doesn't look like there is any real body damage done to the car (license plate got bent, I was on the brakes to I entered the ditch pretty slowly) and at first there was nothing seemingly wrong with the engine.

However, it has now developed a ticking noise, I didn't get a lot of time to try and figure out what it was, but I plan on trying to source where the sound is coming from tomorrow morning after my first class of the day....I'm just curious if any of you have suggestions on what I should look for tomorrow? I know it's quite vague the information, but it doesn't seem to get that much more consistent no mater how high I rev the engine (I didn't go too high, just up to 5000 rpms and it sounds not much different than at idle). I'm hoping its something easy like a branch that is caught somewhere, but that would be too easy. Any recommendations would be great!

*edit* thread title is me berating myself....I was driving 35-40 mph on this road, and it is filled with lots of turns. I know I should have been going slower, and maybe I wouldn't have ended up in the ditch....*is kicking himself right now*

sc_rufctr · 11-05-2009, 12:14 AM

Sounds unusual because the "tick" doesn't change much with engine RPM.

If you can get the car up on some ramps or jack stands and have a good look around under there.
Also double check the fuel lines and anything coming out of the rear of the centre tunnel under the car.

Is it possible the tick was always there and the off road excursion dislodged something that was covering the tick? (maybe fuel pump)

You'll track it down. Just check the car from front to back methodically.

boba383 · 11-05-2009, 12:14 AM

And I am aware that double posting is bad forum etiquette to double post, just want to elaborate a bit.

I understand that there is likely to be damage to both the front and rear suspension as well, but that's not my main concern right now. The car drove back fine, starts without a problem, it is just that ticking noise that I was hearing that is bothering me. I don't tend to drive like I was tonight, especially being young (I'm only 20) and is part of the reason why I'm mad at myself...I'm usually much more responsible with this, but I decided to have some fun and could normally drive those roads at those speeds from my experience with the car....but tonight of course something else gets in the way...Yes I know it's a bit of a sob story, and I don't mean to make it one. I'm just mad at myself right now and can't sleep....

sc_rufctr · 11-05-2009, 12:15 AM

Is it possible the tick was always there and the off road excursion dislodged something that was covering the tick? (maybe fuel pump)

boba383 · 12:20 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sc_rufctr

Sounds unusual because the "tick" doesn't change much with engine RPM.

If you can get the car up on some ramps or jack stands and have a good look around under there.
Also double check the fuel lines and anything coming out of the rear of the centre tunnel under the car.

Is it possible the tick was always there and the off road excursion dislodged something that was covering the tick? (maybe fuel pump)

You'll track it down. Just check the car from front to back methodically.

Alright thanks, I'll keep those things in mind tomorrow. I am going to try and get a better description of the sound tomorrow as well if I can't find anything wrong. I'm going to check for exhaust leaks as well. I shouldn't say the sound doesn't increase much with engine RPM. It does make more consistent sounds, but it doesn't tend to get louder or softer, and it doesn't increase at the same rate as engine RPM's either (I'm having difficulty explaining it right now....if it doesn't make sense I can try again later, I'm just a bit shook up right now)

It's possible but I don't think so. My stepdad and I recently (well a couple months ago) replaced the distributor, spark plugs and spark plug wires, and the engine ran fine afterwards (it was running rough before with some light backfiring). I'll be looking tomorrow more intensively, and I have a friend who has a pit I can drive the car over as well (if need be I can drive it to my stepdad's shop and put it up on jacks as well)

sc_rufctr · 11-05-2009, 12:19 AM

Take a deep breath and chill a bit...

You did OK.. The car is fixable and believe me it could have been much worse.

boba383 · 12:25 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sc_rufctr

Take a deep breath and chill a bit...

You did OK.. The car is fixable and believe me it could have been much worse.

Yeah I know it could have been much worse (I could have gone down the other side of the road, which was much steeper, and would have slammed me into a tree), I'm just a bit frustrated with myself right now. Doesn't help the guy that helped me out of the ditch happens to be a Porsche/VW enthusiast and wouldn't stop giving me **** for it either...

Doesn't help that earlier today as well someone backed into my car as well in the parking lot....today just hasn't been my day

twistoffat · 11-05-2009, 12:42 AM

Don´t worry get it on a ramp and look. I might just be a piece of branch knocking off the wheels or grass wraped around something and is hitting off the body work

GothingNC · 11-05-2009, 03:15 AM

Can you post a sound recording of the noise?

Maybe a CV loosened up?

sancho · 11-05-2009, 05:05 AM

I don't think it's a CV, since it's coming out of the engine and not the shafts (as it was my understanding on his description).
was there water in the ditch?
did the car get any water into the engine?
let us know tomorow where you think the noise is coming from.

good luck and relax it will be ok

boba383 · 11-05-2009, 05:34 AM

There was no standing water in the ditch. It's possible a CV loosened up, I didn't have a long time to try and find out what it was last night. It is definetly coming from behind me in the car, and the people that helped pull me out thought it came from the engine as well.

And I'll try to get a sound recording of it today.

boba383 · 11-05-2009, 06:35 AM

I found my video camera but I've got classes this morning. I'll try and post up a quick video of the sound before class to see if anyone recognizes the sound.

I did start the car up this morning, and it started up without a problem which is a good sign (well I'll take it as one at least). I did however notice that the hood was raised on one side now =\ I'll take a picture of that as well, though I'm going to try and see if I can figure out how to fix that.

mca · 11-05-2009, 07:38 AM

Is it too late to file an insurance claim? Wouldn't they cover this kind of thing?

boba383 · 07:54 AM

Well I got the car out for a quick drive today and got a good look at it finally. The hood is a little off on one side, but nothing big. The front bumper got bent backwards, but I was able to grab it and pull it back. Thankfully that bumper isn't in great shape anyways and is on my list of things to fix with the car. I need to talk to the guys that helped me last night though, and find out what they did with one of the interior handles for opening the door....they broke it off

At least if I had it I could super glue or epoxy it back on until I get a chance to replace it.

Plus the guy who was claiming to be a Porsche/VW enthusiast was messing around with me last night, he took my iPod and my check book out of the car to prove they aren't "bad people" like some people can be up in those mountain backwoods (he was in the car because I was pulling on the strap to keep slack out from underneath the car, and he asked if he could drive it up and down the road quickly. I let him, which I usually wouldn't, simply because I was a 100 feet away from his house, so it isn't like he could have run off with the car

) I wouldn't put it past him to have done something to the car while he drove it quickly to "prove a point" (he wouldn't stop telling me to wear lighter shoes, and doesn't believe a deer was around, which is kind of annoying but that's another story). Not saying he did, but I could see it.

Anyways, the engine starts up just fine (like I said earlier). It revs fine, the power doesn't seem to be off, but there is a constant ticking noise now. I pulled into a big parking lot and opened up the hood with the engine running. The noise is definitely coming from the engine, not the CV joints (the car is at a stop. Should have thought about that before, the ticking is most audible at a stop actually). It seems to be coming from the left hand side of the engine, near the distributor cap and some accessories. I've got two videos, one where it is just at an idle and a second where the engine is ran up. The ticking noise tends to go away at higher RPMs, and begins again at lower RPMs. It can go away while I'm driving the car, but I come to a stop and it starts again.

The videos are processing on YouTube right now, but I'll post links to them for right now. Sorry the sound isn't the best, I only have a small camera for taking videos. I can try to find our actual video camera later if need be. Any ideas?

boba383 · 11-05-2009, 07:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mca

Is it too late to file an insurance claim? Wouldn't they cover this kind of thing?

Insurance would consider it an accident, I'd rather deal with it myself than pay higher premiums. It doesn't sound like it is going to be a big deal, and I hope it isn't. My premiums are about to go down this December, I was in an accident when I was 17 in a parking lot...sad part is if I hit the deer, it would be covered under comprehensive damage, but because I ran into the ditch, it is considered an accident that is my fault

Formerly Steve Wilkinson · 11-05-2009, 07:53 AM

Some questions nobody seems to have asked: 1/is the ticking noise there when the car is standing still, engine running? 2/Is the ticking noise there when the car is standing still, ignition on but engine off? 3/Is the ticking noise there only when the car is in gear and moving? 4/Is the ticking noise there when the car is moving but in neutral (coasting)? 5/If the ticking noise is only there when the car is moving, either in gear or in neutral, is the rate of ticking speed-dependent?

boba383 · 09:22 AM

There is both videos.

GothingNC · 11-05-2009, 09:30 AM

Hmm, wonder if it's the Alternator or A/C belts or pullry causing the noise.

See if you can remove the belts and run it again very briefly.

snbush67 · snbush67's Garage

Collapsed chain tensioner right side... just a guess but I would wager 200$ on it.

David Goodman · 11-05-2009, 09:56 AM

Following up on what John said, that sounds to me like it's drive belt/bearing or pulley related.

I would check and see if there is anything bouncing around in the engine carrier that surrounds the crank pulley. I can imagine a rock or other foreign object that fell in as a result of the accident and is rubbing against the crank pulley. The carrier may have even bent and is scraping on the crank pulley.

While it's hard to imagine that this accident caused a shock capable of damaging an alternator or AC bearing it sounds that that may be a problem too. To isolate noise, you can use a long screwdriver placed against different components and move your ear down to the other end of the screwdriver. A homemade stethoscope if you will. You will be able hear the noise transferred through the screwdriver to your ear.

BE EXTREMELY CAREFUL USING THIS TECHNIQUE THAT YOU DON'T COME IN CONTACT WITH ANY ROTATING COMPONENTS WITH YOUR BODY/CLOTHING OR SCREWDRIVER.

Let us know the results,

Dave