Posted on Facebook but might as well post here too. Can anyone help me identify this tapping noise? The car is a 1994 5MT with 106,xxx miles.
It happens only when the engine is fully warmed up.
It's not 100% consistent, you can hear it soften and get louder a bit.
It seems louder on the passenger side so I suspect it is coming from the front of the engine.
Oil pressure at idle is ~18 PSI according to my AEM gauge so that should be fine. Current oil is Amsoil Zrod 10W30 full synthetic, but I've used Mobil1 and Royal Purple in the past as well. Changed every 5000 miles, never been low or had an oil light come on.
It's not sticky LMAs, those have been replaced with the updated "beehive" parts.
It's not the valve adjustment, I have adjusted them and triple checked them after torquing the lock nuts.
It is not the alternator or AC compressor. I removed both belts and the noise persists.
Timing belt, tensioner, and water pump have roughly ~10k miles on it.
Any ideas, I'm not sure what to check next? I'm hoping it's something like my last "problem" where I was wondering why the car was shaking at high speed but forgot to check the tire pressure.
Does this seem like it could be an exhaust leak from either a cracked manifold or exhaust gasket? I've checked the spark plug torque, they all check out good.
It happens only when the engine is fully warmed up.
It's not 100% consistent, you can hear it soften and get louder a bit.
It seems louder on the passenger side so I suspect it is coming from the front of the engine.
Oil pressure at idle is ~18 PSI according to my AEM gauge so that should be fine. Current oil is Amsoil Zrod 10W30 full synthetic, but I've used Mobil1 and Royal Purple in the past as well. Changed every 5000 miles, never been low or had an oil light come on.
It's not sticky LMAs, those have been replaced with the updated "beehive" parts.
It's not the valve adjustment, I have adjusted them and triple checked them after torquing the lock nuts.
It is not the alternator or AC compressor. I removed both belts and the noise persists.
Timing belt, tensioner, and water pump have roughly ~10k miles on it.
Any ideas, I'm not sure what to check next? I'm hoping it's something like my last "problem" where I was wondering why the car was shaking at high speed but forgot to check the tire pressure.
Does this seem like it could be an exhaust leak from either a cracked manifold or exhaust gasket? I've checked the spark plug torque, they all check out good.
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