Dammit, another motor problem!

[icepenguin66]

I have the worst luck ever with this car! First the short nose crank failure, then waterlocked the long nose motor, now my 1.8 swap is knocking and the #3 plug was covered in oil! I haven't even tracked the car since the 1.8 swap...guess I got a bad motor.

First I need to find out exactly what is wrong, then how am I going to fix this?

[MadMerv]

Hmmmmmmmmmmmmm!

[BAM!]

time to buy some parts and rebuild that beast! or unless you wanna sell it...................

[Sharpie]

[icepenguin66]

the heck? It appears that the cam gear is scraping the plastic timing belt cover! I replaced the valve cover gasket so the oil leak is no more, but still not sure what to do about the cam gear hitting the cover. I double checked the gears and they are not loose. I was missing a bolt for the cover, so replaced that and put it back on making sure it was not misaligned. It seems to be scraping even more now!

Is it possible to use the 1.6 timing cover on a 1.8 and maybe I got them mixed up somehow? Only explanation I can come up with! I swear, some of the wierdest things happen to me.

[Mouglie]

lose the cover, you don't need it...

[channelmaniac]

If the gears are all in the same plane and this one isn't sitting forward a little then lose the cover...

If it's not, and it's sticking forward (which is easy to tell, do you see more gear sticking out from under the belt on that side?) you need to figure out why it's sticking out and fix it...

Sometimes the covers get warped and contact the gears. You may be able to fix it with a carefully applied heat gun.

RJ

[trackdog]

Ah, Dr. Dawg's diagnostic was correct. Good ears for an old man. No charge this time.

Gary

[Master357]

what was it?

[Sharpie]

Ah, Dr. Dawg's diagnostic was correct. Good ears for an old man. No charge this time.

Gary

What Master357 said, What was it is?????

[icepenguin66]

Ah, Dr. Dawg's diagnostic was correct. Good ears for an old man. No charge this time.

Gary

Yeah, thanks again for helping.

*For those of you that failed to read my last post, it was the timing gear scraping the inside of the plastic timing belt cover.

[Darron65]

How did you resolve it?

[Titus]

How did you resolve it?

And what caused it? It sounded like the gear scraping was a symptom of another problem.

[icepenguin66]

Well crap, I decided to remove the upper timing belt dust cover...the one that the gear was scraping...and it still makes the intermittent scraping/knocking sound. I already checked the timing gears to make sure they were not loose or anything. Man this drives me nuts since I can't seem to figure out what the problem is. Have to take it to the shop in the morning anyways...realized the rear wheel bearings are a bitch to replace and need tools I don't have! Guess I'll have them check the motor and see if they come up with something...hopefully nothing catastrophic.

[Adam Payrot]

Check that the pin isn't messed up on the cam... Had that happen once, and ended up shearing the pin off....

[icepenguin66]

Check that the pin isn't messed up on the cam... Had that happen once, and ended up shearing the pin off....

hmmm.....I'll see what the shop says today and check into that also. thanks for the input.

*ps Saw your sig. get another Miata....bikes are bad...just had another friend almost kill himself on one.

[Adam Payrot]

hmmm.....I'll see what the shop says today and check into that also. thanks for the input.

*ps Saw your sig. get another Miata....bikes are bad...just had another friend almost kill himself on one.

Yea, well aware of that risk, a bike is just very appealing to me, for a few reasons (none of them being high speed, stunting, etc...).

[black roadster]

Yea, well aware of that risk, a bike is just very appealing to me, for a few reasons (none of them being high speed, stunting, etc...).

Adam,

Please don't take this in a negative way but with your track record of bad luck, please stick to four wheels! We like you and want to keep you around for a few more years!

BTW, I'd love a motorcycle but aside from my wife nixing the idea, I don't know if I could trust myself or those lunatic Texas drivers.

[sammm]

I don't know if I could trust myself or those lunatic Texas drivers.

I rode a bike for years up until a few years ago. The acceleration of a motorcycle can be addicting. The weight/horsepower ratio rivals most anything on 4 wheels. You may go a lifetime and never have an incident. All it takes is 1 not-paying-attention-cell-phone-talking-asshole to possibly ruin your life. If you do get a bike, get the most and best quality riding gear you can and wear it! If you don't think you need a helmet, you're probably right.

[Adam Payrot]

I rode a bike for years up until a few years ago. The acceleration of a motorcycle can be addicting. The weight/horsepower ratio rivals most anything on 4 wheels. You may go a lifetime and never have an incident. All it takes is 1 not-paying-attention-cell-phone-talking-asshole to possibly ruin your life. If you do get a bike, get the most and best quality riding gear you can and wear it! If you don't think you need a helmet, you're probably right.

That's what is keeping me from getting one right now, Texas drivers. If I do get one, that means that I am moving soon after And I definitely agree on the gear; my gear will probably cost nearly as much as my first bike, if not more.

And thanks William for your concern; I have been taking family/friends' views on the situation into account while trying to decide what to do.