Jeep mechanic?

bt283

New Member
Joined
Jan 20, 2011
Location
Hickory
I just inquired a new 99 TJ, that has a strange knock in the motor. Just wondering if anyone knows a good jeep mechanic around the Hickory area.
 
I saw someone diagnose with a stethoscope once and was dead on. Heard of using a screwdriver against your ear but have my doubts there.
A few culprits...
Low on oil. (peck)
Bad piston wrist pin (knock)
Collapsed or stuck lifter / Worn cam / Bent push rod / Collapsed valve spring (tap or ting)
Valve out of adjustment (if it has adjustable valves) (tap or ting)
Broke rocker arm (one hell of a racket)
Modified from stock motors can have clearance issues causing noise in which I'm sure you don't have...
I took a motor apart once that had a dime in the cylinder that was so worn, it was hardly recognizable. So I'll add "something in the cylinder that don't belong there".:rolleyes: I didn't run that motor so I don't know the sound.

Hope that helps. Public mechanic - I am not!!! Too busy working on my own crap.
 
Screwdriver or a piece of metal rod does work, easy way to listen to injectors and other things.


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bt283 said:
I just inquired a new 99 TJ, that has a strange knock in the motor. Just wondering if anyone knows a good jeep mechanic around the Hickory area.
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if you want a mechanic, honestly. TJ, 4cyl, and 6 cyl. are so damn common I wouldn't worry about a "Jeep" mechanic. just go to your local trustworthy NON DEALERSHIP shop.
 
I usually work on my on stuff but this has me stumped. I took it to one mechanic already and he said timing chain and it wasn't. I was just hoping there was a mechanic near me that knew a lot about these motors. I'm just going to pull the oil pan down tomorrow and see if I can see anything in there.
 
Minton's Automotive, just up 321 towards Lenoir, in Granite Falls
Go 321 to where 321-a turns left at Wal-Mart, when you see the Granite Falls city limit sign, turn right into his parking lot
396-7071
 
Never heard a chain make a knock sound ever???

Timing chains are checked by measuring deflection (stretch). 99% of the time, they either work or they don't. But when they don't!:eek: Chains are usually good for 90,000 miles. Double rollers are usually good for 180,000 miles.

If you pull the pan, you can manually turn the motor over back and forth (by only rocking it slightly) and then turning the crank on over about a quarter or even an eighth of a turn and repeat rocking. This is better with 2 people but one can do it. By doing this you can listen (and possibly look up into the cylinder and see) if you have wrist pin play. If you do it gracefully enough you'll be able to feel it. You can actually do that first before pulling the pan, just turn it over back and forth gracefully and feel / listen. It it knocks twice in a row then that's another sign of wrist pin (exhaust / intake duration).

Another thing I forgot to mention to check (since the vehicle is new to you) is if the knock goes away after the engine warms up (oil starts flowing)? If that's the case, it's probably a lifter going bad. I've ran bad lifters forever and a day but I'm sure not a great thing for they can eventually wear a cam lobe. But on the other hand, a new cam in the end is MUCH cheaper to replace compared to rebuilding a top end to begin with / especially when considering down time / repair time / labor if the vehicle still gets you there.

Hope that helps. KEEP US POSTED!
 
upnover said:
Minton's Automotive, just up 321 towards Lenoir, in Granite Falls
Go 321 to where 321-a turns left at Wal-Mart, when you see the Granite Falls city limit sign, turn right into his parking lot
396-7071
Click to expand...
Take it to minton.
 
2.5 liters have a plastic tensioner, that can bust into pieces and cause the timing chain to clack against the cover. But I should give y'all a little back ground on the jeep. My mom bought it brand new about 3 years ago the oil pump broke and she had the engine rebuilt. She got it back and and it had this noise in the motor, they worked on it on and off for about a year and could not figure it out. She gave up on it and just drove it. In January she bought a new car and sold the jeep to me, it now has 30k on the engine and no metel in the oil. It sounds like a diesel at idle and when you rev it up it gets less pronounced but doesn't fully go away
 
My neighbor told me Mitons too, if I don't see anything tomorrow in the oil pan, I think I'm going to take it to him
 
Not a mechanic, but sounds a lot like(due to you saying no metal in oil(pan I assume) )
either
1. Piston skirt slap
2. Cracked piston skirt
 
mbalbritton said:
just go to your local trustworthy NON DEALERSHIP shop.
Click to expand...

This is most of the reason I left the job I once held and worked very hard for at a Ford dealership. A lot of people hate dealerships and think they are only out to cheat them out of their money. While this may be the case some of the time, I worked on these cars as if someones life was depending on my work....because sometimes it was. I always did my best to provide the best possible repair options and work with the customer on partial repairs or "band-aid" fixes to get them by till they could afford the full repair. But because of a few bad eggs out there, and a good number of people "advising" against dealership shops, the flow of work was insufficient to allow me to make a steady income. I would go back and work there again, no doubt in my mind. But as long as people give misinformed and opinionated "advice" putting down dealers, then I don't see it being able to support my family.

Rant over. my apologies if I stepped on any toes, but I needed to get that off my chest. Sorry for the hijack.
 
Something very important I thought about on the way home yesterday bt283... Does your oil pressure gage work? Or do you have one? The diesel sound from a gas engine designates low oil pressure. I prefer a triple gage set with voltmeter instead of ohms in every vehicle I drive. Simple and cheap insurance for a long lasting motor...
 
fordwheelinman said:
This is most of the reason I left the job I once held and worked very hard for at a Ford dealership. A lot of people hate dealerships and think they are only out to cheat them out of their money. While this may be the case some of the time, I worked on these cars as if someones life was depending on my work....because sometimes it was. I always did my best to provide the best possible repair options and work with the customer on partial repairs or "band-aid" fixes to get them by till they could afford the full repair. But because of a few bad eggs out there, and a good number of people "advising" against dealership shops, the flow of work was insufficient to allow me to make a steady income. I would go back and work there again, no doubt in my mind. But as long as people give misinformed and opinionated "advice" putting down dealers, then I don't see it being able to support my family.

Rant over. my apologies if I stepped on any toes, but I needed to get that off my chest. Sorry for the hijack.
Click to expand...

My comment wasn't directed at the mechanics, but rather at the dealership repair pricing. I've had plenty of professional mechanic friends that worked at dealerships, Franchise repair shops, and Mom and Pop shops. The Highest priced shops were the Dealerships. You can get the same quality work at mom and pop shops and save your money. Granted there are exceptions like exotic cars that require special knowledge, but we're not talking about that here.

I'd only take my vehicles to a dealership if it was a recall or it was under warranty.

:beer:
 
6BangBronk said:
Something very important I thought about on the way home yesterday bt283... Does your oil pressure gage work? Or do you have one? The diesel sound from a gas engine designates low oil pressure. I prefer a triple gage set with voltmeter instead of ohms in every vehicle I drive. Simple and cheap insurance for a long lasting motor...
Click to expand...
It has the factory oil pressure gauge and oil pressure is fine. 30-60 psi
 
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