Good morning all, brand new to the forums but ive been lurking here for answers for quite some time. Figured it was time to sign up, especially since i cant seem to figure out the issue on my own.
Just a little back story, I have a 67 cougar base model 289 v8. Engine has 78k original miles. No major engine work has been done to the car since i have had her. Purchased the Cougar back in 2009 after it sat in the sellers back yard for almost 10 years when he inherited it from a friend in Nebraska ( im in california, sf bay area).
My problem surfaced about 4 months ago. I had a small water neck leak, which was gaining in strength as i drove it the day things started going wrong. About 2 blocks from my place, after making it across the bay bridge from sf, my top radiator hose popped and she steamed out on me and shut down. Pushed her home and let her cool down before i started pulling things apart. Since then i have replaced all hoses, thermostat and radiator… just to start out fresh again with the cooling. This is when the new ugly issue started popping up. Since all of this has happened i have started to hear a knocking coming from the engine. I have already also replaced the oil and filter as well. The knocking only seems to happen while in drive and accelerating in the higher RPM areas. Im hoping this is just a rocker issue and that just need to pop the valve covers and adjust the rockers.
The scary problem though is the grinding noise upon acceleration. It doesnt happen every time, but mostly when i am at a complete stop, then giving her some gas to get moving i will hear a crunching/grinding sound that almost sounds like i am bottoming out. Last night it seems to have gotten worse as well. I drove to my destination yesterday with little to no problem. She sat for about 4 hours before attempting to get her going again and she was not happy. When i attempted to start her up she wouldnt turn over. I was hearing a thunking noise as i was turning the key to fire her up, which sounds like my starter might be taking a dump soon. Took me almost 15 minutes to get her going , had a few stall outs when i did finally get her to fire up, probably due to a bit of flooding… but as i was trying to get her to turn over that crunch/grind sound was slightly audible. After getting her to finally stay running, for a few minutes of warm up, she cut out on me in neutral a couple times. A couple more attempts and finally got her moving and made it home. Again on my way home, the bottoming out grinding sound occured from a stop to go situation.
Im a bit stumped on this one and would appreciate any help i can get with this. Thanks for reading!
Rob Swain
My WAG for today is that the grinding noise is a bad motor or trans mount. Is the knocking pre ignition knock/ping? Inspect the points, rotor & the inside of the distributor cap for the wear/damage…it’s possble when the upper hose let loose it puked antifreeze everywhere & got inside the cap as well.
Give that kitty some lovin & she’ll be purrin again!
Welcome to the forum… I would checkout the stuff Chris suggested first. Then if that doesn’t solve it look at the rod bearings. Sounds like you got it pretty darn hot which could have took out a rod bearing. Rod bearing knock is at its worst during acceleration when the engine is under a heavy load. If you get to the point where you want to check the bearings we can guide you on how to do it. Don’t need to pull the engine to investigate. Just drop the oil pan and you can check the bearings one at a time.
Having had 2 302s overheat and lockup (one at the strip, on the Interstate) both from that point on had grinding/screeching sounds. If you had sufficient oil in the engine then you might have saved the bearings. In my case both engines had broken or deformed piston rings. The cylinders being the hottest part of the engine they will expand when water is lost squeezing the rings, locking up the engine. You need to drop the oil pan and look for metal pieces either parts of rings or bearing shavings. A compression test could find possible ring damage. Never run without a working coolant system.
Welcome to the forum swainy77. There will be all kinds of info and help here. I too am in the bay area, San Jose here. I think you should do more investigating before doing any more driving. Don’t want you to do any serious damage.
For the grinding noise on accel.
I had a starter on a ranchero that had the snout bushing of the starter disintegrate that let the end of the Bendix drive (the gear on the starter) touch the flywheel when ever I accelerated from a stop, that starter also would grunt and grind to start the car.
Changed out the starter and it was as good as new.
Broke a starter housing once that did the same thing as above.
Busted a return spring once the pulls the bendix drive back to its resting position that also would allow the drive gear to touch the flywheel on accel.
Just some experience from the past that might give you another source of a problem like this.
Make sure to check out the other suggestions above as well.
No comment at this point on the engine knock. good luck
I appreciate all of the feedback guys. I have no plans of moving her at all until this is fixed. i plan on working my way up on this one… gonna take a look at the starter and then pull the oil pan to look for foul play in there…
As to answer Chris, the knocking doesnt happen till i am in drive and i accelerate, increasing in speed as i accelerate, and disappearing when i lay off the pedal. Knocking continued after i changed the oil as well.
As to answer Chris, the knocking doesnt happen till i am in drive and i accelerate, increasing in speed as i accelerate, and disappearing when i lay off the pedal. Knocking continued after i changed the oil as well.