As some of you know I did a full rebuild of a 2.6l for my Amigo. And with about 1500 miles on it I started having some problems.

Out of the blue (while driving) a really bad sound started. A kind of grinding; metal on metal sound that held with the engine RPM, and not the vehicle speed. (Like a really bad wheal bearing sound, but from the engine) Along with an erratic idle that fluctuated between 100 and 600 rpm. The base idle was set to about 1000rpm. (It was hard to keep it running without giving it gas)

I decided to drive it home (about 10 miles). And had no real problems other than the really bad sound. And of course when I would come to a traffic signal I would have to rev the motor to keep it running. It shifted fine with no odd feelings through the clutch, or anything else that pointed to the problem.

There was a bit of a power loss but not huge. It might have just been my imagination. And the fact that I wasnÆt trying to really get on the gas.

Since then I pulled a lot of stuff apart but I have yet to see anything that could cause my problems. I did a manual crank compression test and it looked good. I put a manual starter on it and turned it over, and couldnÆt really hear anything bad, or locate the sound. Although even after about 25-30 seconds of solid cranking I couldnÆt get the oil to come up into the head where I could see it. (Not sure if it should, or not come up that quick)

So IÆm not sure where to go from here. I havenÆt really worked on it for a couple months. Partly because itÆs been so hot here, and partly because I was so frustrated with the problem. I pulled the timing belt off this morning and spun the oil pump by hand. It turns easily.

Right now IÆm thinking about putting it back together and maybe taking it to a shop. But I know if I do that IÆm going to end up spending at least $1000. And they might not be able to find the problem. And they might screw something else up.

So, what should I do?

Put it back together and try to locate the sound with a stethoscope while itÆs running?
Put it back together and take it to a shop?
Pull the head off and see if I can see anything thats obviously wrong?
Or, Light it on fire, and go get something new.

Grab some WD-40 and spray it on some of the pulleys. I had the same sound, it is my air pump. Let me think aobut the idle, I had that issue with my 2.6, let me see if I can remember how I fixed it.

I bet with the brains on here we can narrow down the noise to something, that you should be able to diagnose and or replace. (I'm not one of those 2.6 brains though sorry). Cheer up maybe it is minor, and don't let anyone else mess with it $$$$. At least not yet.

well, its not my air pump, cuz i never installed it. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />

Well...you have a few options. The easiest is to examine the oil, if you have not already. Is it chunky? Is it pretty and sparkley? Either is bad.

#2 would be to strip off the front dress and cover and pull the oil pump. Any ovbious failure? Spin it before you pull it and see if you get oil to the head.

#3 is probably a bit more involved, but pull the oil pan and take a look.

Heck, if you are not getting oil to the head (you should when cranking by the starter), then pull the valve cover and look at the cam. Pull a fe of the bearing towers and take a look. Oil starvation will be ovbious and if it is an oil system problem, the top end is a likely place to see it first.

Do some investigation before you take it to a shop. It may save you some $$, or at the least, you will know what the problem is before hand.

Good Luck,
Michael

Weird thing about this (to me anyway!) is that you are reporting a crummy idle along with the noise.

If you had just reported the noise, I might have some ideas, but everything that comes to my mind can't be put together with the idle problem occuring at the same instant.

They did both happen at exactly the same time, yes ?

Maybe it's best to approach the problem as two seperate problems.

You've checked the timing belt tensioner ?

It's definitely toward the front of the engine ?

As for the oiling issue, why not try spinning the pump with an electric drill ? Maybe chuck one of them 5" rubber sanding disc pads and push that on the front of the pulley ?
I had an old lawnmower that I used to start that way.

As for the oiling issue, why not try spinning the pump with an electric drill ? Maybe chuck one of them 5" rubber sanding disc pads and push that on the front of the pulley ?

No need for the pad. The pulley is held on by a nut. Just use a socket and drill or even a speed bar with a socket on it will work.

Michael

how much spinning of the oil pump should bring up the oil to the head? with a drill, lets say 30 second of spinning on fast. or 1 min? more?

It does not take much. Remember, the OP is running at about 1/2 crank speed. Really, you can do this by hand the drill will just make it easier.

Michael

Well I can't get the oil to come up into the head. And the oil pump sprocket spins really easily. So I think that must be the problem. Not sure why I never got a check engine light, or a low oil pressure light. But that must have been what happened.

So what could be the possible things that could have been destroyed from a low oil pressure condition?

IÆm going to pull the oil pump out and have a look at it. But IÆm not sure what I should be looking for. Should there be an obvious problem with it?