TysonNeedsAdvice

Hi I'm a 16 year old owner of a base model 1970 mustang 302 v8 5.0L and I know what you're thinking "that dumb 16 year old probably hot rodded the **** outta that car and threw a rod." Wrong! I am aware of how much of a delicacy having a car like that is I baby it even though it is my daily driver... So 8 have a modded HEI Distributor to fit a ford and I was casually driving to work when I took a turn and noticed my car had died. I had noticed it was off time when I tried to restart it. I loosely defined it and drove the last block to eork. When on my way home I had discovered a slight knocking noise and as iI refined my car for real and adjusted carb a bit while car was running it increasingly got worse and at this point I'm scared to drive it and I would like to know what you guys might think it is BTW I still have good oil pressure

TysonNeedsAdvice

I* not 8 and re timed not defined

JC316

Knocking is tough to diagnose without hearing it. You need to make a video of it. Could be a lot of things. First place that I would start is with that HEI dizzy, make sure that the bearings are OK and the rotor isn't hitting the cap. Beyond that, could be a rod, lifter, detonation, etc.

You might also verify that the mark on the balancer is actually TDC

bop11

You didn't say how many miles on the engine or how you determined the timing was off. There are many different knocks as JC316 said. Is it a detonation knock or a mechanical knock? Did the distributor move or is the rotor pointing move? If the engine has many miles, you could have jumped the chain because it is stretched. Make a video with sound so we can hear what you are talking about.

fastbackford351

The question I have is why a 16 year old with a 1970 Mustang isn't hot rodding the **** out of it?

TysonNeedsAdvice

I think it barely has 2000 miles after the overhaul iI did on it 3 months ago and its definitely a mechanical knock iI think from the oil pan and i will try to get a video asap and i dondon't hotrohotrodhotrod iitit bc imI'm smart and know iI will be the one fixing iit

fastbackford351

Posting up a video of the noise might help but unfortunately determining where a knock is coming from can be tough even if you're standing right over the engine much less over the internet.

If your distributor checks out then pull the valve covers and see if the rockers are still in place. As you rotate the engine see if everything is going up and down like it should.

If everything looks good then you will need to go deeper and pull the heads to look for any scoring on the cylinder walls. Keep in mind that it just take a little bit of scoring to make the engine sound like it is beating itself to pieces.

If everything looks good there, now you're pulling the pan.

It sucks. We have all been there and feel your pain.


What kind of oil pressure do you have?

Stepman

If you're the one that's going to have to fix it,I don't see the hesitation to break it. My guess would be that it's running rough making you think it was out of time. I would pull the valve covers and see if a rocker came loose. Happens when nuts are used too many times.....(rebuild) and no longer like to stay tight.

TexasAxMan

Take a long screwdriver with a plastic handle (not wood). Hold the handle to your ear and place the business end on various parts of the engine (engine running). This works kind of like a doctor's stethoscope and will help you determine where the noise is coming from. Not foolproof, but usually helps you locate the source of the noise.

bop11

Another trick, if you didn't find anything after pulling the valve covers, is to pull the plugs, remove the belts and then slowly turn the engine over by hand through 2 full revolutions stopping every 45° and rock it back and forth to see if you can detect the knock. Also without the plugs, cranking the engine with the starter might show up from where the knock is coming