No worries.

Soooo, out came the engine. I plasti-gauged the mains and rods, mains at .004, rods .005. Is this within tolerance? I don't have a manual, and am not keeping this car (Need a family vehicle) so I am not wanting to buy one for the next guy. I also am not going to slap it together, so that he gets the $h1tty end of the stick. What else makes a knocking sound at low idle, but goes away at under even the lightest throttle? Would piston slap sound like a knock? What else could knock in this engine? I've heard that they run a balance shaft? What and where would I find a balance shaft? Is that simply a crank with the Harmonic Balancer on it?

I've run out of ideas. I'd set it on fire if it wasn't in my garage.

How do I test for piston slap?

 

Did you get any further with this? I think Im developing a knocking sound on my 02, but it is also only on low idle, as in when I am in neutral with the parking brake on

 

So does it still knock?

 

Mine was the plugs. Check your spark plugs before pulling the engine. Infact check anything you can think of, that is easy maintenance before pulling your engine. I think I may have broken a wire on the install and now the check engine light is on, and says that I have a bad heater circuit in my o2 sensors.

 

lol man you got a mess on your hands........

 

Thanks for those words of encouragement!

 

Pull the engine and the transmission because of a tiny knock? Thats like doing brain surgery without diagnosing the patient.

Good luck.

 

This doesn't pertain to this topic, but sometimes when I accelerate I get a metallic-sounding sound, like a drawn out metal screech or something... It's hard to explain, but it's not very loud... I hear it and know it's there. Any ideas on this "great" explanation I just gave?

 

Brakes contacting the rotors a bit?

 

Hmm, I should get my brakes checked... Haven't had them checked since I got the car two years ago, could be down towards the end... Definitely something I should get looked at... How can you know if your brakes are worn down by just looking at them?