Noisy Lincoln M8 4.6l DOHC

Oh well.....Any idea of what my melodic engine noise below may be??? I will start the step by step teardown process of determining what it is, but I thought you might want to take a crack at it?

Backing up, I bought a 1975 Ford short bed crewcab pickup truck. (I'll do a build on it when I get it home and start tearing it apart). So....I bought (IAA) a wrecked (but running) 1998 Lincoln Mark VIII for $250.00 bid plus the public IAA fees. My first auction with them, it was pretty cool and I will do it again.

I'm pulling the 1975 390 C6 and putting this aluminum DOHC and 4r70w in it. I will use the IRS rear in the truck also.

M8 has 125k miles on it. Starts right up and is painfully noisy at idle underhood. No missing, no smoke, and sounds sweet at the pipes at back of car. Sound seems to quiet the more rpm it gets. Sounds/purrs along great! at 3,000+ rpm!

So? Idler pulley? Water pump? Alternator bearings? Alternator does get warm pretty quick. I hate to consider camshaft lobes? A combo platter of problems? I know these engines go through timing chains and guides, but I am not sure what bad TC&G's sound like? I went ahead and ordered a complete Tousley Ford timing chain kit. I will do the water pump it is cheap $25.00 but on the fence about a new oil pump? $100.00?.

Gotta order a tool to hold the camshafts put while I do the chains.

Crank it up, and enjoy this delicoius feast for your ears:Little guys making hammer music inside 4.6l DOHC Ford Engine

I had a 3.2L sho engine sound like that once......the 3.2L has a hydraulic timing chain tensioner, and it was a little low on oil, so it didn't tension the chain at idle.

Do these have hydraulic timing chain tensioners?

yamaha wrote: I had a 3.2L sho engine sound like that once......the 3.2L has a hydraulic timing chain tensioner, and it was a little low on oil, so it didn't tension the chain at idle. Do these have hydraulic timing chain tensioners?

Yep pretty sure they do. From the junk in it, a young woman owned it. The info system on the dash said low oil. I added 2 quarts to make the message go away. The noise was the same after the 2 qts.

Pull the belts off of it and start it up. That'll at least determine if its an accessory.

Maybe gunked up oil passages?

I'll go with the hydraulic timing chain adjusters. Mainly caused by lack of oil changes.

Ranger50 wrote: I'll go with the hydraulic timing chain adjusters. Mainly caused by lack of oil changes.

The slide material could be worn through on them thanks to that as well.

yamaha wrote:

Ranger50 wrote: I'll go with the hydraulic timing chain adjusters. Mainly caused by lack of oil changes.

The slide material could be worn through on them thanks to that as well.

Either way the timing cover has to come off.

Powar wrote: Pull the belts off of it and start it up. That'll at least determine if its an accessory.

Good idea, I will try that. Books on the way. Yea.

Gonna name this gunked up motor dentside truck project "2 Qts Low".

Gasoline wrote:

Strike_Zero wrote:

Gasoline wrote:

My dad's last Jag had that exact same phone only with a Jaguar label. It was an analog, there was a kit to go digital which was something like $2500 plus labor.

We have a winner!!!!

The sound of: My Motor is Kiddddddddddddd, its Kid Rock, its Kid Rock Baby!!!!!!!!!.....

Powar you are the man!!! You are my new best friend.

Sounds like a whole 'nother motor! I had made up mind that it was timing chains and ready to replace them. Hey! for $250& fees I expected something rotten and was just happy it started.

I'm pulling the motor this morning, dropped the exhaust, etc. and at the last minute I thought for giggles, let me try the belt off. I put the battery back in, connected wires back up, fuel lines, connected grounds, and hit the key and ZOOOOOM!!!!!!!!.

Not sure what accessory the stinky rattling is coming from, but it is a brand new day.

Thanks again guys!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It sounds like an interference rattle. Something is striking another thing. There's a bell-ringing quality to it that sounds like something striking that relatively thin smooth pulley in the center. I would wiggle the shaft on the water pump first. Then I might check the idler pulleys because sloppy bearings in these would be loud and the wobble might be enough for the pulley to strike something.

Oh yeah. Might be a good idea to replace the timing chains anyway.and assorted timing-related items while the motor's out. The motor does sound really great but there's a little chain noise. Looks like we have a winner here.

Jerry From LA wrote: Oh yeah. Might be a good idea to replace the timing chains anyway.and assorted timing-related items while the motor's out. The motor does sound really great but there's a little chain noise. Looks like we have a winner here.

Chain, tensioners etc. and gasket kit I ordered from Ford was close to $400. Your right, probably a good idea to install it when it is out and easier to do. THX

Gasoline wrote: Powar you are the man!!! You are my new best friend.

Awesome, dude. Glad it worked out.