supercoupe motor issues

superpoop

Registered User
i have been googling my symptoms and a link has thrown me to a twelve year old thread which i think may answer my question.

symptoms: tick from top end when cold when first purchased car. disappeared when warm. squeal that increases with engine speed. one occasion the noise went away. came back shortly after motor is running on five cylinders once all belts removed, noise stays present. motor locked up once at idle. car will idle on its own no problems. fires up as normal but is noisy and lumpy.

i have had someone out to look at it today and they have said it is NOT bottom end. its more than likely from the top.

the thread : http://www.sccoa.com/forums/showthre...5-engine-noise

it could be a stuck and flat spotted roller on one lifter.

the squeal would be because of the cam lobe hitting the flat spot instead of a smooth roll. one time the noise went away, possibly when the flat spot rolled away from the cam lobe five cylinders because it isnt opening one of the valves on a cylinder noise is internal- not belt driven. cam potentially hit flat spot enough to stop any downward motion, stalling the motor. if it was a rod bearing, the motor would run smooth but be noisy. it would also not cause so many issues so quickly.

what do you guys seem to think to this? i will be tearing the top end apart at some point today.

Neill
 
This may sound very simplistic sorry if it does. Are you sure all 6 plugs are firing, if one is not it will flood that cylinder with fuel and wash away oil. I don't know if it could hyrdo-lock one cylinder temporarily causing a lock up, that's just a guess.

Is it possible if all 6 plugs are firing you have a bad injector?

Just some simple thoughts before you start tearing your motor down.
 
i dont remember if you said it in the other thread or not, but did you pull codes yet? could be something in there that will point you in the right direction...but like les said plugs wires and such can cause a lot of trouble if something is wrong.
 
i havent run codes no.

theres something thats physically broken inside the motor itself. running codes will only show sensor issues and the cylinder which is dead, right?

les borda; would this cause a metallic squealing noise? theres something knocking around and a squealing metallic sound. im sure its something on the motor itself causing the miss, its slowing the starter motor when turning over as well which i forgot to mention. something that once span no longer wants to spin.
 
Once you get the valve covers off, you will get clues as to the health of the valvetrain. But another good thing is, when you get the lower intake manifold off, you will be able to see all the lifters and cam lobes. So if the problem is top end, it will become obvious.

I think I should point that finding a top end problem doesn't mean your engine's bottom end is fine.
 
Once you get the valve covers off, you will get clues as to the health of the valvetrain. But another good thing is, when you get the lower intake manifold off, you will be able to see all the lifters and cam lobes. So if the problem is top end, it will become obvious.

I think I should point that finding a top end problem doesn't mean your engine's bottom end is fine.

for what i paid for the car, im quickly realising that the best thing i can do is replace the whole motor. the cost of shipping it will crucify me. but at least then i know its a working motor that will drop right on in.

if i then realise that its only a small issue with the current motor, i can sell it on to a mustang owner with a six over here. these motors are rare out here.
 
I have to agree with you those noises should not be coming from the engine from a dead plug. There may be some damage somewhere. Like Mazza said if you feel comfortable or have a SC club friend nearby take some of that motor down. You may see something obvious. A rebuilt engine is not cheap, I think Bill at SC Performance has them
http://https://supercoupeperformance.com/partBrowser.aspx?partId=407

$2249 plus shipping, no intake manifold but everything else is there minus your blower, valve covers and intake etc. of course, take a look you will see what else does not come with it, timing chain cover, water pump, harmonic balancer so you have to buy a new one, you cannot re-use your old one. I don;t know what else. 12 month 12,000 mile warranty and a $300 core charge till you ship your old motor back which may cost you $300 to ship so it's a wash.

Talk to XR7 Dave he does excellent excellent work no idea what his prices are but be assured the motor will be perfect.
 
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i have no supercoupe friends local. infact, i dont know of any in the UK already.

that cost of a replacement motor is more than the car is worth over here. its a little too expensive as it sits, and once you factor in shipping, taxes and labour re installing it then its just not feasible.

i had no idea these motors went for such good money. i know nothing about these cars right now.
 
I'm sure you could find a reputable shop nearby that could help you diagnose the problem and fix whatever it may need, or at the very least, let you know if the motor really is salvageable or not. While there are many difference with the SC engines, it's still essentially an everyday Ford V6 underneath (in terms of diagnosing valvetrain or bottom end issues etc.)

Unfortunately if you don't have the room, skills, and tools to take it apart yourself, those are really your only options. Indeed it would be very expensive to have a motor shipped and there would still be the issue of performing the R&R.

I feel your pain... that is always a risk when buying a rare imported car. :(
 
My apologies somehow I missed you lived in the UK, shipping would be astronomical. There's is quite a group of North American muscle car enthusiasts in the UK and the shops and mechanics to go with it. I would think any of those shops that have dealt with supercharged vehicles, including Jags could be a great help to you. Parts may take awhile to get to you that is something you will have to live with. Don't write off that SC yet, do some digging.

Cheers
 
Parts?

They are hard to find in North America, let alone Europe.

Not trying to bust your ba.lls Les, but it's gonna be a very costly proposition if there is something catastrophically wrong with the engine.



To the OP.......there is no doubt in my mind that SOMEONE within a reasonable distance (say 500 miles) from you knows how to fix your problems. It WILL be expensive.:eek:
 
A few questions here to help diagnose the problem
1. Does the motor still run, if so can you post a video of it running ?
2. Have you removed all the belts and spun all the idler pulleys, water pump, SC, etc to see if something is starting to lock up.
3. Use a breaker bar to spin the motor at the crank bolt, rock it back and forth. Is there any play you can feel ?

If you remove the top end of the motor down including the intake manifold you can spin the motor at the crank bolt by hand and observe the valve train working, you can see if something is a miss.

Drain oil and remove the filter, strain the oil through a rag, anything shiny in the oil ?

And last but not least if you need any upper end parts I am well stocked, not saying shipping to England is cheap but I can do my best to help you.
Angelo
 
A few questions here to help diagnose the problem
1. Does the motor still run, if so can you post a video of it running ?
2. Have you removed all the belts and spun all the idler pulleys, water pump, SC, etc to see if something is starting to lock up.
3. Use a breaker bar to spin the motor at the crank bolt, rock it back and forth. Is there any play you can feel ?

If you remove the top end of the motor down including the intake manifold you can spin the motor at the crank bolt by hand and observe the valve train working, you can see if something is a miss.

Drain oil and remove the filter, strain the oil through a rag, anything shiny in the oil ?

And last but not least if you need any upper end parts I am well stocked, not saying shipping to England is cheap but I can do my best to help you.
Angelo

it does run yes but it struggles and misfires.

I have taken all the belts off and fired it up to see if the noise continued. It did unfortunately.

The crank balancer has been changed if that's what you mean, but I will check regardless. I shall drain the oil today and let you know.

Neill
 
Sounds slow, like valve train speed, not crank, I think.

What do you see if you pull the oil filler cap and look down into the valve cover? Oily, dry, dirty, sludge, milkshake?
 
Sounds slow, like valve train speed, not crank, I think.

What do you see if you pull the oil filler cap and look down into the valve cover? Oily, dry, dirty, sludge, milkshake?

its dark and dirty. no milkshake though, rules the headgasket out i think.

the inside of my cobra is golden, even when a change is due. it has meticulous oil changes at 4k miles.

the absolute kicker to this whole story is... i was on my way to sell my playstation so i could buy... you guessed it. oil and filter. this is when it happened. i had a debate with her father about oil changes the night before. he was telling me its the level to check, i know otherwise.

how does the oil change light know when to change oil? this was long overdue a change but the light said ok?

Neill
 
Sounds slow, like valve train speed, not crank, I think.

What do you see if you pull the oil filler cap and look down into the valve cover? Oily, dry, dirty, sludge, milkshake?

Valve train is rarely the cause. SC timing chain is almost bullet proof. Flat spot in in a lifter/cam is pretty weird too.
Rollers do not lock up that easy.
You can pull the dipstick all day, if its not a major break in the HG the oil will be clean.
Do what I told you. These engines are pretty intense, BASIC diagnostics NEVER changes no matter what the engine /:D
 
I'd follow what Blkbrd advised. I listened to your vid a couple of times and it sounds like something squealing about to seize. What he advised is pretty straight forward. Drop the belts, spin what you can by hand, use a breaker bar as he mentioned on what you cannot spin by hand.
 
During my first engine rebuild over tighten one of the rocker's bolt.
When the bolt sheared off, the rocker came lose and bounce around making the exact same sound.

Regardless it sounds that you are going to have to start taking things a part.

If bllkbirdsc suggestions do not reveal much, you could remove the supercharger to access the head covers. Removing them for visual inspection will likely give you a good indication of the issue.

Would only take a few hours and the replacement gaskets are cheap
 
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