Brian Dwyer

Thanks perfa. I'm currently living in denial that it is an expensive part. I'm going to do some research and run to the junkyard this week and pull a few parts. I'll post updates.

Hi everyone sorry about the slow replies. I tried a few things no luck, and before digging in the engine I went to autozobe to see if any codes were hiding. I found this code in my system I'll be looking at it tonight. But I think I'm on the right track.

LS97, Thanks for the tip, I forgot to mention I added the Rislone engine treatment and drove it 10 miles but it didn't help any.

Hi PerfA, thanks for the quick reply. It was not the valve cover gasket near the firewall, it was the one that faces outside of the hood that went bad. Also besides the nasty knock sound, my engine seems to be running fine. Idles perfectly, and accelerates perfectly. I will pull the plugs tomorrow if possible and take a peek at them and post pictures if any look strange. I'll also clean the connectors to the ignition coils and see if that makes a difference.

Hello everyone, My car has a knocking problem after it almost ran out of oil from a valve gasket problem. Here is the video of the noise it's making. The high pitch tick has always been there and from what I read is fairly normal. It's the knocking noise like a noisy lifter when the engine RPMs go up. http://youtu.be/LrH7gKXy_v8 I'm hoping someone has had experience with this and can give me some information on where the problem is, and what it would take to repair it. Also, I know it's not a good idea, but how long I would be able to drive it in this condition. Here is the chain of events that put it into this condition: My engine was running fine. I have 45k miles on it. It was a Florida vehicle but I have been up in Chicago for school. The temperature dropped to below zero F, I let my vehicle warm up, then began to drive it into school, a seventy mile trip on the highway. Fifty miles into the drive and I heard a noise under the hood and pulled off to a truck stop, then I saw smoke and oil all over my engine. I checked the oil and nothing was on the dip stick. I put two quarts of oil into my engine, started it and let it run for about 10 seconds, shut it off and checked it again, with still nothing on the dip stick. I then added another quart of oil, turned the engine on again for a few seconds and for the first time my "Low Oil" light came on. Checked the dip stick and oil was only at the bottom so I added two more quarts. With the engine oil up to the proper level I got it to my friends house. Turned out the valve cover gasket went bad in the morning and blew all of my oil out. I replaced the valve cover gasket, and made sure the oil level was good. The engine was running fine, and not leaking. The next day on my way home, about 150 miles from the event, when I stopped for gas I heard the knocking noise that is in the video. The knocking noise happens in low gears. If I am going from 0-40 the knocking noise and loudness and speed match the speed of the engine. If I am in neutral or first and accelerating 1500 - 2000 rpms it's very noticeable. Second gear it's less noticeable. After I get over 45 mph and my engine shifts into the next gear the knock goes away and I wont hear it until I slow back down into the lower gears. Things that might be important: There is no coolant making it into my oil The knocking is quieter while my engine is cool. My engine never overheated It's not burning oil from what I can tell but may be too soon to tell I dont have blue smoke out of my exhaust My engine oil smells normal The knock sounds like it's coming from near the top of the engine or on the side closer to the firewall. I'll be monitoring this thread and will get back as often as I can and will keep everyone informed of updates. I'll be getting it into a mechanic as soon as I get my disability payment from the VA. Thanks everyone!