Worrying Engine noises/knock

Update! Thanks for the offer on the sensor and parts, can't wait to get them to see if they solve the issue.

Also thank you lookforjoe for the heads up on that tiny pin! Got it disassembled and put the bent sensor "star" back in spec. (.015 in clearance from coil) Re-assembled and no luck.

Checked the resistance between the two wires on the hall effect coil and found it to be infinity, open circuit. Same when disconnected from the ECU. Manual says it should have like 800 to 1300 ohms of resistance, so looks like my coil is bad, maybe as a result of the damage done to the sensor "star", but may just be unrelated.

Anyway, waiting on parts and a new distributor cap and we will see if she fires then! Thanks everyone!

Had a weird happening when trying to start it. At one point it cranked but made a clunk with rotation, maybe the same clunk as when it was running? I will investigate further.
 
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Jefco said:
I got this from ebay 2 years ago
View attachment 19727
I ended up using another distributor, so I have one of these too
View attachment 19726
PM me, lets make a deal.
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She runs! Thank you for the parts Jefco! Got the distributor re-assembled and back in the car and with a little logic got the timing set and she fired right up!

Put a timing light on her and she is idling better than ever before, honestly made a huge difference just getting the timing set.

Anyway, still no location nailed down on the clunking when rev'ed hot, I will warm up the car in the next couple days and see if I can find the issue.

Thanks for the help all!
 
Congratz on getting her running again, there is no better sound after hours of working on an engine than first time she fires up again.
 
Conda said:
I know this isn't the best solution, but have people evenly shaved off a couple thousandths off the bottom (not the side the cam rides on) of the shim? Only thinking about this cause I'm at most .002 out of spec.
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It's been done, but it requires a serious surface grinding machine - it's both cheaper and easier to find a shim the right size. .002" is .05mm so the next size shim up or down will do the trick for you.

Measure your shims, don't trust the nominal sizes, they're often off by a thousandth or so.
 
Buy one of these - best tool in my toolbox! Best for probing and listening to the source of noise.

upload_2019-3-1_18-33-49.png
 
Got the car nice and hot. Found out the radiator fans work, so that's nice.

Could not get the noise to happen again, only things i changed were the distributor and ignition timing along with the accessory belt. Previous belt was way too loose, looked like it was sliding and squeaking a little.

I'll link to a video of it running in a bit.
 
Conda said:
I know this isn't the best solution, but have people evenly shaved off a couple thousandths off the bottom (not the side the cam rides on) of the shim? Only thinking about this cause I'm at most .002 out of spec.
Click to expand...
It is not for the faint of heart but can be done.
I have ground down shims several times.
I used an old shim bucket as a holder and used a bench mount grinding wheel to hog down the first cut then finish it off with progressively finer abrasives.
It take some time as you have to take it down slow and messure a lot buy running a micrometer over it quite often.
The bucket holds the shim and lets it spin so the metal is removed more evenly over the entire surface.
I have gotten some dead on valve adjustments this way.
 
Hey all, things are pretty okay with the X1/9, been daily driving it.

Recently my main concern has been variance in idle, it seems like if i start it sometimes it will idle way too low, and require adjustment of the idler screw to idle smooth (~1000 rpm). It also takes throttle to start the car which I assume is just standard operating procedure for cars of this time.

When the engine is hot and i'm driving occasionally when I let the engine go back to idle the rpm dips a little too low causing a pretty hefty shudder through the entire car before the idle recovers and evens out.

I have adjusted idle to 1000 rpm after it was hot and had trouble with it cold, I have tried it the other way around too and it just doesn't seem happy.

I suspect a potential issue with my intake air auxiliary valve with the cold start, but I find it strange that it would still act up when hot. What do you all think?
 
Well over three months and no further reply's. I am guessing the trigger wheel was the cause of the strange sounds.

I NEVER would have guessed that!
 
Rod Midkiff said:
Well over three months and no further reply's. I am guessing the trigger wheel was the cause of the strange sounds.

I NEVER would have guessed that!
Click to expand...

I think it was something related to the clutch, but that has been replaced. I had a broken pressure plate finger.

Also the timing belt tensioner was awful and could have made the noise.

Honestly this car has been a bit of a basket case of constant failures (CV joints, tie rod ends,stripped bolt holes everywhere), put about 2000 miles on it since buying it. Haven't heard the knocking noise since making this thread.

Also my water pump started dumping coolant from the weep hole today and I need it to be ready by the 30th for a Lemons Rally. Not a great day o_O

Thankfully Midwest Bayless has overnight shipping!
 
Glad the noise issue is gone. (I was just day looking at a pressure plate another X1/9 owner was showing Me that had a strange symptom. would not release completely unless the removed the stop on the clutch peddle.
 
It can take a bit until the car is all up to snuff. Disuse is the enemy of all older cars along with the other failing of not doing preventative maintenance (not you, the PO).

The car shouldn't require any gas pedal manipulation to start and the idle should remain in a fairly tight range warm or cold, it suggests that another subsystem isn't doing its job. Likely the warm up circuit and the cold start injector.

Good luck with it.

Karl
 
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