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Anybody heard of a "wrist pin noise" ?

gmhowe

Well-known member
Joined
Nov 14, 2002
Messages
437
Location
glendale, az
Corvette
1985 4+3 black cpe & 96 LT1 CE
My 96 was taken in lately and when I got it back it developed a "clacking" noise wasn't loud but just annoying. Drove if for a few days and it just was bothering me. Took it back to the guys who always work on both my vettes and after a couple of days Dave called me back and said it was a Wrist Pin noise. It's coming from inside the engine. The car runs great but was wondering if anybody else has run into this ?
Thanks in advance
Gordon
 
Curious as to what work your shop did before you began noticing the noise?
 
Nothing to do with the engine block, I am curious is this something serious or will get serious as time goes on ?
 
Dug out the invoice it was rear brakes, cooling fan replacement
 
If the engine makes "wrist pin" noise, then you have a potentially expensive problem because, when the engine is in good condition, wrists pins don't make noise that you could hear. If in fact the clicking you hear is coming from a wrist pin, it might be running great now but you can expect future problems.

How many miles are on this engine?

How did Dave determine the noise was coming from a wrist pin?
 
Almost 130k, he has worked on cars for decades and does all the work on both my 96 and my 85. I don't race the vettes or abuse them, just a daily drive depending on which one the mileage driven is less then 20 miles daily.
 
Well...if Dave says it's a wrist pin, it's time for an engine overhaul.

Good luck.
 
Vette Magazine actually promoted Dave's shop as 1 of 2 best places in AZ for working on Corvettes
 
Any chance you can get an audio of what you are hearing? Does the repetitiveness of the noise change with RPM? Does the sound sound like it is way down inside then engine, or maybe in the vicinity of the valve cover? Getting a clacking noise (wrist pin?) after that work sounds fishy to me. Maybe just a 1 in 100,000 coincidence. Would not be the first time as my ASE brother can attest. Could Dave decipher which cylinder was making the wrist pin noise? I doubt it. As Hib said, see if you can find out how Dave determined it is wrist pin slap, as opposed to, say, connecting rod knock at the crank shaft journal, or maybe even lifter or pushrod noise. Nonetheless, If you are short on cash you just might want to drive it around like you usually do; absolutely no hot-rodding. If the noise keeps getting worse then better have that attended to. Please keep us posted.
 
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yes the clacking sounds go up with the RPM's Dave said it was deep in the engine. I just wonder is it still possible to take road trips with it like maybe 600 miles or not ? or just roll the dice and see what happens. If it craps I still have my 85 vette to drive.
 
If it actually is a wrist pin noise, the piston will eventually let go. When it does it will destroy the block. My experience has been that a wrist pin noise starts out light and with time gets louder,usually don't just happen. A broken skirt on the piston can make a lot of noise also. I wouldn't go to far from home with it, you could end up with an expensive tow bill.
 
yes the clacking sounds go up with the RPM's Dave said it was deep in the engine. I just wonder is it still possible to take road trips with it like maybe 600 miles or not ? or just roll the dice and see what happens. If it craps I still have my 85 vette to drive.
As another noted, I too find it hard to believe that a wrist pin bearing surface went south all at once. It usually starts out as a minor tap and gets louder over time if driven reasonably. If I were you I would get a second opinion before a long trip or major engine work.
 

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