Hello all!

Well, first of all I have a 5th Gen 1997 Monte Carlo LS 3.1 Liter engine.

I had a blown intake manifold gasket but I decided to go all the way down to the head gaskets and replaced them too since I already had most of the top engine off. That way I could get it all out of the way so I don't have future hassles with these gaskets!

At the beginning I didn't have any clues that I had a blown gasket problem! The problem started when my car started overheating and I couldn't figure out why it was overheating. I checked out a few things and nothing came up. I checked the oil and no water in the oil. I checked the water pump, thermostat, etc... and nothing was wrong so I figured I would do a radiator flush and that's what I did. When I was done with the flush I added anti-freeze and the car stopped overheating for a couple days until I was driving down the highway and I didn't notice the temp went up very high and the car wasn't smoking or nothing but I pulled over and opened the hood and it was literally sizzling and slightly smoking from oil burning. I let it cool down for about 30 minutes. I only lived about a mile away so I figured I drive it home real quick. When I started the car the first thing I noticed was a knocking/loud ticking noise I knew that this was a big problem. I got home checked into it further. The first thing I notice that there was oil in the water reservoir, then I checked the oil. The dipstick had a chocolate milk on it and the oil cap had like white cream on it. So, I knew I had a blown gasket!

Now, its all finished and everything looks good but the knocking/ticking sound is still there. I hope this isn't a serious problem after all the work I did and the money I spent. I thought maybe the sound was the valves and I had a valve job done at the machine shop. I figured that would fix the noise when I was done with the repair but I was wrong.

Does anyone know what the knocking/ticking noise might be?

 

The 3100 is known for a valve tick. If it is a valve tick, you should be able to use something like a mechanics stethoscope or a LONG screw driver and listen to the valve covers and here it from there.
At one point we had a 3100 with a sticking valve (tick was super loud when the engine was cold, but normalized after it warmed up). Using Rislone or Motor Honey (I alternated) after oil changes, the noise went away (took about 4-5 oil changes at 3000-5000 mile intervals before the car got to no longer needing the additive).

But, I'm not sure an additive is your fix.

I'm concerned about your ride where it over heated, you had stuff sizzling and milky oil. When doing LIM or Head gaskets, I've changed the oil before the first start, drive about 100-500 miles, change the oil again. This is in efforts to "flush" out contaminents that got in the crank case while doing the job. Water/anti-freeze is a bearing killer. If it starts to corrode the bearings, you're done. If that knocking noise is a result of something like a spun bearing, then engine needs pulled and rebuilt from the ground up (at which point, you might be best buying a known good salvage engine for it).

You may want to find a reputable mechanic, seek their advise on where the noise is coming from.

 

Could be the lifters

 

Thanks maniac and nitehawk,

Maniac if it was the bearings where would I look for it at?

Plus I was just running it and I noticed a noise where the tension pulley is. It sounded like a rattling noise the belt is on pretty tight too. I also noticed it was starting to overheat again. The radiator hoses were not hard and the radiator cap wasn't hot either. I took the radiator cap off after running it for about 5-10 min and nothing happened at all. So, I'm thinking the water pump is bad too.

As I was running it the knocking nose went down to more of a little ticking nose but it was still noticeable.

Nitehawk, how would I check to see if the lifters are the problem?

What would the rattling noise be where the tension pulley is?

Lmao, I been working on the car for about a year now I haven't had no time to work on it. I been working on it little by little but now i have more time to deal with it.

Thanks Again Fellas!

 

Rattling can be a sign of a failing water pump (you normally also see wetness in a line on the hood insulation). With the car off, you can do the following:
- Remove the belt.
- By hand, spind the alternator, water pump and tensioner. Also try wiggling the pulleies. Any play is a sign of a problem. Also, if you feel a "rough" spot in the spin of the pulley could be a sign of a problem.
- Hands clear, belt off, start the car. Is the noise still there? If so, you should have only a crank pulley moving, all others stationary. It's bad sign it's not an accessory.

If it is the bearings I mentioned, these are accessed by removing the oil pan. It's the bearings for the connecting rods. If those went bad, you may also have additional damage, hence why removing the engine may be your best bet. I have never changed those bearings but I've heard most of the time, it's difficult to access with the engine in the car.

 

Ok maniac I will give that a try and I will post it here what the outcome is!

Now with the bearings. If the bearings were bad would it be a knock or tick on the top half or the bottom half of the engine?
Thanks

 

i know from experience the 3.1's love to overheat and if something is wrong it wont cool down mine will crank up to 3/4 of the gauge when in bumper to bumper traffic,but it corrects it. im going to be careful with mine now even more so as i know my rear main seal and oil pan leak

 

3100's very commonly had loud lifters... Here's a quick link I found about lifters.

How to Check a Valve Lifter | eHow.com

 

If it's a connecting rod bearing it's down in the crank case, the noise would originate at the crank. I've only had experience with 1 car that did that (the v8 in my '84 Camaro, that was the very problem that put the car into "restore project" as it needs more work while the motor is out). In that one situation, it was a loud knocking/banging noise. Until I rip the motor apart, I don't know if it did any damage to the cylinder walls.

Valve/Lifter ticks on these engines will be on the top half of the motor, as it's in the heads.

 

Well, I changed the water pump and the car stop overheating!

Now, I still have the knocking/ticking noise. I tried some Gunk ValveMedic and had no luck with my problem (That's what I figured too). So, I quess my cam bearings are shot because everything else I have tried hasn't work.

I am going to drive it until the wheels fall off and then do a engine swap. I was thinking to swap it with a 3400 dohc motor. Hopefully that would be a easy and simple swap.

Thank you fellas for your help!