I put about 60 miles on the car today, mostly highway driving in the rain. When I got home I got out of the car to investigate my windshield wiper squeak and noticed that the engine was knocking pretty loudly. It increased in tempo with the RPMs. I popped the hood and couldn't hear it much from above. The sound was definitely coming from the underside of the engine.

I came inside and spent about 20 minutes searching the forums and after reading this thread I went back out to see if it disappeared at higher RPMs. The knock was gone, so I drove around town for a while, including some highway, and the knock didn't come back.

I'm having the car looked at Monday for a handful of other issues. Is this worth mentioning? I work with computers for a living, so I understand if the problem isn't reproducible it can be very difficult to troubleshoot. Also, I'm only 1.5k into this oil change, and the dealer changed the oil before I bought the car, so I don't know what they used. Seeing as oil changes are expensive for this guy I'd rather not preemptively change it. Also, I'm half a tank into 93 octane (it's all I use).

Thanks,
Spencer

 

Perhaps some more details would help. Daily driver, stored (how long) , mileage, year, transmission, check your oil level and color, how long have you had it, Certified, warranty, etc. The more you provide the better the people here can assist you. Was it a knock or a ping? How did it perform under a load on the highway?

In regards to your dealer changing the oil, well if it was me I would get a new fleece filter and 0-40 Mobil 1 and that way you are sure. Funny thing happened to a friend, he picked up the car from the dealer and I was with him and I asked the detail guy who just drove it to get a full thank of gas in it for the delivery to the new owner what grade of gas he put in it. He proudly told me all the cars here take unleaded regular. Most Chrysler dealers have no clue what is supposed to be in this car. I'll let you draw your own conclusions on the oil and gas issue.

 

Hey Hawk, you were talking about premature rotor wear....is your's an automatic or stick.....I have a theory that people with automatics tend to use the brakes more than people with sticks...?

 

Funny I assumed the same thing. The car with the premature rotor failure was a stick. My automatic's rotors were like new when I changed pads. All my other cars were automatics except for the 2 seaters. Remember I was NOT the orginial owner in either case so I can't tell you any history. I belivev it has to do with the type of traffic, application of brakes and speed. When I lived in New York city brakes seemed to go fast with daily stop and go. But that was many years ago and before modern pads and rotors. Might also have something to do with driver's mentality and the 6 speed.

 

Most of my theories turn out to be crap.....I have another one....if you never use your brakes they'll last forever!

 

I would check your oil, if it is full, dont change it, if you think they used other than synthetic, have it changed someplace else.
I like you, put nothing but premium fuel in my Crossfire.

 

Well, they found solutions to my other problems but they can't reproduce the engine knock. I guess I'll have to wait and see if it comes back. (They checked the oil level and said it was all good.)

2006, 25k, daily driver, 6 spd. It sounded like a classic engine knock (not a ping). Engine responsiveness felt fine on the highway and at stop-light acceleration.

Speaking of rotor/brake wear, I got my previous car (1998 VW Cabrio 5 spd) with 75k, had the brakes checked at 120k assuming I was way overdue, and was told I still had 10% pads left. 4 years and 45k miles without replacing the pads, and who knows how old they were when I got them. I guess I engine brake a lot.

 

Chris L only thing I would add is don't drive it and they will last forever also.

 

The engine noise is normal. I have the same issue since day one. 5 years and 56k miles later everything is ok. Don't worry.. everything is ok.

 

"Real" rod knock does not simply go away and it gets worse at higher rpm's and when you hit the accelerator. It will have a sound similar to a whip crack. In early stages, an engine with rod knock will not make the characteristic "rod knock sound" at idle.

Piston slap can be identified because it is "duller" sounding (not a whip crack sound) and will usually go away after engine warmup. Piston slap will occur at idle.

"lifter tick" is a rhythmic clicking sound and will occur at idle as well as under load. A car with hydraulic lifters (like ours) that has been sitting around for a while without having been run may exhibit lifter tick. Hydraulic lifter tick should go away after a few minutes, otherwise this may be an indication of worse engine problems (low oil pressure, low oil, etc)

There are other noises, but they must be identified by recording the sound of the engine and posting the sound on the internet. Otherwise it's like guessing stocks - most of the time you're wrong

 

Great post on engine noises.

 

yes, sir, the man knows his engines....

 

Knock never came back. Thanks for the input guys. Now that I've had the car for a few months I'm far less paranoid about the little stuff.

 

I've got 124,000 miles on mine and it runs fine. Idle is steady and nothing abnormal about the performance. It does occasionally make a knocking sound similar to that of a small diesel engine, but comes and goes. It's done that since 50k. I'll try to record it since it's most noticeable when the car is in drive or reverse. It goes away as rev's increase.

 

I get the lifter tick sometimes when cold. It goes away after warming up. 7 years and 50K.

 

Of course that little label when you open the fuel door does say "option" on the fuel grade requirement doesn't it?