Hi guys,
Up front id like to apologize for most likely not having this thread in its proper place. With that said, i am in need of some assistance diagnosing an 03 SSEi i came across for a cpl hndrd bucks. My worst fears are that i have a main bearing bad.
Heres what ive messed with/figured out so far...
-At start-up (cold or heatsoaked), there is a knock in the motor at idle that doesnt dissipate as throttle is applied; only increases in volume and pace as you wld expect with an increase in RPMs
-To rule out s/c coupler or bearing, i removed the belt so that only crank pulley would turn when idling... knock still there with no change in its presence at all from ng belt on to having it off.
-Oil pressure seems fine at any point during all this; as well as the look/smell of oil upon visual fluid inspection.
-The boost gauge is what has me stumped. Sitting at idle, the needle of the boost gauge jumps up & down wildly. That will probably bring on that 'Aha' moment for most on here ,but Im new to the SC world and still learning to walk in that regard.
Think that is everything i have been able to do to her for now. I have this bad feeling that the motor is chunked and bought a scrapyard replacement for rebuild just in case it is. However, if i can avoid the swap and the headache that comes with you can bet i will lol.
Thanks all.

One more thing, could someone pls point me the way to pic posting instructions.

Picture posting is covered here:
your-ride-pics-and-videos/topic46080.html
I hope you've followed the advice (in your other thread) to carefully check the harmonic balancer.
Assuming it's not the HB, here are 2 good articles on pinpointing the issue:
http://www.remanufactured.com/Engine_Diagnosis_101.htm
http://www.foxvalleymarc.com/Tech_secti ... oises.html
Note that the first article mentions a sludged up engine and tells you not to use any type of flush but to change the oil every 500 miles or so until the sludge is cleared out by the detergents in the oil.

Thanks so much for the info. Im gearing up to check her over very well in the morning. I cant see how this reply slipped past me an apologize for the late thank you. But thank you so much...

You're very welcome.
Hopefully, it's the harmonic balancer.
Since removing the SC belt worsened the noise, that would be me suspicion.

Let us know what you find..

The boost gauge jumping wildly could be a number of things; my guess is it's a bad stepper motor in the cluster, or a vacuum leak. Either way, it's unrelated to the engine knocking.

Like said, check the harmonic balancer first. If you look at the face of it, there is a rubber ring. If that rubber is all cracked, or worse, chunks missing, replace the balancer and then see what happens. Here's more info:

engine/topic8267.html

If the HB looks good, then it's possibly something internal to the engine, and you'll have to make your own determination as to that.

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