we started with my first post of this : we noticed the tappet covers were leaking so 3 weeks ago we got the gasket kits and did the gaskets . well that part was simple but after doing this we went to start the car and it was hard to start kept stalling and it was really loud. so we thought it may have been the spark plug leads so we changed them all and checked the dizzy cap it looked fine. But we still had this problem...... so we disconnected the battery for a while and put it back on, it doesnt stall now and it isnt hard to start ,,, but is really loud still and it has a metallic knock now which is really quite scary

NOW to look deeper we started to take her apart and when we took the inlet manifold off One cylinder has aluminium fillings in the inlet manifold, which has only appeared after we got the loud knock.
so where do we go from here?? any ideas what has happened and what to look for?
is there instructions on the AMC website some where for taking the head off in laymans terms.
OH it is a TF Magna auto.

sounds like you might of droped somthing down the inlet to the cylinder did you cover the inlet when you replaced the seals to stop anything fulling down into the cylinders

yes we are sure that we didnt drop anything down, we were very dilligent in making sure that didnt happen.
the only other thing we can think of is that we changed the oil when we did the gaskets we used a different brand of oil ,yes we filled the oil filter before putting it on.
Im beginning to wonder how much this is going to cost me to fix ... :(

how many ks on the motor
one on ebay with 210k on the clock and belts done for 200.00

thats wierd , shavings in the inlet manifold can only come in via the throttle body or the plenum chamber. even if you did use bad / no oil you wouldnt get shavings anywhwere in the inlet.

how many ks on the motor
one on ebay with 210k on the clock and belts done for 200.00

yeah our baby has done about 330k , we are very sceptical about getting motors off ebay cause we have been jipped 2 times before with turbo nissan motors.
Or is it you selling it on ebay rob??
will it be a night mare putting a new motor in??

are you sure they are aluminum shavings? has anybody been drilling anywhere near the engine plenum? are these same filings in the air cleaner?

To get alloy in your inlet manifold is very strange indeed. Even if you left something behind in the inlet manifold, if it was small it would have worked its way into the cyl and poss out. Only things that thes could have come from are your MAF, TB or your manifold, except the MAF it would have to have been put in there

If you are interested in just getting a new engine, I can do good prices on 3.5 engines which have had timing belt done and can be made ready to bolt straight into your car, will run fine off the 3.0 ECU as well

thats a point , maybe the aluminuim bits are pieces of the MAF honeycomb , maybe its been backfiring?

thats a point , maybe the aluminuim bits are pieces of the MAF honeycomb , maybe its been backfiring?

Cant see how backfiring would wreck the MAF, the TB would be the first in line

its just a possibility , a backfire with the trottle open would go through the TB to the MAF , which has an aluminium honeycomb in it. this more relates to LPG cars though.

Aww, fair clack of the whip, fellas. You all know that the only way to find out what the problem is, is to rip the heads off. Remove heads. Inspect. Dismantle. Repair. Reassemble. Go for a drive. Easy as.

Aww, fair clack of the whip, fellas. You all know that the only way to find out what the problem is, is to rip the heads off. Remove heads. Inspect. Dismantle. Repair. Reassemble. Go for a drive. Easy as.

WTF? The proper way would be to hear the noise in person, you then are able to determine what the noise is and where it is coming from. These filings may have nothing to do with the noise at all, may be as simple as an old plug tube seal has been dropped into the rocker gear and left there, have seen this happen before

if he is going to start taking off heads etc etc, I can not see the point when he states the noise seems to be top end ie under the rocker cover, taking the head off will not show what the issue is in so far as the filing go, I am really suprised they are there given the airflow would normally take them through to the engine

In the process of dismantling, the problem will become visible. It may be something simple, as you suggest. Just the first step, removing the rocker covers, may reveal the problem. If there are no obvious bits grinding away in the rocker area, the head may have to come off. Some dismantling is needed to find the problem, that is all I am saying. Alloy can come from the intake manifold itself (unlikely) or something grinding away at the head, and if it is bad enough to put alloy shavings into the intake system, the head may need to come off for rewelding or replacement. Something like a valve guide that has come loose in the head and is moving up and down with the intake valve would do it, seen that before in a Mitsu engine.