Top of engine knock

200,000 MILES • 3.5L • V6 • 2WD • AUTOMATIC
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JREESE35467
  • MEMBER
  • 1 POST
Was driving down the road and my truck cut off. When I started it back up the motor was knocking from the top of the motor.
Aug 10, 2020 at 6:19 PM
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KASEKENNY
  • ✓Experienced Mechanic
  • 18,907 POSTS
A top end engine knock is normally a couple of things. First and foremost, it is a bearing noise and due to it being an overhead cam engine this means it is most likely a spun cam bearing. This is normally caused by lack of oil.

So that means first we need to check the oil level and make sure there is oil in the engine, and it is not very dark or black.

If not, we need to change the oil and filter and see if the noise is gone.

https://www.2carpros.com/articles/how-to-change-engine-oil-and-filter

However, when you drain the oil, we need to look for metal. If there is metal, then that is due to metal to metal in a bearing so unfortunately that means we are going to have to tear it down or replace the engine.

Due to this engine locking up or stalling and then having a noise, I suspect there was a lack of oil and it seized and luckily did not lock up but if this happened then we should have metal in the oil which is why we need to start with checking the oil.

Please let us know what you find with this. Thanks
Oct 18, 2021 at 7:25 AM
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