Just changed the oil pump on this engine and it started making this rattling noise. It only happens when the engine revs up and not down.

Video of it running: https://youtu.be/J9SJmiQpErI

I've drained the oil and it's clean.

Sounds like all starvation has knocked out a camshaft lobe.
What is the oil pressure now ?
How did you get the oil pressure up after you fitted the new oil pump ?
Why did you fit a new oil pump ?

totta crolla wrote:Sounds like all starvation has knocked out a camshaft lobe.
What is the oil pressure now ?
How did you get the oil pressure up after you fitted the new oil pump ?
Why did you fit a new oil pump ?

Hey, thanks for helping me out totta.

I checked the camshafts and they are all fine.
My oil pressure gauge doesn't work, the connector for it was stripped by someone who owned the car before me and I haven't got another one.

I replaced the oil pump because I freshly rebuilt this engine after I bought it with a blown headgasket. It has 200 miles on it since the rebuild. Within those 200 miles my garbage ebay oil pump I bought to save costs ended up cracking and spewing oil all over so I bit the bullet and bought the AISIN oil pump.
I did drive the car a few miles (less than 20) with the cracked ebay pump but only at low rpm, it may have not been oiling the engine as it should during that outing.
Still, I started the car after driving it with the bad pump several times and it did not make this noise.

I installed the new pump and everything went smooth. Torqued everything to spec and then I filled the engine with oil. Turned it on and let it idle until warm for a good 20-30minutes. As soon as I turned it on you could hear this rattling noise but it went away within 2-3 minutes. So I took it out and drove it, no noise and everything was heavenly, I drove around 80 miles at moderate rpm. The next day I turned it on and again you could hear the rattling, it did not disappear or get any quieter. Took the car out anyway and it still drives great without issue, there is no drop in performance, no smoke coming out of the exhaust or anything but the noise persists.

What else can I check? Thank you.

It does sound top endy, check valve clearances and the cam followers.

I wanted to note that turning the engine by hand does not make any noise.

Update: Found this in the oil pan.





There wasn't anything else in there but this. No metal shavings.
Any idea what it is?

That looks like it could be a broken piston pin retainer.
You can see a picture of how they are supposed to be here:
http://www.billzilla.org/4agstock2.htm
If it is missing from one of your pistons it would certainly explain the noise.
Do you know which bottom end you are using ? Some 4age derivatives used press fit pistons and would not have the retainers.

Might not even be broken...



Some of them look like that from new, although the one in your pic
looks like it has been stretched a bit.

Cheers... jondee86

the ring is bigger than a piston retainer and the ones I used had the little ears and are black like the oem ones not silver.

Just listened to your vid on headphones... sounded ugly

A rattling noise that is heard immediately the engine starts up and then goes away,
is often due to dry bearings. I hear that noise for about one second after my engine
fires when it has been sitting for a day or two. As soon as oil starts flowing into the
bearings to form a cushion between the metal surfaces, the noise disappears. If it
took 2-3 minutes to go away when you first started the engine, that is not a good
sign. If it doesn't go away at all, that is not good either.

If it is a bearing rattle, it will not immediately affect performance, as your compression
is good and the the engine will not have any loss of power. The first check you should do
is to try and isolate the noise and see if it relates to one particular cylinder. With the
engine idling, pull the spark leads off one cylinder at a time, and see if the noise goes
away/gets substantially less. If it does, then investigate further... like so...

totta crolla wrote:You can check for worn rod bearings by removing a spark plug, turning the engine over
by hand until the piston has gone just past TDC and on its way down the bore then carefully
insert a long rod into the plug hole and push on the top of the piston. Any movement
downward will be rod bearing clearance.

If the piston drops down a fraction with an audible clunk... you have done a bearing.

Cheers... jondee86

Thanks for the reply jondee.
I managed to blow something in the bottom end today. Will rip it apart and report back.

Okay I dropped the oil pan and it was full of metal shavings and the remains of what appears to be a bearing. Turns out cylinder 4 was not getting any oil during that 20 mile drive I took with my ebay pump... so it decided to tell me a knock knock joke.
Cylinder 4 rod is toast, rod cap is toast as well as the crankshaft.
Really bummed about this but its my fault for putting such garbage in my engine, lesson learned. Never buy ebay parts even if thats all you can afford. Save your money and get the quality part it will save you a lot of time and money in the long run.
At least I got to drive it almost 200 miles that's more than I've put on it in the last 7 months.

Now I'm not sure whether to buy the parts to fix it again or get rid of the car entirely. Let me know what you think.

Thanks for all the help everyone.

Yes, it sure sounded like you had done a bearing. I had that noise on one of the first
cars I ever owned, and once heard, never forgotten. Depending on how bad the crank
is scored, it may be possible to grind it and fit undersized bearings. Otherwise look out
for a used crank or even a complete engine from someone parting out a wrecked car.

Cheers... jondee86

I'd fix it rather than get rid of it, but then I like AW11s.

Fix it! Don't let it get you down! It'll be better and stronger next time as you'll learn from previous mistakes and make it better than ever!