Vannin' Home Forums Ford Troubleshooting Help - Clacking in Engine

Wow, you need to replace that rusted out exhaust piece ASAP. Is there any way for you to reatach the big hose that goes on top of that rusted out piece just for purposes of eliminating excess noise?

That almost sounds like it is exterior to the engine, like something hitting the fan or the smog pump failing. But you can hear it better than anyone else since you are sitting right there.

The engine is that loud even with that piece attached heh. We've checked all the fans because that's what I thought it was at first but it's so random

I am hearing the clacking noise but also a lot of other noises that sound like exhaust and vacuum leaks. Check the exhaust manifold gasket, any check valves in the air injection system for the cylinder head and the catalytic converter, the smog pump itself, the integrity of the exhaust lines, and the integrity of the intake manifold gasket. If you have access to a mechanic's stethoscope or a wooden broomstick or dowel you can listen to different components and areas of the engine to determine what exactly is making noise.

Do you have a vacuum gauge? If so, can you get a vacuum reading with the engine idling? What all had to be done to get that aftermarket carburetor on there? Carbureted Ford engines of the 80s were an absolute mess of vacuum hoses and you need to be sure that everything is getting vacuum when it should and that there are no vacuum leaks.

All of those noises were there prior to this clacking. I've known I have vacuum and exhaust problems since I bought the van 4 years ago. The clacking only stated after I put a new carb on.

Ahhhhhhh. OK. I am going to say that in the process of replacing the carb that washer and maybe a nut or second washer fell down the intake. That makes sense.

Short term, pull the plugs and find the offending foreign body.

Long term, all those leaks need to be addressed. Exhaust leaks can lead to carbon monoxide poisoning in the cab. Vacuum leaks not only kill performance and harm fuel ecnomy, but if the leaks are bad enough the engine can run too lean and get damaged. Since you ae running a carburetor with a catalytic converter (I presume it is still there) you may want to replace the converter. Carbs and catalytic converters don't work well together because carburetors can't control the fuel mixture accurately enough. The carbs almost always puts too much fuel down the engine causing it to run too rich which causes the unburned fuel to collect and ignite in the converter leading to converter matrix meltdown. Saw it happen on my brother's 83 Dodge van twice.

But I am sure you have more pressing concerns than fine-tuning the engine on your van! ; )

We pulled that piece of metal in the above pictures out of a cylinder yesterday. The clacking continues.

Right. Have you scoped the passenger side cylinders yet?

And the noise is gone!

Apparently the 4th plug on the passenger side didn't have the boot for the wire on all the way. It's at such an awkward angle and such a tight spot that I couldn't get enough push to get it all the way on there which was causing the clacking noise.

Thanks to all of you, Reed especially, for taking the time to offer suggestions. You-All-Everyone are THE best.

Yay! Glad to hear it. It is always nice to find out that what you were worried was a major problem was actually something simple. Now you can focus on getting all the other little problems cured, like the vacuum and exhauast leaks.