i have a 1982 244 dl kjet (not this guy again ;)

I noticed under hard accleration i hear some sort of a rattlign noise(akin to a nut being shaken in a can). This sound goes away when the speed is made constant....the sound only appears again when i begin to accelerate my speed.

This rattlign noise is coupled with a slight loss of power and sometimes a significant loss of power

The sound is only there under acceleration under load....not when the car is coasting in nuetral or even being held at a constant speed..

I'v looked at the cat....it's fine...nothign is loose in there that i could see

The noise comes and goes....sometimes for months on end...then reapears

My clutch is bad....way too tight and in 1st and rear it's begging to grind. also is making a whining noise when disengaged

the car is a rather simple design...a k jetronic car...so not many things i can think of that would go wrong


If anybody can help me on this one..i'd really appreciate it


My only hope is that it's not some sort of a bolt or a nut in the engine...that woudl be very very bad

PING! I had the very same problem last year, and for a long while I didn't know what it was (we're all learning as we go). What that is, is the fuel/air combo is getting compressed inside the piston and igniting BEFORE the spark goes. That is the noise you hear that sounds like a marble in a tin can. This is a bad thing, and should be fixed. It is easily fixed--just turn the bolt at the base of the distributor and swivel the distributor a wee bit. If you do it while it's running, you'll be able to make sure you didn't go too far and end up stalling the car. Then give 'er a run and see if it's better. it should be. good luck!

Nate Gundy
--
'86 240DL sedan, 260K miles, M46, K cam, 25/21mm sways, 260 front and wagon rear springs; http://valvespringcompressor.weblogs.us/

"This rattlign noise is coupled with a slight loss of power and sometimes a significant loss of power"
If your timing is too far advanced you'll get a rattling sound from the engine. This pre-ignition/pinging/detonation can blast a hole in your piston.

Is your timing within spec? Try reducing the timing advance (loosen dist. and turn clockwise) by a few degrees to see if the rattling goes away.
--
1980 245 Canadian B21A with SU carb and M46 trans

is my 82 k jet even adjustable? I'm wondering if this pinging is more so dependent on the low grade gas i use?

The reason i lean towards the gas is that this occurs only every now and then. I've been using 87 octane gas and like 4 months ago i would hear this noise (sometimes). Yesterday i heard it again...after buying gas(not at my usual place)? I also just replaced the belts(alternator and a/c belts) as well as the timing belt was replaced about a month ago.

But i will go for adjusting the the car....i'll give it a shot today..


Thanks for all the help!!!

The 'pinging' you hear is more prone to occur at higher ambient temps (i.e., more likely in summer than in winter) and with lower-octane fuel. Try a tankful of premium gas - if the pinging goes away, then try the middle-grade at the next fillup.

After I put a VX cam in my '92, I noticed pinging. I switched to premium gas for warm-weather months and regular for the cold months. Now out in the desert, with a different gas formulation (more ethanol for most of the year), I use mid-grade most of the time and high-octane for the 3-4 hot months. Even when I drove 25,000 miles a year the incremental cost for premium gas (about 10 cents a gallon, maybe $2-$4 a week) did not strike me as a big deal. There are bigger leaks in my wallet to worry about.