I have about 200 miles on a fresh 318 that I assembled myself, so there's that. About fifty miles ago, it developed a ticking from the rear of the engine that wasn't there from the initial start. I can maybe convince myself that it's coming from the distributor, but I'm not for sure. It's a slightly softer sound than a tap-tap, more of a snick-snick, and I can feel slightly more vibration in the cap than the body. The distributor is a Chinese electronic replacement. With the cap off, the rotor can be turned a few degrees clockwise before springing back, and I assume that's a normal function of the centrifugal advance. There's also about 1/8" of shaft vertical end-play; is that normal or could it be the source of the noise? The sound is almost always there, but inconsistent; sometimes almost completely fading away, sometimes a little louder. My first thought was exhaust leak, but now I don't think so.
It's an '86 318 with a factory roller valvetrain, the cam reground to something only slightly more agressive than stock.
Even before this, I had planned to give HH a shout about a factory distributor with a more appropriate advance curve, but until then do you have any thoughts about this noise? I've been pleased that the engine sealed well with no leaks, so I don't want to break into it unless I really have to. Thanks for any ideas.
It's an '86 318 with a factory roller valvetrain, the cam reground to something only slightly more agressive than stock.
Even before this, I had planned to give HH a shout about a factory distributor with a more appropriate advance curve, but until then do you have any thoughts about this noise? I've been pleased that the engine sealed well with no leaks, so I don't want to break into it unless I really have to. Thanks for any ideas.
