Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums General Troubleshooting knocking sound

i have a 97 contour zetec engine. i milled the head not long ago because it got warped. runs great when the engine is warm or its warm outside but when its a cold engine and cold outside it runs like crap. it will make a knocking sound until it warms up...the colder it is outside the louder the sound. also the lower the octane gas i use the louder the sound. i know milling the head causes the compression ratio to go up...is there a mod to do to compensate for this?

does it sound like i need to retard or advance the timing?

is there a way to fool the engine into thinking the air temperture is different from what it really is?

any suggestions


Thanks

It sounds like you need to do the timing belt cover fix.

When it is cold outside the timing belt with just tap the cover on each turn till it warns up.

Take off your timing belt cover and screwsm and go to your local hardware store and get washers that will fit the screws.

Then put it back on using the washers.

The sound should be gone.

Try the timing cover trick. I had to do that to my Zetec when I got the head overhauled. If that doesn't work, it could be detonation. If you had the head milled, that could raise your compression ratio. You could try the next higher octane rating of gas, drive it around for a while, and see if it goes away. If it still knocks, go to the highest octane rating and should stop it if is compression related.

Double check to make sure the plugs are torqued properly. A loose one caused a knocking sound in my engine.