Mohaj: THAT does sound like rod knock. and the fact that you were on an on/off ramp makes me think so even more (was it a cloverleaf???)
BOT means Back on topic.
and no kevin, lifter knock is not worse than rod knock, but it can, if it persists, be just as bad.
lifters knock for the same reason as rods, lack of lubrication. only lifters are on the opposite side of the motor (top).
typically on motors with lifter knock, it only happens on cold starts, when the oil is nto in the heads. the lifters are inthe heads and if thy donthave oil on them theya re noisy, there is no cure for this (thatim aware of) except to start the motor and let the oil splash in the deads and get the leifters lubricated.
kevin, there is one sure fire way to rule out rod knock, but DO NOT DO IT. let the mechainc diagnose it.
anyway, what you do (for future reference only) is get a friend to sit inthe car while the motor is idling. tell him to push the clutch in and hold it and engage first gear. witht he car in first and the ebrake engaged, have him try to accelerate. a rod knock will get EXTRREMELY LOUD under these conditions. if it does, shut off the engine immediately.
while saying all this to your friend, keep your hand on the valve cover for as long as you can and see if you can feel where the noise is coming from.
kevin i dont think yours is a rod knock, seems to be more fo a clutch engaging and disengageing issue, maybe throw bearing???
at any rate... see what your mechanic says. i woudl be willing to bet its something simpler than what im even thinking, 9x out of 10, the simplest things make the weirdest noises.
another symptom of rod kncok is at idle, the car will misfire, because usually, whichever piston is doing the knocking, isnt firing.
food for thought anyway, im going to bed...
EDIT: know experiences with rod knock @ redline on a CSVT, but on a 1986 chevy astro van.
my friend said:
oh so thats what the noise was...
it can be anything at this point. it can be event 