There are two primary reasons why your car, truck, or utility vehicle’s engine will knock. Hightech Automotive can determine why your engine is knocking and fix the problem if necessary. If the problem is detonation knock, something as simple as switching your gasoline could resolve the issue. If the problem is rod knock, you are in for some serious engine repair. Let’s talk more about this below.
Incorrect Fuel Octane
As we just mentioned, the engine will knock if you put fuel with the wrong octane rating in the tank. For example, a high-performance engine needs an octane rating of 91 in order for the fuel to fire quickly and hotly. If you put a lower octane rating in the tank, the fuel will not fire as hot as it needs to and you will end up with the multiple detonations in each cylinder instead of just one in each cylinder.
Malfunctioning Sensor
When these multiple detonations occur, this is the knocking sound that you hear coming from the engine. Your engine is equipped with a sensor that detects when it is knocking so it can alert the engine control module that there is a problem. In the case of the incorrect octane, the engine control module cannot resolve the issue and your engine will continue to knock when you drive the automobile.
Air-Heavy Fuel Mixture
If, however, your engine is knocking because the fuel mixture in the combustion chamber has too much air in it, the engine control module can increase the amount of fuel in the chamber to balance the two out. This will cause your engine to knock initially, but it will stop knocking once the fuel is added to the chamber.
Spark Plug Problems
The engine can also knock all the time if the spark plugs are having problems. Generally, the spark plugs will misfire once they get too old. It is this misfiring that is creating the knocking sound. In addition to the knocking sound, misfiring spark plugs will also cause your engine to stall often.
Worn Rod Bearings
All of the above are related to your engine’s detonation. Worn rod bearings caused rod knock. The bearings move the rods up and down inside the cylinders and the pistons are attached to the rods. When the bearings get old, they will move the rods up and down in such a way that the pistons will clank against the cylinder walls. Unfortunately, this can damage the cylinders.
This is why it is important that you bring your vehicle to Hightech Automotive in Forest City, NC, right away if the engine is knocking. Rod knock needs to be resolved as soon as possible.