Engine knock 03 sunfire 2.2 ecotec

[Lucas]

I have an 03′ sunfire that has what sounds like a knock near the crankcase near harmonic balancer-it is noticeable after idling a while getting much much louder with acceleration/gas pedal. I thought for sure it was either my belt tensioner or the crank pully(replaced both and belt)no luck. I got an oil change near when my car started having the sound at quick live where I’ve always gone. Oil level is fine. I’ve spent a ton of time on this and have zero clue what it could be-just wasting time and money I really don’t have trying to fix myself. This is my second engine(first one-a mechanic put a tensioner in upside down or was sent part and didn’t check before install). Engine was shot a week after I bought it(paid same guy(1000) to put in a diff. Engine. Not sure what to do anymore-a friend told me don’t just fix and sell it-make someone else’s problem but I have no more money to waste nor time away from my family when I already work m-sat(12hrs shifts) 🙁 I’ve always babied my cars but this one is my favorite and giving me the most grief. I don’t know enough about motors to keep guessing. Please help me.

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[Ingvar]

What needs to be fixed – needs to be fixed. That’s bottom line. You can sit there and lament all you want, balancer will not replace itself. It’s not that expensive, around $70 or so. And not that much of work to DIY. But if you can’t, you can’t. If that’s the part, you’ll eventually end up in much bigger trouble if not replaced.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i06tQFOXTVI
But 1st, you need to make sure it’s the balancer.
I am leaning towards finding a mobile mechanic off your local craigslist to do the job, they tend to be most reasonably priced. And come to YOU. This can be easily done with few tools and jackstands.
It does not really matter, what we will post HERE. Job needs to be done THERE.

[Lucas]

The balancer, belt, belt tensioner have been replaced in my spare time-were in the area of the noise-thought the crank pulley looked like it had wobble. When that didn’t resolve the issue I swapped out all my spark plugs for new ones since they looked a bit sooty and worn(not sure last time they got changed before I bought it). I’d like to see if anyone is knowledgeable on 2.2 ecotec engines. My next thought was to drop oil pan-check for shavings, if so I’d have big issues. Possible suspects of noise can still be many things- valve lifters, timing chain or its tensioner, or ??(bent/loose rod)I could post a video of the sound when it’s not -35 windchill out. Anybody know these ecotecs and their major issues?

[Author]

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