M119 engine noise, car won't start

[PhatAgent2]

Hey guys, issue with the '93 400e.

My father was driving the E last week and on the way back home the car made loud noises.
I wasn't there but he said it was a lot of noise, louder than the audio clip I've linked below.

He said it did not affect drivability and drove home slowly.

Here's a link to a recording of the noise.(forum upload won't take the file format)
http://s000.tinyupload.com/index.php?file_id=54914429508992191046

Car will not start(I only cranked it for a split second to show the noise).

The car is in great shape for its age, about 80k miles. A lot of service history.

As far as my guess, perhaps the timing chain guide rails have disintegrated?
What do you guys think

 

[PhatAgent2]

Re: 400E Engine noise, car won't start

Bump

Anyone?

 

[gsxr]

Is the engine turning while cranking, in that audio clip? It sounds like no compression... which doesn't make sense.

I'd start with a compression test if possible, or pulling a valve cover to verify cam timing & inspect the chain rails.

Also see if you can upload that audio clip to YouTube, as some people may not be able to download the .m4a audio file & listen to it.

 

[PhatAgent2]

Is the engine turning while cranking, in that audio clip? It sounds like no compression... which doesn't make sense.

I'd start with a compression test if possible, or pulling a valve cover to verify cam timing & inspect the chain rails.

Also see if you can upload that audio clip to YouTube, as some people may not be able to download the .m4a audio file & listen to it.

Good idea on the youtube upload.

As for no compression, hard to believe it would have zero compression like you said.
The car was driving excellent prior to the incident.

The noise came and the car drove normally on the way home(according to him).

I'll take the valve cover(s) off to see if i can see anything.
If the top guide rails disentegrated, would the pieces be in oil pan?

Hopefully the oil pump wouldn't have sucked everything up.

I'll double check if the engine actually turns, I don't recall.

Thanks gsxr

 

[gsxr]

When any chain rails break, pieces usually find their way into the oil pan, unless it's a large chunk held captive in the timing cover. The oil pump pickup screen keeps it out of the system; I've seen pickups totally clogged with chain rail pieces on an engine that was running & driving normally - crazy stuff.

First test would be to see if the engine is turning (belt, accessories, etc) when cranking... and how easily it rotates by hand via the 27mm crank bolt up front.