Firestorm500

Did you look into the intake hose to see how much gritty water you ingested into the cylinders?

TwoXJS

I personally think Manning laid down and threw the game....At least it wasn't a total shut out. Worst Super Bowl EVER!

Firestorm500

I think you posted that on the wrong Forum.

Go to igripeaboutfootball.com.

spaceharrier

There was mud in the bottom of the snorkel but the filter an intake hose both looked mud/dust free on the 'clean' side.

Picked up an inspection camera and ran it up inside the bellhousing around the flex plate and torque converter. First time trying one of those, couldn't get a really good look at everything. There was still some mud up there, hosed it out. Sound seems worse if anything. Think I'm getting toward the end of options that don't involve dropping the transmission or -- surprise, the wife's preferred suggestion -- calling it a day.

DFlintstone

Boy, this is about the first case where I wish I'd have been wrong. Don't forget with the starter off you might get in there some that way. Maybe a stiff wire. Maybe rotate it back and forth with the crank pulley bolt. Might be a good time to gap your plugs as with them out you could rotate it back and forth pretty easy....

kennzz05

consider trying to turn the motor over by hand with a socket on the crank bolt maybe then u will be able to isolate it

TwoXJS

Just my personal opinion, but I wonder if the mud damaged the rear engine bearing (too tired to remember correct name), then hosing it just made it even worse.

Firestorm500

Well he could get a pressure washer nozzle up in there with the starter out. If there's any dried mud or gravel pieces up in there, that should dislodge them.

spaceharrier

Been cheerfully making little to no progress in the mean time. Pulled the starter. There was some mud in the little mini bell housing it sits in also, cleaned that out, bit more pressure washing. Noise is worse. Can see any tell tale bits of shiny metal noodling around some more with the inspection camera. Can't see any flex plate cracks nor loose bolts.

So a new video with me turn the crank. I boosted the sound a bit. Can hear a couple of things:

1. Obvious noise when the crank is rotated. Do they all do that?
2. Something under friction as the assembly stops. Almost a hiss, but not gas. Don't know if that's the normal sound of that assembly halting or not.
3. Occasional ticking from what sounds like it's inside the oil pan after rotation stops

(Have picked up an electric stethoscope, but can actually see a great spot to put the probe that won't interfere with rotation.)

Firestorm500

The hiss is compression escaping past the broken rings or scratched cylinder walls.

spaceharrier

(To me) it sounds more like surfaces in contact than a gas moving through a small opening. But then I'm financially conditioned to not like the sound of 'broken rings or scratched cylinder walls'.

spaceharrier

So my unhappy XJ sat on jack stands in my garage for a few months waiting for me to (fail to, as it turned out) drop the transmission. In the end I put it back on its wheels and hooked up the battery thinking perhaps I'd just call it.

Took it to a local shop with some XJ experience and, hey presto -- this had nothing to do with the transmission, flex plate, alternator or any of my other tepid theories. It was the starter failing to disengage and catching/being rotated by the flex plate. Sounded something like (not the XJ obviously, but you get the idea.)

So in case someone comes across this thread in future thinking "hey, that's sounds like mine!" -- check your starter.

(Why didn't I figure this out sooner? It sounded bad enough that I didn't want to drive it around figuring something might catastrophic would happen. I eventually did, it didn't, so took it into the shop.)

cruiser54

That's GREAT news.

spaceharrier

You're telling me. I was pretty much over the moon when they came up with that theory and confirmed it.

cruiser54

spaceharrier over the moon?

Was that intentional?