THIS IS A DRAG. DUE TO HEALTH ISSUES HAD SOME KIDS CHANGE MY TRANNY AND I THINK THEY SMASHED MY PAN ENOUGH FOR BAFFLE TO HIT CRANK. GOT A NEW PAN, BUT DO I HAVE TO PULL MOTOR TO PUT NEW PAN ON? CAR INFO: 71 MALIBU 454 OUT OF 73 CHEVY ONE TON 2WD.IS CLEARANCE THAT TIGHT? flex plate looks okay,i supervised and there was no major struggle changing tranny. other than kids using jackstand under pan w/o a board to support.

the crank assembly is close to the pan in the front, not in the back in the sump area where a jack might be placed.

Any other options for where the sound might be coming from?

how bad is it? would it be possible to use an autobody stud welder and pop it out? might be easier and cheaper. mike

and no, forget about replacing the pan in-car with a big block. It's much easier to pull the engine.

What makes you think the crank is hitting the pan?

the knocking sound is tinny sounding like hitting baffle. car has never been ran with exhaust until other day- couldnt hear it with open headers-maybe hitting hi volume pump or pick-up tube? already thought about stud welder,still thinking about that idea. stud welder readily available too.

Pull the dipstick, check it again. I've had that one happen before. :clonk: I'd also inspect the balancer, make sure it's not contacting anything.

the knocking sound is tinny sounding like hitting baffle. car has never been ran with exhaust until other day- couldnt hear it with open headers-maybe hitting hi volume pump or pick-up tube? already thought about stud welder,still thinking about that idea. stud welder readily available too.

Check the convertor dust cover and convertor bolts themselves. Ill betcha a beer thats what it is

Guys, he said some kids dented the pan. I will assume for the moment that there is a substantial wrinkle in the pan. No idea how they did that but if the pan is bent it most surely will affect the oiling of the engine at some time. May as well bite the bullet and start getting the engine out of there and see whats wrong with it. If, in the process of removal they find that the noise is caused by something else so be it. At least they can fix the pan AND the true source of the noise. :)

have to work all weekend selling parts to people for their cars. wont get back to shop to see until monday night will let you know what we find.

got under car w stethascope, not so sure about crank hitting pan anymore. pulling motor before this gets worse, something not right. already got new oil pan so that will be fixed, but this noise is not right at pan,i think!? where pan is smashed wouldnt effect baffle. almost drove the car this time,maybe next try.