knocking from the left wheel

[cpgoodman]

I have an 01 lincoln Ls v6. About 3 months ago it started making a slight knocking sound and it is real loud from the left front wheel, probably something located behind the wheel. Its real bad when it is in drive. It sounds like engine knocking but not quite. Not like the classic "out of oil" sound. I run synthetic oil and i change it about every 4k. It only has 63k on it and what ever it is isnt right. The engine sounds real unhealthy. The check engine light has come on and went off twice. It runs fine and doesnt seem to have a loss in power. With a car like the LS you shouldnt hear the engine and it shouldnt sound like it does. Has anybody had this problem or are there any suggestions on what to do or look at.

 

[Jim Henderson]

I am wild guessing here.

Maybe you have an exhaust leak? That makes more of a pffft pfft sound.

Or perhaps you are having a missfire, very common on the older LS due to oil fouling on the spark coils.

Get your codes pulled, that very possibly will tell you what is wrong. Autozone and probably other parts shops will do it free.

Does the sound change with engine speed or road speed? Shift to lower gears while maintianing speed to check this.

Pulling codes is probably your best bet. Do it while the light is on or not too long after.

Good Luck,

Jim Henderson

 

[cpgoodman]

Thanks for the input. I cant tell if is any worse while i speed up or not. It is real bad like at stop lights and drive threws. I had somebady else say it might be an exhust leak. Whats the best way to check to see if thats the issue? Pull the codes?

 

[steagle]

like the good man said... check to see if you have any error codes... autozone can hook up a basic OBDII scanner for free and get you a printout in about a minute.

 

[cpgoodman]

went to auto zone this afternoon and had them plug it in. it came back with nothing. the check engine light wasnt on so i think ill have to wait till it comes back on. if i take it to an exhust place will they be able to check for a leak?