Hi everyone
84 S2 euro
Did a little work yesterday, new thermostat and checked the cam gear bolts and then decided to pressure wash the engine.
after that when I eventually started it after drying the air box out there is a bit of a knocking sound ( not a rod sound ) and wondering if maybe I have gotten moisture into a knock sensor plug or something
does anyone have any ideas?
I have only had it idling at this stage

 

Most likely a lifter that just needs to be pumped up from the car sitting. Pretty common and the fix is to drive the car.

 

Unless its been heavily modified for Australia, there is no knock sensor. Did you counter-hold the cam gear with another wrench when you checked the bolt?

 

Both pressure washing and steam cleaning engines are not great choices, especially on cars with electrical plugs and harnesses as old as ours can be. The force of the water from a pressure washer can pass the rubber seals on waterproof electrical connectors as can steam molecules because of the speed at rhixh they're moving in steam, then once they cool down they just become water inside the connector. I wouldn't clean an engine with anything greater than garden hose pressure and even then, cover the brakes sensors on the master cylinder as they can fill with water and then throw a warning light and need to be replaced (AMHIK).

 

But note..that a proper steam cleaning facility can do miracles on the bay itself..and the front of the block where oil and time can be interesting.

Just have your man be aware of what not to point at.

If you have one you can FIND, prep the car. Take out the undertrays, wheel well liners and rear plastic pieces, show with with a friend and a pair of electric tools to remove the tires once in the air so as not to waste their time..

Of all places, and the industrial level ugly that comes off cars/truck/paving equipment that they do..we have one in the heart of DT San Jose Kalifirnia.

 

If you have not already done this i would suggest that you check the torque of the cam pulley bolts ,
if necessary remove the bolts and add a drop of blue loctite to the threads and retorque , NOTE its common to find the bolts loose.
NOTE if you do find a loose bolt then it would be wise to remove the pulley,
and resurface the mating areas with 400 grit paper to remove and work hardened areas .
At this point get a new flat washer and new bolt so all the surfaces are fresh and will have max grip
NOTE its not a good idea to wash the engine as the TPS unit can be damaged from water ingress.
most of the components have small holes and if the water is forced into them then they can be damaged.
Your car doesnt have knock sensors but it does have a CPS