When I wrote the headline “My Chevy Silverado’s 350 V8 Just Blew Up For No Apparent Reason,” I think we all squinted a bit and thought: “That doesn’t really pass the laugh test.” This is a smallblock Chevy motor we’re talking about; they don’t typically run fine one moment and then blow up during startup the next. What, then, could explain the metallic banging noise coming from my engine?
I actually sorta-answered this already in my follow-up article “Turns Out My Chevy V8 Engine Didn’t Blow Up, But It’s Being Weird And I’m So Confused,” but the truck — despite no longer producing the horrible knocking sound you hear in the video below — was now overheating.
Or so it appeared on the gauge.
I only figured out the full cause of the problem when I replaced my wobbling Saginaw Steering Column:
Four bolts in the steering column had completely unthreaded, leaving me with a ridiculously wobbly steering column. Since starting the engine involves rotating an ignition switch relative to the steering column, when that column wobbled and all of its internals got all floppy, the ignition switch tended to bind up.
I don’t know if any of you have ever accidentally forgotten that your car was running, and then tried starting it. But if you have, you know: It sounds horrible.Â
There really is no other sound like it. or I’d try describing it. It’s almost like something metallic being stripped. Someone who accidentally did it to their Toyota FJ Cruiser described it on a forum, writing:
The noise when you try to start a car that is already idling of course is that horrible kind of sharp high pitched grinding sound that makes you jump out of your seat and cuss your stupidity.Â
A Redditor also tried describing it, writing:
There has been one or two occasions when the car’s started but for some reason, while waiting in parking lots, I forget if I’ve turned on the car or not. If I try to turn the key when its already started, it makes some weird horrendous almost wheezing like sound. What’s going on?
Here’s a response to that Reddit thread:
A really really horrible noise. Do it too many times and you could hurt the starter or flexplate/flywheel. Avoid doing it if you can.
You get the idea — this is a sound that’s universally considered among the worst sounds in all of automotive. And it’s why I had figured my motor had blown up.
On plenty of occasions, I have heard this sound of a starter jamming up against a flywheel (see gif above and video below by the same guy, Warped, who put a Gopro inside a tire) that was already being spun by a running engine, but for some reason, it wasn’t immediately obvious that that’s what was happening to my 1989 Chevy K1500.
Only when I kept cranking the motor, it started running, and the grinding noise went away, did I know that that’s what the noise had to have been. There was no other explanation. And my wobbly column had very clearly been a contributor.
I bolted the four loose fasteners in the column, installed a new ignition switch, and now bob’s my uncle. The truck runs and drives perfectly, and the starter and flywheel seem to be totally fine, with the motor cranking quickly and firing every time. There’s also no overheating — something I’ll just chock up as an electrical glitch associated with the wonky ignition switch.
Just listen to this beauty and its rusted-out muffler:
After hearing that horrible knocking noise, this outcome really was the best-case scenario. I thank the car-gods for their mercy, and I apologies to the Chevy V8 gods for doubting their glory.
The overheating and revving to WOT doesn’t make sense if the root issue was the column though. But I’ve learned that sometimes it’s best to just take the win and not question it too much.
There’s a typo in the graphics. “Saiginaw Wobble” has too many is.
Great fix, definitely didn’t foresee this as the remedy. It never ceases to amaze me how one seemingly unrelated problem (loose steering bolts) can contribute to something like a stuck starter, which presented itself as a much worse problem! Also agree, that’s about the worst sound there is…. yikes!!!
UFTA! Yeah, that’s a bad noise. Glad it turned out so well!
Have you never been to a 24 Hours of Lemons race?
The same series where Alfa Romeos and Cadillac 4.9s are somehow more reliable choices based on their track records.
Two cars back, my DD was a 2002 Crown Vic LX Sport with the venerable 4.6 liter V8 in it. Meticulously maintained by its original owner for 30-some thousand miles and me for the next 50 thousand or so. Always had synthetic oil and changed around 5,000 miles. Car ran and drove without issue.
Around 84k miles, I was surprised to hear a lower-end knock when it started and when I turned the engine off. A real awful rattle that matched engine RPMs. I figure a bearing was spun or something was about to come apart catastrophically. I took it to my mechanic, who was a good guy and he diagnosed the bottom end being out of it. He didn’t disassemble it or anything but said it sure sounded like the engine needed major work (and there was no charge for his diagnosis).
But since the car ran and drove without issue, he was a little dubious about the diagnosis and said to get a second opinion before spending any money to fix it.
I took it to another place and they diagnosed the actual problem: a loose catalyst in my right catalytic converter. Loose enough to rattle and resonate like a dying engine. Around $450 or so later, a new cat was in place and the “bottom end noises” my engine was making were gone.
I love those cars!
Sounds similar to a muffler bearing
I’ll see myself out…
The sticky plastics and wear plastics and electronics are the down fall of alot those. The light switches are a big pain along with all the column electronics and the column theirself. The TBI can get a weird grounding issues too that I’ve never really found explained it’s just a thing.
Do starters turn into generators when spun by the flywheel?
If so, maybe a higher voltage was throwing off the temp sensor circuit.
We are relieved. Maybe that is the karma for doing the hard work of moving on your own.
So glad it wasn’t anything more serious (and costly).
Why did it red line?
It’s a good question. It does rev at startup normally; I wonder if it just sounded like redline due to the starter. Hmmm
I jumped to my guess of smog pump after reading without listening to your recording because your symptoms reminded me of mine. Could be a bad seal or vacuum line(s), sticky linkage. How’s the gas mileage unloaded?