Six Cylinder Engine Noise

Stephen Pellegrino

Stephen Pellegrino

Junior Member
Another concern I had with this '58 Ford is engine noise, especially when accelerating. Actually, this 223 engine runs very well and smoothly. Doesn't burn oil. Doesn't smoke. Very reliable. Good pep.

I have done various things which made the engine quieter including:
--Replacing the junky Midas muffler it had with a NORS replacement from the late '50s/early '60s.
--Adjusting the valves.
--Adding fiberglass insulation on the hood and behind the engine.

The exhaust note is rather nasal and buzzy. Sort of like driving a mail truck. I added one of those exhaust baffles that are used on motorcycle pipes. That made it slightly quieter, but more "nasal".

I also have a '59 Chevrolet with a six, and a '60 Dodge Dart with a slant 6. The exhaust note on those cars is much more mellow and V-8 like, and the engines are quieter too.

So my question is, has anyone actually heard one of these 223 Ford sixes run? Is this the way they're supposed to be?
 

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what type of eng. noise on acceleration? It could be "pinging" caused by timing advanced to far, or poor quality of gas, or to low octane gas. also could be there is excessive carbon build up causing hot spots, causing pinging. Hard to tell with out hearing it. At worst it could be a rod knock, or wrist pin, even a main brg. knock. If an automatic it could be a cracked flex plate. all are possible. As I said hard to tell with out hearing it. The first thing I would do would be to make sure you had good fuel, and then, check the initial timing at idle, then check the timing total advance, to be sure that it is not to much. a good service manual will give you all the spec.'s you need. after that, if you still have noise it could be something more serious.
 
Check the torque on the converter nuts. I have seen them loosen and sound like a main bearing knock.
 
Can you be more specific on the noise when accellerating? does it sound like something is hitting another chunk of metal? tapping?
My '55 Courier has a 223 with Fordomatic and holley 1904 glass bowl 1-bbl carb as original. Runs smooth as silk.
It has a Smithy's glass-pack muffler that also sounds kind of nasally which I don't care for too much. I prefer the meaner sound of the old Thrush glass-packs in my '55 Fairlane dual exhaust, but thats just my personal preference.
 
What tune up work have you done? Valve lash and ignition timing have a surprising effect on exhaust note. My 53 sedan with the 215 version of this engine is quiet without a noticeable exhaust note at all.
 
You can adjust the valve lash a couple thousandths less than the spec. if that helps you any.

Sal
 
Discovered there was an exhaust manifold crack right around where the heat riser is. I bought some Rutland furnace cement (which is supposedly good to 2000 deg. F.) and patched it with that. I used little metal strips to reinforce the patch. So far it's holding. Engine is noticeably quieter now. However, compared to the Chevy 6 and the Slant 6, from inside the car those engines are still quieter, in my opinion, for what it's worth. But that's OK. The Ford has a distinct "driving personality" which I like.
 
I just got a 60 F100 with an I6 and am going to track down some similar noise. Someone mentioned Converter Nuts above?
Would someone be able to school me on what these are?
 
Can you describe the noise(s) you have?

Converter nuts are the attaching parts holding the torque converter to the flex-plate. They sometimes loosen.
 
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