Rattling sound from rear of engine
 

Hey guys I have a 95 with a newly rebuilt 3.slo and this past weekend I replaced the valve cover gaskets. I overlooked the FIPG that is called for in the manual when I installed the valve covers the first time and had to redo it due to a leak.

Here’s where my stupidity makes the story interesting: while I was working and had the passenger side valve cover off I accidentally knocked a magnetic tray holding the bolts and nuts I had removed and it fell in between the cylinder head and intake manifold. I tried everything to make sure nothing was in either the head or down into one of the cylinders via the intake ie. flashlight, phone camera, telescoping magnet. I ended up pulling a nut out of the head with the magnet but after about a half hour of searching with no more nuts or bolts I decided to button it up and hope for the best.

Now I have a rattling/chattering sound coming from the rear of the engine (where the tray fell). I’ve made sure everything is tight and the car runs and drives fine. The noise goes away after I put a load on the engine but comes back as soon as I let off. It seems to be more correlated to the angle of the engine in the bay rather than just RPMs. I figured that if the engine is running fine there obviously isn’t a bolt or nut causing that noise and I must have messed something up when I reinstalled it but wanted to consult the masters. What could be causing this noise? TIA

There are tons of nooks and crannies on these engines, you might have to take all the intake stuff off, right down to the intake plenum. Non-issue if you ask me, wait for the head gasket to blow lmao