I was putting back together my engine after replacing the water pump gasket and was trying to start it. The timing had been thrown off and I also was out of fuel. I filled up the tank and began to turn over the engine to get it to prime and while cranking it began to knock/rattle. It sounded like the flywheel had come loose. I pulled off the bellhousing and the flywheel is still bolted in firm. I pulled the oil pan and everything looks to be in order. I thought maybe something broke. The sound isn't very loud but it is noticable. Could this be a bearing that gave or what? 
Engine Noise
- Thread starter 66ford289
- Start date
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20+ Year Stangneter 
If the only job you did was the waterpump, you shouldn't have caused an engine problem, did you take the belt off and crank it to see if the noise disappears?
2nd Mustang
Founding Member
Was the engine in pieces or as previous poster mentined, did you just replace the water pump and nothing else? If the engine was drained of oil and you are trying to restart dry, you would get some knocking sounds until the oil circulates. Short of priming with a drill, after an oil change, I usually just disconnect the coil wire off the top of the distributor cap, crank the motor over for a few seconds, then replace the coil wire.
What would a bad/compressed lifter sound like? I figure the only thing that could make a noise if everything was bolted up and tight would be a lifter since oil circulation at start-up is minimal. I don't think its the belt because the noise was specifically from the back of the engine.
