It can mean that the engine has a bad main bearing. Can also mean one of the pistons are bad.
Look into piston slap
knocking noise
NO. A knocking noise in the engine is a problem in the engine.
Knocking is caused by preignition, where the heat in the cylinder causes the gas to ignite before the spark plug does. The noise could also be piston slap, which is caused by a worn cylinder wall. Try using a higher octane/grade gas and see if the noise goes away. In certain engines like the Malibu 3.1 liter and others, the knocking is caused by a piston rocking in the cylinder. This is called piston slap. It is a damaging condition, but seems to be considered "normal" by GM.
Sounds like a piston hitting the cylinder head. A lifter will usually tick, but a piston will sound more like this knocking noise.
When your engine has a knocking noise, it could mean that a rod has been thrown. It could also mean you are low on oil.
If its gasoline it would be a problem in your head causing the piston to slap against the cylinder walls. If its a diesel engine then the knocking is caused by the .001 to .002 second delay between the fuel injector closing and the compression/combustion of the fuel
depends on what kind of knocking you mean. lots of engines can have what we call "piston slap" when the engine is cold and goes away in a few minutes when the engine warms up. If the noise stays and is worse when revved up you have a more serious problem.Hope this helps
I would get a mechanics stethoscope and have a listen at various areas to locate the noise first.
The condition may possibly be piston slap.
A bad harmonic balancer can cause a knocking noise. The harmonic balancer doesn't actually produce the noise, but it can cause the noise in the engine.
sell it