I did an oil change and mistakenly under-filled it by half a quart. After about 10-15 minutes of riding it, it started making a sound. It sounds most like a bad bearing and is loudest around the right side at the valve cover. Ideas? Do you really think I damaged something with 1/2 quart missing?

 

I wouldn't think that being 1/2 qt low would have hurt anything. When you changed the oil, what did the old oil look like?

 

use a stethoscope. bad bearings don't sound loudest by the valve cover - think about the location of what you're hearing. and i seriously doubt you did any damage in 15 minutes if you were only a 1/2 quart low. did you have an oil light on? how did you realize you were a 1/2 quart low? did you remember it all of a sudden or did the noise make you stop and check?

and what's the noise sound like?

 

Old oil looked okay; definitely didn't go too far between oil changes. No oil light at any point before or after the oil change. I put in 3 qts, but misremembered that it's 3 qts for changing only the oil and not the filter. Consulted my manual after hearing the noise and added an extra 1/2 qt, but the noise persists. The noise sounds much more like a bearing that's grinding than a rattle or vibration; thought it might be something to do with a cam shaft. My CCTL has been bad for some time, but it's never been like this; it usually only starts buzzing around 3.5k rpm.

 

bearing is going to be a knock bud.


any way you could grab a short vid of it?

 

I've had bearings cause a grinding sound before. Non-automotive bearings, at least.

F4i Engine noise - YouTube

 

is it running on all cylinders? kinda sounds like a miss to me at first... but i can't tell much over the net and from a 7 second vid. are you sure they're all firing?

 

CCT getting worse is what it appears to me but Con's right tuff to tell in 7 seconds

 

and to that point, when you said in your first post "right side by the valve cover", my first thought was CCT too.

but still, maybe a vid with a few revs (light revs) just to hear how it fluctuates with the motor speed would do better. there is something definitely going on there though. i just don't see how 15 min at a 1/2quart low could do serious damage to your motor.