Holy Shit! I did'nt know this would get so much attention. Well this is what I found out. A certified mechanic at the dealership told me it's most likely worn rods, due to wear and tear...which make sence since i have 140,000 miles on it today. He says it's from a lack of lubercant (Oil) on the top of the head from sitting there for a long while... like a cold start. It can be fixed of course but what most people do is just get an oil additive for high mile cars. I went to wal-mart and picked up this stuff in a silver aluminum can called Engine Restore..something....you can't miss it its silver red and blue, they make it for 4 bangers and v-6's. It's been around forever and always hear good things about it. You just add it to you crank where your oil goes. It was like $5 for the can. My car stopped knocking too, and seems like it's running stronger. AH HA found some thing...read this its right from the site...

“ENGINE RESTORER” IS NOT AN OIL ADDITIVE

According to the company each can of Engine Restorer contains billions of CSL micro-particles in suspension in a neutral motor oil of high quality. Each CSL micro-particle contains Lead (40%) dispersed uniformly throughout a Copper (60%) matrix with Silver.

Engine Restorer is added to the motor oil but it is not an oil additive. An oil additive, by definition, is a product which is added to automotive oil in the crankcase with the intended purpose of modifying the oil characteristics such as viscosity, detergency, or foaming. Engine Restorer is not an oil additive in this sense. It is rather an engine additive because it acts on the engine itself playing a double role. The CSL particles fill scratches, grooves and other worn out areas between the piston and the cylinder wall in the engine. The CSL particles provide maximum natural lubrication due to their percentage of lead, even under very high temperature.

The action of RESTORE reduces friction and rebuilds metal surfaces, which restores lost power and reduces oil & fuel consumption. It works effectively wherever friction and wear cut scratches in metal surfaces, such as cylinder walls, crankshafts and bearings.




Link to the page: http://www.atvconnection.com/atvconn...e-Restorer.cfm




As for the rattling loose sounding noise he says it's very likely the heat shield loose or below that to the exhaust manifold. He told me it's common they they get loose over the years and nothing to worry about.

I hope this helps....try that stuff I bought and go from there. GOOD LUCK!