Rep Power: 0

I bought my 05 civic coupe back in mid october of '09 with around 136,000km's. Since then i have hand no issues with the car at all. But a few weeks ago i started hearing a noticeable ticking sound when i accelerate, mainly loudest when the car is cold. Can't be heard at all when the car is idling. After searching i've read about possibly needing a valve adjustment.. But i was also thinking maybe a exhaust leak such as a bad manifold gasket? I've also read that cracks in the manifold are a common problem but i haven't looked into in on mine yet.

Has anyone ever heard of or had a problem like this and have any insight on it? I have new manifold gaskets on the way to try out and see if that's the problem.. if not, im stumped.

Mark

 
Rep Power: 312

Valve adjustment. It's probably never been done on your car and it's due. My 2005 EX has exactly 137, 000 km and its even ticking now when idle. I'm way overdue myself I suggest you start there. These cars do have a natural tick though, it's just valve chatter so if it's not overly loud I wouldn't be concerned.

 
Rep Power: 0

I kinda figured, just wanted to get a second thought on it. any idea how much the dealer is gonna charge to do this? Gonna be hard to get time since im working all week and the nearest dealer is a hour away..

 
Rep Power: 312

It's not a serious rush. But do get it done so the car runs right. I'm not sure what the charge is for it but I'd say they are going to charge at least 200. The dealership is insane. There is a great DIY on here if you get some free time on the weekend and the weather is nice.

 
Rep Power: 0

With an exhaust crack/blown manifold gasket it will sound like the car is sucking air in through the front of the engine somewhere when it the revs go from higher to idle. Its a loud grumbling suction noise.

just to add my 2c

 
Rep Power: 218

Valve adjustments are easy and the tools for it are cheap. Get a Haynes manual and get you DIY on!!!

 
Rep Power: 312

^ I agree. It's not a hard job Just make sure you reseal the valve cover correctly AND that you use a torque wrench.

 
Rep Power: 0

okay, soo it's been a few months now... i had the car in for a valve adjustment at the dealer a few weeks ago and the tick is still there, and getting noticably louder. The dealer did tell me that the exhaust manifold is cracked, and quoted me $1200 for a new one and labour so frig that. i'll be going with a ebay header. Would this be whats causing the racket. I can hear it inside the car now when i first start the car in the morning and rev it a bit, or after the cars been sitting for a few mins.. its really starting to bug me. any thoughts?

 
Rep Power: 511

you got an lx/dx, don't you

 
Rep Power: 0

well canadian special edition, from what i gather is technically a dx, so yes. It got the cat and manifold all in one.

 
Rep Power: 511

hence the expense of the manifold.. but holy jeebus, $1200 for a manifold swap..?! List price for one is in the realm of $650 plus an hour of labor.. I say an hour because shops I've been to charge the full hour even if the job lasts 20 minutes.

So, is the tick consistent or erratic?

 
Rep Power: 0

consistant i guess you could say, increases with the rev's of the engine. but only happens for a little while till the engine warms up it seems. if the car sits shut off or idling for 10 or 15 mins she'll make the same noise again starting out in 1st and 2nd gear usually..

 
Rep Power: 312

Automatic transmission? Is it slipping at all or working normally?

 
Rep Power: 511

better yet, is it throwing a CEL?

 
Rep Power: 312

^ Damn you hahahahaha

 
Rep Power: 511

I do what I do

 
Rep Power: 0

nope, the car is 5 speed... no slips. im not sure if the tranny has ever been touched.. and she's not throwing any cel light... although back in december i stalled the car with the handbrake on by accident it threw one then, but went away after a day or two. The plugs have been changed with some bosh platinum ones which i didn't realize after buying them most ppl say they are crap, iv'e changed the air filter and done normal oil changes myself... im stumped. What if i tried running 5W30 oil instead of 5W20? the cars due for another oil change now so i guess i could try that, otherwise im stumped..

 
Rep Power: 511

Got a camera that has video capability? pop the hood, start the car, take video of under the hood for a little bit, then upload that shiz..

 
Rep Power: 0

http://img189.imageshack.us/img189/9313/mvi0190.mp4

hopefully that works... excuse the dirty engine bay lol.

 
Rep Power: 0

arrgh I cant watch the video on this dang work computer! lousy state network! anyway is the tic only present when the clutch pedal is out? does it go away when you press the pedal?

 
Rep Power: 0

nope, stays the same with or without the clutch pedal in...

 
Rep Power: 511

Yea.. I got nothing.

 
Rep Power: 290

Take off the heat shield on the manifold and check for cracks. Sticking your hand next to the manifold to feel for extra air being moved works in some cases too. If the manifold is cracked then the sound would be most prevalent while the manifold is still cold after starting the car. As heat expands the metal the crack should close slightly resulting in less obvious noise. My manifold was cracked all the way around the #4 port a while back. Sounds similar to your problem. I picked up a used manifold on the forums from someone who went turbo. Its been working for 40k and has passed smog a couple of times.

 
Rep Power: 0

so, after changing my oil today i decided to take off my heat shied and check out the manifold, it's pretty rusty and cruddy looking.. i guess from all the road salt they have in the winter time here in nl. anyways, i couldnt see any noticable cracks anywhere. but upon looking i did however notice a cracked bolt hidden under one of the pulleys..







now, how the dealer claimed i had a cracked manifold im not sure, i think its bull. By the looks this manifold has never been touched, and that bolt by the looks has been like that for a while. So how big of a pita is this gonna be to fix and do you guys think this is the problem? and just for kicks here's the receipt and what they charged for a replacement...

 
Rep Power: 0

anyone!?

 
Rep Power: 312

That bolt looks more broken off than cracked, It's completely missing isn't it? There might be a crack underneath where you can't really see. You should probably check for an exhaust leak from the manifold, it's a better way to check for cracks than a visual inspection. You can really only see about 3/4 of the manifold looking at it that way.

 
Rep Power: 0

Im going to get new gaskets and bring it too the local garage and see what they can come up with... If i could get my paypal working i'd order a header off ebay but the splitside to that then is waiting maybe 3 weeks for it to show up.. but i really need this fixed cuz its slowly getting worse..

 
Rep Power: 312

I got nothing either... it doesn't sound like valve chatter... It seems loudest when you initially press on the gas. Is the car bogging down when you first press on the gas? it's hard to tell in the vid.

 
Rep Power: 511

heat shield rattle?

 
Rep Power: 312

It's possible... take a vid with the heat shield removed.