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Under a load, my engine makes a light rattling/ticking/tapping noise. I suspect I need a valve lash adjustment but I'm not certain. What are some of the risks of me driving the car like this if it is loose valves? There have been a few threads about ticking noises, so I wanted to get in my thread too while the issue was hot. Any suggestions as to how I can double check if it is my valves or something else like a cracked exhaust manifold or gasket? Thanks guys!

2004 Civic Ex 4door 5 speed MT

 
Rep Power: 209

if it gets worse during heavy acceleration it could be an exhaust leak close to the engine, maybe between the manifold and head, or the manifold could be cracked or between the manifold and exhaust pipe, check for leaks all the way down to the cat

 
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Have you tried to run some 91 octane to see if it clears up ??

My 05 and 10 Civics never spiked... I like that.

 
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I never tried higher octane gas. I run the middle grade gas (89 I think), but never super. I heard that if you run super in a Honda it could damage (burn) the valves. Idk if this is true or not, but I never wanted to risk it. The car has been making this noise for a little over 6 months now. Could I have damaged anything by letting it run like this for that long?

 
Rep Power: 253

How many miles does it have on it?

Get under there and listen.
Take a long screwdriver and listen to the end while you put it on the valve cover and see where its the loudest.

Careful not to catch yourself or clothes on the belts or fans.

 
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Not true at all.
Totally misinformed, or BS.

Valvetrain noise is not affected by load. Valvetrain noise is always consistent. Only changes with RPM.
Valves, springs, rocker arms, cams, etc., are unaffected by the loads that the bottom end sees. They always do the exact same amount of work no matter what the rest of the engine is doing.

Noises related to pistons, wrist pins, bearings, etc., are the ones that change with load.

HTH

 
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Hmmm, that's worrisome. I have heard other cars of the exact same specification to mine make a similar noise, but only a few. Actually, ezone, now that you mention it, the sound is pretty consistent. Usually every time I go near the throttle I can hear a hint of the rattle. I don't usually hear it at idle or when I gun the engine in neutral.

The car has 65k on it.

 
Rep Power: 518

That's pretty young.
Good oil change history?
Never run low on oil?

I might suspect carbon buildup on top of the pistons. Wish I could hear the noise firsthand though.
Do you use cheap gas? ("Cheap" meaning low quality.)


http://www.toptiergas.com/

 
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Post a video/sound clip up I am sure we can give a better explination.

65k is young.

 
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my car has been having the valve tick for several years, and finally after 140K miles, I decided to adjust the valve lash. I found them all loose and one tight, after adjustment the engine runs much quieter. No noticable difference in performance just quieter. I am now wondering if I have exhaust leak also as I did unbolt the pipe to install rear engine mount bushing inserts a while back.

 
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My car is doing the same. ezone I put up a vid on it so someone might be able to help me too I'm assuming this is what he means...

[autostream]http://autostream.com/ibcivicforums/?page_type=firebirdplayerthumbnail&framepage=1316& transactionid=1349238702-667811880&posted_by=OpenClutch_www.civicforums.com &youtube_video_id=VrN8AvLR_8U[/autostream]

Also check my thread about the ticking

 
Rep Power: 518

That doesn't sound good.
I can hear and see the exhaust manifold leak.
Sounds like it has a lot of valvetrain noise.
I THINK I can hear some bottom end noise (rod bearing), but I can't be positive from here. I'm listening on a crummy laptop.

I don't have enough time to type out a ton of info for you. Google rod knock diagnosis, or some such, and start reading.

http://www.supramania.com/forums/sho...gnosis-and-FAQ

Many of the videos I found right away have bad noises that are actually more than just rod bearing noise. Many sound like they already have the piston hitting the cylinder head.

 
Rep Power: 186

I know anythings possible. I was wondering, from your experience ezone, is it possible for rod knock to occur in a well maintained engine, i.e. never run low on oil, excessive oil change history etc.?

Thanks for any comments.

 
Rep Power: 518

Sure, it's possible. Anything is possible.
But there is always a reason.

The reasons aren't always obvious. Gotta be a reason, however obvious or obscure.


AND most users are either completely oblivious to the problems or outright LIE when it comes to finding out what really happened.

Like they think that hindering an investigation will make the price come down.



I still can't tell for sure if that is what I heard or not in that video though. Dang laptop.

 
Rep Power: 186

At least that video is better than the usual guesses:

 
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Dude, you gotta stop using my pics like that....




LOL

 
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Thanks for the reply ezone and I'm gonna start with the exhaust leak first

 
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Thanks for the reply guys. I'm working on the vid. its so damn hard to get the sound to come out on video, but I'll try it anyway.

 
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so I fail at trying to get a video of the noise while I'm driving, but I got some under-the-hood clips to see if any of you can discern from that some ideas or suggestions. I realize it's not much, but hopefully it helps in some way or another.

[autostream]http://autostream.com/ibcivicforums/?page_type=firebirdplayerthumbnail&framepage=1323& transactionid=1349940860-76881358&posted_by=em2maxamillian_www.civicforums. com&youtube_video_id=lOhRexoi46w[/autostream]

 
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Well, if there's something wrong with that noise then there's something wrong with mine because the engine itself sounds the same as mine.

 
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Normally I would take that as meaning a good thing, but since I just recently read your posting on your head gasket failure, it has done the opposite....I think I just better have it checked out by the dealership.

 
Rep Power: 186

I'm not sure how I'm suppose to interrupt this reply. Are you say you think you have a bad HG now? Or you don't think I know what I'm talking about are far as the sound of the engine? My sounded like yours before the HG blew, but that doesn't mean yours is going to blow.

 
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I couldn't tell a darn thing from the video. Just sounded like a running engine from this laptop.

 
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It's nothing like that man. Your latter assumption is the correct one. I was just surprised that you commented on my thread about our motors sounding the same, and the a few days later your HG blows, as all.

 
Rep Power: 253

Valves sounded a little loud. Mine are the same, check your oil and get a valve adjustment life goes on..

 
Rep Power: 253

I think I hear rod knock at about 8 seconds in this video.

 
Rep Power: 518

I bet I can fix that particular knock in less than a day, and it'll ONLY cost a few hunnert dollas!

 
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I think I know what sound you're getting at, but actually that's the intake silencer box. When you put your hand on it and press down a bit, the noise goes away. I think the rubber bushings that secure it down with the bolts are worn. You can actually see me press my hand down on the box and hear the noise go away. At least that's what I think it is...