Rep Power: 156

I've got a 02 Civic EX with a manual trans. So recently I've noticed a tick and sometimes a rattle when I'm driving. I can only hear it with the window open and radio turned off and seems to happen when I'm turning right. But I can't tell if it's something with the wheel or the sound is just easier to hear cause the angle of the tire lets more sound out of the engine bay.

The tick I hear sounds like a metal opening and then possibly shutting. I can't only hear it in 1st and 2nd gear. Can't tell if it happens in higher gears or if the wind noise drowns it out. I'll hear it on take off, metal flap opens, then a few seconds later, flap closes. Sometimes under acceleration I'll hear a rattle. This sounds like the noise from shaking a spray paint bottle but at a machine gun pace. This seems to only happen at low RPMs then it goes away.

My CEL light is on, came on yesterday, started hearing the noise about a week ago. The codes are p1259 (which seems related to V-tec but gotta do a little more research on it) and p420 which is for the catalytic converter. I was reading in another thread that if the cat is bad it can come apart internally and rattle. I tried banging on it to see if it rattled but couldn't hear anything.

So my question is what's causing the rattle? I can't hear it during idle or while I rev the engine at idle. I do hear a tick which seems louder near the air intake area but not sure if it's valves or just normal running. The ticks in the video seem louder than they are in person but not sure if loose valves would cause the same rattle and if so why wouldn't it happen through the whole RPM range.

If anyone has any insight it would be greatly appreciated. Here's the video of the engine running at idle: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nUkW...ature=youtu.be

 
Rep Power: 519

That sounded average in the video IMO. Now let's hear you rev it a little to make the noise loudest, and do it several times so I can get an idea....AFTER you check and refill the oil.



P1259 is usually caused by loss of or low oil level. If your engine $uddenly got very noi$y due to lo$$ of oil......


How low was the oil? Had to add about 3 quarts to get it full again? Noise still present?

2 different noises? I don't get it yet.

 
Rep Power: 156

There was a little oil just on the tip of the dip stick so I added a quart. From what I've read in other threads the P1259 relates to the v-tec solenoid. Which it seems about every 3500 the CEL comes on and the v-tec shuts down, so I add more oil and it's back in business. I had seen another thread about oil consumption and that seemed to be an acceptable amount of oil usage. I had taken the solenoid off and and cleaned the screen on it but this didn't seem to help. Can the solenoid burn oil if it's not functioning properly or can it be leaking else where? The car itself runs great and never seems to leak anything onto the ground. So I'm not sure where the oil is going.

Yeah I'm trying to figure out where it's coming from and if the cat can make such a noise if it's bad? And if so would it sound like the noise is coming from the front of the car? Recent work includes, new timing belt, water pump, and plugs about 5K miles ago. New brake pads and rotors about 3K miles ago.

 
Rep Power: 519

The engine burns oil, not the VTEC solenoid.
Oil consumption, if not leaking externally, is usually caused by piston rings.

The VTEC system is a hydraulic actuation system which relies on engine oil pressure to operate, and that oil pressure decreases significantly when the oil level becomes too low. Thus, the hydraulic part of the VTEC system can't operate as designed and a code sets as a result.

The engine bearings and other internally lubricated parts also depend upon oil pressure and quality, and severe damage can result from loss.

 
Rep Power: 156

Gotcha, I was thinking it was more electronically controlled rather than directly controlled by the oil pressure. I took another video after the car warmed up with a rev to 3K then 5K then back to idle then to 3K-4K. I can't hear anything that sounds wrong and I can't reproduce the rattle I hear when the car is sitting still.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Ehh...ature=youtu.be

I was driving through a construction zone today and could hear the rattle echoing off the concrete barrier. But like I said it's only when I'm pressing the gas and it seems to only happen at low RPMs.

Usually when the CEL comes on I can put a quart in and the light cuts off after 20 miles or so. However that was not the case today so I guess it's time to replace the cat to fix the P420 error code.

 
Rep Power: 150

Keep a couple of quarts in your trunk. Check your oil once a week. Easy to do while you fill up with gas.
If you're oil level is down, top it off. Don't wait and put it off. Its designed to operate with the oil full.
Sure, its a little bit of an inconvenience, but its not a brand new car and needs a little extra tlc.

 
Rep Power: 519

I didn't notice anything unusual there either.