clicking noise...

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thehare

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My friend has a 94 plrelude with a JDM H22A swap in it. He bought it from a guy that had no clue on what he was all of what he was doing. Now that he got the car running, it makes this clicking sound(its pretty loud & sounds like it is coming from the valve cover) that goes with the speed of the engine. i.e. he brings up the RPM's, the clicking sound increases as well. When he goes into third the engine just wants to die, he has to let off the gas until it goes under 1500 RPM then he can go, if he trys to give it gas above then it just doesnt do anything. We cant seem to figure out what is wrong with it. he has checked the valve clearence 4 times, he has checked timeing multiple times also.


**Also i am not 100% sure on all of the info here so if i gave you some wrong info i will state so in another post.

If anyone has any info that will help us figure out what is wrong with the car it would be greatly appreciated.
 
Might want to check that timing again, sounds like spark knock from the distributor being out or the t-belt being off a tooth.
 
He adjusted the valves to honda spec when the engine was cold, & we also tryed to adjust the valves just below honda specs when the engine was also cold & it still clicked. Its now back to honda specs & we still cont figure out what is wrong with it.
 
Originally posted by HondaMoCo@Apr 1 2004, 12:01 PM
you should adjust the valves when the engine is warm
Click to expand...

ok, but we adjusted the vlaves below specs too & it still clicked, so wouldnt that be about the same thing as adjusting them when the engine is warm? cause when metal heats it expands so the clearence is less between 2 metal parts...
 
First and foremost, do a compression check.

Then check the ignition timing. It should be at least 15 degrees btdc.

The most ghetto way to check camshaft timing is to remove the valve cover and make sure the little arrows on the cam sproket are pointing in the same direction. If not, then your cam timing is off and the may be other damage that has occured.

Next, with the engine running, disconnect the spark plug wires one at a time (be careful not to shock yourself). If the sound diminishes upon removal of a wire, it could be a rod knock.

If it were just valve adjustment (which it doesn't likely) you generally wouldn't have serious issues with the car's performance.

H22's are very very dependent on correct ignition timing. I had my distributor off a little (my timing was like 14 btdc) and the car moved like molasses. But it didn't die.

Based on available information I think you may have some serious internal issues. I hope this isn't the case, as I just had to replace my motor due to a rod knock. (Cheaper than repairing it).

How does the valve train look? Is it nice and silver/copper colored or is it dark with a lot of buildup? Lots of buildup means that the previous owner didn't maintain their oil which means that motor is in for a lot of trouble down the line.
 
over tightened valves can cause loud clicking or tapping noise too. an 18 yo friend of my bro-in-law tried to adjust the valves on his teg and they were still loud. i adjusted them and they sounded waay better.
 
we have run a compression test & it came out to 200 across the board. it only varied about 10 PSI.

we have checked the timing on the cams & the arrows line up correctly

the valvetrain is pretty clean looking, the motor only has around 40,000 miles on it. its not black & got sludge on it but i would say thats its pretty clean, cause you can see siver & what-not on all the parts, so i think its been takeing care of for the most part.

EDIT: we pulled the wires one at a time & the noise didn't go away, the noise just slowed down cause the cars idle, obvisously (sp?), dropped since it weould then only be running on 3 cylinders.
 
Originally posted by thehare@Mar 31 2004, 02:08 PM
When he goes into third the engine just wants to die, he has to let off the gas until it goes under 1500 RPM then he can go, if he trys to give it gas above then it just doesnt do anything.
Click to expand...

on this subject, its does it in any gear, but it seems to do it more when he is slowing down. like when he is cruising & then lets off the gas it almost seems as though it is stalling & then is going to die, and sometimes it actually does. we just replaced the fuel filter but hasn't taken it out to test drive it yet....
 
Originally posted by HondaMoCo@Apr 1 2004, 01:01 PM
you should adjust the valves when the engine is warm
Click to expand...

Wrong, Honda's have to be cold, under 100 degrees head temp, with a thermometer, not your coolant gauge or they will be totally off. Clicking valves are better than overtightened quite ones....you'll never hear one burning.
 
Originally posted by cws13+Apr 2 2004, 09:21 PM-->
cws13 @ Apr 2 2004 said:
HondaMoCo
Click to expand...
cws13 @ Apr 2 2004 said:
@Apr 1 2004, 01:01 PM
you should adjust the valves when the engine is warm
Click to expand...

Wrong, Honda's have to be cold, under 100 degrees head temp, with a thermometer, not your coolant gauge or they will be totally off. Clicking valves are better than overtightened quite ones....you'll never hear one burning.
Click to expand...

I agree with cws. Just making sure on when you adjust your valves, you need to be at TDC on that cylinder that your adjusting. Other ideas would be an open circuit in your ignition wires, also check the fuel injector wires too. Although this wouldn't cause a driveability problem check the seal on your exhaust headers.

Let me know what you find. Good Luck!
 
Originally posted by cws13+Apr 2 2004, 06:21 PM-->
cws13 @ Apr 2 2004 said:
HondaMoCo
Click to expand...
cws13 @ Apr 2 2004 said:
@Apr 1 2004, 01:01 PM
you should adjust the valves when the engine is warm
Click to expand...

Wrong, Honda's have to be cold, under 100 degrees head temp, with a thermometer, not your coolant gauge or they will be totally off. Clicking valves are better than overtightened quite ones....you'll never hear one burning.
Click to expand...

You are wrong jack, see metal expands when it gets hot, so look at this...

if your valves are cold and you set them, then when the engine warms up the rocker arms and the valves are going to expand therefore making them closer, if not to close then you set them at originally, and therefore put them more at risk of being over tight, and burning a valve.

If you set the clearances when the engine is at normal operating temperature then these are the clearances that the valves will have when the engine is at normal operating temperarture.

please dont work on anyones car you will probably break it.
 
Originally posted by SpodaB1@Apr 10 2004, 03:03 PM
HoMoCo is right, even in a fucking POS Haynes manual it says "Normal Operting Temperatures". Go drive the car for a few hours, come home, remove valve cover, adn get out yo feeler gauges and a 10 mm wrench adn screw driver and set em at .007 in, .009 ex. Assuming you have an LS.
Click to expand...
:tisk:
uhhh... got a manual right here holmes... and i worked at honda.

do it cold.. in fact the quote from the manual says 'be sure the engine is cold; cylinder head temp must be below 100deg F (38deg C). overnight cold is best'.

even diesel engines need to be tuned cold.
 
Originally posted by SpodaB1@Apr 10 2004, 05:03 PM
HoMoCo is right, even in a fucking POS Haynes manual it says "Normal Operting Temperatures". Go drive the car for a few hours, come home, remove valve cover, adn get out yo feeler gauges and a 10 mm wrench adn screw driver and set em at .007 in, .009 ex. Assuming you have an LS.
Click to expand...



The POS Haynes manual is wrong. The good Honda/Helms manual is correct in saying the motor needs to be stone cold. Anyone who says otherwise is wrong and does not know what they are talking about. And FYI, the LS uses 12mm locking nuts, VTEC heads use the 10mm nuts.

Hellbent is correct, a tight valve will loose contact with the tip of the rocker and slam back into it, causing lots and lots of noise and eventually a mushroomed valve stem.
 
it definitly has to be cold. your supposed to leave it for 6-8 hours(overnight) before adjusting the valves.
 
Jesus Christ, got back to this late. Thanks for the confirmation, those who know what they are talking about. I worked for Honda for some time too. Factory manuals have these specs with the metal expansion compensated for. If you understand the heating and cooling concept you grasp that if valves are cold, they are at the smallest given size. If you adjust them at any other temp they may be off a tad this way or that and since you don't know that 147 degrees ( or whatever) equals this percentage of expansion, you have absolutely no way of knowing how much to compensate for.

P.S. HondaMoCo Over the years I have probably worked on and modded more Honda's than you have seen sir. Get the right manuals, bone up, and until then....follow your own advice.
 
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