There is, what I suspect to be, a valve train tick at idle with the engine warm.
So here's the low down; I start the car and it idles up to about 2,000 for a split second, right after I left off the key. Then quickly drops to 1,500, stays there for a few seconds and then starts creeping down toward 1,000. Final idle speed is around 700 or so once warmed up. All part of the normal start up/warm up sequence I know. While it's still cold and at about a 1,000, or just over, it sounds smooth. However once it has warmed up and dropped to 700 it starts ticking, "tig tig tig tig". It not only has a ticking noise, but it sounds slightly "lugged" with each tick.
I suspect it is a valve train tick due to a few factors; 1. Too loud to be injectors, plus I'd hear it all the time if that were the case. 2. Not a rod knock/bottom end noise because it isn't that loud and the noise goes away as soon as you get "off idle".
So yes, as soon as I rev it, even just a little, say 1,200, it is almost not noticeable. And by about 2,000 it just sounds like a healthy 4 cylinder.
I adjusted the valves a few months ago and I want to say the noise started after that, but not sure. Did it by the book, have service manuals right here.
Only other theory I have is a collapsed lifter, that gets pumped up by oil pressure as the RPMs increase. That is if H22A4s even have hydrolic lifters/followers, which I'll be quite honest and say I can't seem to get a straight answer about and so I don't really know.
Any ideas/tips are welcome. I can't be the only one....can I?
my 2000 base model is doing the same but mine is a fresh swap so i wanted to put some miles on her before i freak out im thinking valves too but i need to check mine how many miles on yours? mines at 132,000 ill repost when i find out something
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98 prelude base standard, 94 300zx tt 780 rwhp, 53 chevy 386 stroker 500hp, 97 t100 bagged and body dropped, 03 esclade custom, 08xz6r,06 cbr600rr, 06 sv1000, harley bobber evo, 92 gmc bagged gullwing doors, boats, jetskis, dirtbikes, 4wheelers.... I have lots of crap my wife really must love me HUH...
My engine has 195k on the bottom and an unconfirmed 50k on the top end. Oh, and to clarify something I said earlier, when I said that it seemed like it was "lugging" I meant straining. The RPMs don't fluctuate.
Can I replace Lost Motion Assemblies with the cams still in...?
I shot for "middle of the road" clearances when I adjusted them. That's what my father always does and he was there. His reasoning is because if you go for the tightest spec recommended and you go even a little over, you risk burning the valves. How does he know this...well he did it too my moms '78 Civic years ago, and burned a valve.
The things I can check are as follows; I can make sure the valves have the proper clearances. I can also make sure I measure(d) in the proper place, between the bottom of the lobe and the top of the rocker. Lastly I need to check the Lost Lotion Assemblies.
If my ears serve me correctly then the valve train components for cylinder #3 and/or maybe #4 are making the noise. Oddly enough, these are the ones that were out of spec when I checked them last. Thought the "last" time I checked them, was actually the first time I'd checked them on my "Lude. Like so many, I'm not the original owner.
Which reminds me, I'll have had it a year come May 28, 2011 . 1 YEAR OF OWNERSHIP - MAY 28, 2011
Questions:
-Can I check and/or replace the Lost Motion Assemblies with the cam shafts still in?
-Will the '99 and up, spring type Lost Motion Assemblies, work in my '97 SH head?
Last edited by Red97PreludeSH; 05-25-2011 at 09:06 PM.
Reason: typo, as always...
Its very similar, if not identical, to what mine sounds like. The symptoms he describes are very similar too. Says it's quiet when cold and starts ticking once warm, +1.
He says it was bad rockers, bad lifters (I assume he's referring to LMAs). He also said, more worryingly, warped valve guides.
We'll see....
UPDATE: So I listened to the video a few more times and though it sounds very similar, his seems to have a "sharper" sounding tick, where as mine is slightly "duller".
Last edited by Red97PreludeSH; 05-25-2011 at 10:05 PM.
Ok, that sounds like serious problem. Def not vavle tick, and if it is, it is from like putting on like 500,000 hard miles without ever doing a valve adjsutment. When lost motions go you hear a light rattle, all the time. As the LMA really only serves as a holder to hold the vtec cam lifter while its not in use. When i had to replace mine, you could hear them at idle, jsut like something jiggling around(not loud and sharp, but distinguishable). like a light rattle.
Yeah that's what I was afraid of. Let's wait and see what "maxerbater" says, whether his sounds like this or not.
Best things I can do now are to try to adjust them and see if it helps. I'll also see if I can get video of mine, both cold and hot, with good sound, for comparison.
mine is nowhere near as loud as that guys but i will be doing a valve adj. this week and hope that after i put them in spec the sound should be gone or verry minimal... [crossing fingers] it did sound like mine at first but after i went and started car and compaired mines nowhere near as loud... oww yea good tip for valve adj. dont do it cold warm the engine to operating temp and then check get the valve cover ready to remove then get in there and check..... good luck
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98 prelude base standard, 94 300zx tt 780 rwhp, 53 chevy 386 stroker 500hp, 97 t100 bagged and body dropped, 03 esclade custom, 08xz6r,06 cbr600rr, 06 sv1000, harley bobber evo, 92 gmc bagged gullwing doors, boats, jetskis, dirtbikes, 4wheelers.... I have lots of crap my wife really must love me HUH...
VALVE ADJUSTEMTN HAVE TO BE DONE ON A COLD ENGINE!!!!! Drive your lude to wherev you are getting it done and then leave it sit overnight so teh motor is completely cooled prior to valve adjustment.
VALVE ADJUSTEMTN HAVE TO BE DONE ON A COLD ENGINE!!!!! Drive your lude to wherev you are getting it done and then leave it sit overnight so teh motor is completely cooled prior to valve adjustment.
THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT!!!!!
Correct, I let mine sit over night. The service manual states that the cylinder head temp must be less than 100'F.
I listened to mine and to the video again and yeah, mine also isn't nearly that loud. Similar sound, less decibels.
So I re-checked all the clearances and I'm within spec. I did notice that the cams are not in he correct relation to the crank. I noticed this last time but I forgot/ignored it, I say it this way because otherwise ya'll might say it jumped timing. I doubt this because the belt has good tension and, having met the previous owner, I wouldn't put it past him to have screwed it up or to have done it on purpose for "performance reasons" . I didn't check to see where the crank actually was, which would answer the following; either the exhaust cam is 1 tooth retarded OR the intake cam is 1 tooth advanced. See what I mean, if I'd gotten down and looked at the crank, I could tell ya'll which it is. But no matter, one of my cams is off by a tooth.
Oh and I believe I figured out more precisely where the noise is coming from; cylinder #3 exhaust valves/components. Did notice some discoloration on cylinder #3's exhaust cam lobes, and on a few other lobes. Not scored/scratched in anyway, but some darkened "streaks". <-- Picture would help. Don't know which component is making the noise, but getting there.
One thing to note is that even with the improper cam timing, the engine still pulls a very healthy and steady vacuum of just over 20 inHg.
Also found evidence that seems to confirm that the head was rebuilt at some point during it's life. 1. (and I noticed this last time) Is that someone marked some of the components with a paint pen, I assume for ease of reassembly. 2. Like we had discussed earlier about the LMAs, mine is a '97, but it has the '99 and up spring type LMAs. Those don't get there by themselves...
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im thinking valves too but i need to check mine how many miles on yours? mines at 132,000 ill repost when i find out something
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. I didn't check to see where the crank actually was, which would answer the following; either the exhaust cam is 1 tooth retarded OR the intake cam is 1 tooth advanced. See what I mean, if I'd gotten down and looked at the crank, I could tell ya'll which it is. But no matter, one of my cams is off by a tooth. 
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