Engine clip, explain noises - Honda Prelude Forum

munscher · 04-10-2005, 01:18 PM

NOTE: apologize for quality, only mic i have is on my digicam

Clip 1
Clip 2

The first 5 or 6 seconds of the first .wav file you can hear an odd recurring noise at idle, then I blip the throttle and you can hear a noise up until around 22 or 23 seconds... after that a new noise comes into play as i hold the throttle at just above idle. The second .wav file isn't as helpful but I added it just in case.

The camera was held about 6 inches from the valve cover. I'm hearing some noise out of what i think is the valvetrain, but there's also a significant amount of pinging type noise coming from the distributor.

Its about time to do a tune up and replace distributor cap and rotor, but if the distributor itself is whats causing the noise then i dont wanna waste the money on the cap/rotor. Can anyone make sense of these noises from what little i've given you to work with?

Also, I adjusted my valves several months ago and rechecked them twice before I ever put the valvecover back on, so i feel pretty certain that they were correct even though it was my first time doing so.

EDIT: Decided to take the distr. cap off and take a look...

Looks to me like some contact is being made and the cap/rotor could very well be the source of some noise b/c of it.

94ludefunk · 04-10-2005, 08:08 PM

How many miles? Sounds like mine at 80,000 miles. I always thought the old saying that honda's sound like sewing machines comes into play here.

munscher · 04-10-2005, 08:22 PM

140k miles...

the consensus over at H-T.com so far is that something is definately wrong... valvetrain/timing or one guy mentioned spun bearing. i'm gonna remove the valvecover and recheck valves and timing, but unfortunately i probably won't get to do so until next weekend.

92-h23a1 · 04-18-2005, 12:46 AM

Dude I something similar. It sounds like the noise is comming from the distributor, but when I press down the clutch, the noise goes away.

aneurysm · 04-18-2005, 09:44 AM

wow....no offense....but you're motor sounds like its in really poor shape and you ought to get it to a dealer or specialist right away before its too far.

The lower frequency grinding *sigh* sounds like my car when I had two spun crankshaft bearings. The higher frequency sounds might be valve damage.

might be time to start shopping for engines....

brad

yohan420 · 04-18-2005, 12:41 PM

http://members.shaw.ca/andrew.b/dying.mp3

Want a comparison? This is what my engine sounded like the day before it died. I never pulled it apart so cause is unknown.