I have recently heard a very subtle clicking sound from my engine? #4 cylinder prob? How subtle was this sound? I can barely detect it, however it seems to increase with higher revs. Can it be due to anything else? What are other cardinal signs? How can I prompt honda to diagnose the problem? Did all the occurences display buildup on the sparkplugs? Need advice! THANX

 

What year is your S2K? It certainly doesn't sound good, get it to the dealer ASAP...

 

The car is a year 2000 the sound is comparble to that of a wind up watch clicking to quickly. Almost sounds like a fan belt prob. Listened to the engine couldnt pinpoint sound. The car is scheduled for the 1-2 grind fix this monday will have honda investigate, worried they will just downplay the problem. Ongoing advice appreciated!

 

When was your last oil change?

 

Last oil change at 10500, now at 12500, I change oil every three thousand. I can not know how long I have have had this problem since I keep the stereo on most of the time. Hope it is a minor problem, or that I am being paranoid.

 

Hopefully it is just valve tapping sound

 

Tell us more about your sound.

When my #4 cylinder failed, all of a sudden, while cruising the interstate, a tap tap tap tap tap started from under the hood. I got off at the next exit and noticed the sound more.

My sound was a metalic tap tap tap that changed with rpms and was probably about 120 a minute at idle. As rpms sped up to 3000-4000 it got faster and louder and then disappeared almost completely in the other engine noises.

Everyone who listened thought it was valve tapping. When the mechanic took off the valve cover and checked the valves they were fine. Also, when he listened over the exhaust manifold, it was louder and seemed from the rear of the engine. When he pulled the plugs, the plug for cylinder #4 the was black and there was oil on the piston. When he looked inside the cylinder with a fiber-optic scope, there was scoring on the cylinder wall.

I hope that helps. Please let us know. My guess is that your noise is NOT the defective short block problem. I think if it were, you would KNOW the noise is abnormal.

 

Thanx for the info, it is difficult to describe a sound via internet, The sound I am hearing is a fast clicking sound if you where not trying to tune into the sound it would probably go unnoticed. It does not sound like a distinct metal tapping sound. It does increase in coreletion to rpm output. obviously it is drowned out at approx 5000rpm due to engine noise. The best way to descibe the sound would be to compare it to someone tapping on a morse code instrument very fast, however the sound is not even that distinct. thank-you for sharing your info since I am very worried about cylinder #4 since I have ordered a supercharger and if this is the beginning of a problem the s/c will make short work of my engine. Please continue to post reply, I still have to wait two days till the car is serviced and I believe my small dealer wont pinpoint the nature of the problem. The dealer where I purchased the vehicle is two long hours away!

 

I have a slight tapping noise too, but I can only hear it when I'm outside of the car. I don't notice it in the car at any engine speed.

One suggestion: get it completely taken care of before you mount the S/C, it would be hard to prove to Honda that the problem was there before the S/C and the S/C didn't cause it.

 

I also have this sound and my first guess is incorrect valve clearance. Check this first.

The sound from a piston with clearance problems should be louder. This could be verify with a leak down or compression test.

Also remember that our cars have a full floating piston which tend to be more noisy thst press-pin type