Hey Guys,
I'm a bit worried. For the last few thousand miles I've had a pinging/tapping sound coming from the motor.
It's worse when I first start the car.

I've done a search and it seems to come back w/ either the #4 cylinder/engine replacement problem.(mostly MY 00/01.
Or that the pinging/tapping is normal. How do you know if it's normal or if you're engine is in trouble?

I'm thinking of bringing it into the dealership to have them check it out.

Thanks,
Jp

 

take it to the dealership now, theres no reason to worry about fixing it yourself if it can be covered under warranty and diagnosed correctly. just to be safe, dont drive it there and tow it using a flatbed just to be safe.

 

Can you isolate where the noise is coming from.

You can get a pretty good racket from the chain upon starting.

 

Sounds like it's coming from inside the motor. Right under the red engine cover, which leads me to believe it has something to do w/ a cylinder.

I brought it into the dealer, w/ a printout of the 20 page thread of the # cylinder failure. My service guy told me that the service techs' egos are to big to look at em. Is it me, or does that sound ridiculous!? If there are over 40 documented cases of engine failure based on the symptoms i'm having.. Ugg..
They don't seem to take you seriously until you blow your motor.
Then they tell you it was your fault..
So they've got it for the day to check it out. It's usually more audible when the engine's cold, so they'll let it sit for a few hours b4 they turn it over.

If anyone has had a problem like this on a MY 02, 03, let me know.

Thanks,
Jp

 

Well, I got my car back... Here's what they had to say:

My Complaint: Customer states ticking, tapping type noise from engine when cold.

Answer: Used PGM tester to check map sensor reading .88 to .92 volts normal. (Valve adjustmet OK) Overheard came engines may have slight ticking noise when engine is cold NORMAL VALVE LASH.

Anyone else hear this "Normal" Valve Lash?


MY COMPLAINT: Customer states idle is low. Feels like dying at times.

ANSWER: Used PGM tester to reset PCM and perform IDLE LEARNING PROCEDURE, TEST DRIVE, NEVER STALLED.

(MY complaint on prob #2 wasn't that the car stalled. The idle gets really low when coming to a stop.. It gets down to like 200, then flutters, then comes back to 500 and steadys out.. )

BTW, I took it to Santa Monica Honda..

 

Sometimes I encounter prob #2 also, usually in the first few minutes of driving when engine is cold, is this normal?

 

I've had #2 happen a few times myself... anyone understand why this would happen. I thought it was because of the CAI.. obviously not.. since your having the same "problem". It doesn't do it that offen but once in a while. I'm going to get a different map sensor to see if that helps any.

 

ok for complaint number one, honda motors are usually referred to "sewing machine" motors, b/c they sound like that. the valves are audible, even right after a valve adjustment. the other source of the noise could be a noisy timing chain. i made a thread about this a couple weeks ago and we all came to the conclusion that all s2k's make this noise, which comes from the timing chain. the noise is very audible during a cold start, where the FIV makes the car rev higher. as the rpm lowers, the noise will quiet down. after the car is fully warm, there shouldn't be any noise like that though.


for complaint number 2, most s2k's do this. mine does it when its kind of warm or humid outside. many blame the MAP sensor, and by just tapping it a couple times, you can fix the problem. if you search for "MAP sensor", you'll get good threads on how to fix the problem.

overall, both of your complaints are normal since many experience the same thing.

 

I have the same noise as prob. #1, I too thought I had a problem at one time, there have been many threads recently about this and it is normal.

 

I had the same complaint that you had, so I adjusted my valves and the problem is gone. My valve adjustment's were all out of tolerance, so I set them up to the nomininal clearance. I have no personal knowledge of this, but other people have said that the dealer will see if they are "close enough" and will not adjust them. It sounds to me that this is what your dealer did. I was able to make mine sound "normal" to me.

Good luck,
Bob