I never look in the "techincal" section here, so I did not do a search first.

My car is track only. I ran within .1 of a second of my lap record at summit point this weekend, so the car was running fine.....

after the race I put an exhaust on (i was running header to test pipe and that is it)..... as soon as i started the car i could hear the engine ticking..... it is possible it was ticking for a while due to my exhaust being so loud that I couldn't hear it.

A honda guy there checked out my valves and couldn't find anything (took the cover off and looked around)...... any ideas what it could be? he suggested possibly a rod bearing?

just wanted to see what other people may have experienced. car is a 2001 and has about 8.5k miles on it but the last 1200 or so were all at 6000-9000rpm......

thanks

 

If a piston or bore is scuffed, or a rod bearing is making noise, you can unplug the coil pack connectors 1 at a time, to see if the noise changes pitch. The noise will lessen when you force a missfire on the effected cylinder.

 

like unplug one of them then start it...... then plug that one back in and unplug a different one and start it, etc.....?

I could probably try that.... the ticking seems to get less noticible as i rev it up a little..... Kevin (the guy at the track) said that would be due to an increase in oil pressure.

how much does it cost to get a new rod bearing put in from underneath? can it be done by just removing the oil pan?

 

Leave the engine running at idle, then unplug the coils 1 at a time.

You could replace the rod bearings by pulling the pan and windage tray, but you need to check the chrankshaft and rods for damage.

 

I bet you anything that its a problem with the valvetrain, your valves probably just need to be adjusted it says in the owners manual that if there noisy they need to be adjusted - but the honda guy should have caught that, I dont know

or it could be no problem at all - all hondas have valve ticking but since you race your S at the track I suppose you would allready have known that - must be louder than normal

 

it is def. louder than normal.... hopefully the local honda shop (not the dealer though) can figure it out.

how much does it cost to get valves replaced (hoping maybe that is all it is??)??

 

Is it definitely a tick or a flutter? What part of the engine is it coming from (front/back/exhaust side/intake side)? If it's coming from the front, on the exhaust side, it could be your cam chain autotensioner. I had a flutter just above idle (like a baseball card in a bicycle spoke), and it turned out to be the tensioner. Try and track down exactly where the sound is coming from.

 

this is what i was looking for.....just a handfull of ideas of what it could be, so the mechanic guy can start off with some ideas.

thnaks guys.... i am too stupid to figure out where the noise is... i just like to drive.

 

its probably the tensioner or loose valves, but you really have to give us some more information. get an automotive stethescope (sp) and listen around your engine bay, that will help pinpoint the problem. having us guess is pointless.

 

I appreciate all the comments.... I just made an appointment and will write down all of the possibilities posted here.

It is possible that the car has been this noisy for some time since my exhaust was so loud......or it just happened.????

thanks again for all the help. i will hopefully know next week what it is/was.