To answer some questions the VA was done by a very reputable shop (could still be the reason), the TCT was done by me and I did remove the pin, and I tried the cardboard tube listening trick and am not sure I have pinpointed the location of the ticking, but my S did whisper sweet nothings into my ear and I felt she almost seduced me onto my garage floor (...#MeToo)

In the process of elimination, there were a bunch of things done at the same time, that may or may not be related but worth mentioning.

2 weeks ago in one day I did the following:

• Disconnected battery
• cleaned IACV, replaced gasket, (removed black motor box and correctly cleaned, using Honda Throttle plate cleaner)
• removed throttle body and cleaned, replacing the gasket, using Honda throttle plate cleaner)
• Replaced my Ballade TCT with a Billman one (for no real reason other then I felt it would be a piece of mind)
• Replaced the Solenoid VTEC gaskets (2 of them, using the Kraken one)
• Idle relearn procedure, went for a decent drive, (all idling issues were resolved)
• Added half a bottle of Redline SI-1 Fuel Injector Cleaner with a gas fill up and headed home

The next day I noticed that the two hoses connected to the throttle body were leaking a lot of coolant, not enough for disaster but it was only a few miles to drop off at Science of Speed where I had them do the following:

• Replace the two hoses and do a proper coolant flush as I didn't know how much I lost or if air got into the system
• Oil Change with Redline 10W-40
• Valve Adjustment
• Drove the car around and with the next gas fill up added the second half of the Redline SI-1 Fuel Injector Cleaner

I will probably take it back to the shop next week (or attempt the Valve Adjustment myself) but am trying to gain as much knowledge and info as possible, the mentioning of Fuel Injector tick has me wondering if anything I had done could be the culprit. I will invest in an AutoZone Stethescope to help pinpoint it.

 

Sounds like valve lashing is too loose. After having to redo my valve lashing a few times I have become an expert on what a shitty valve job sounds like

 

Update: I haven't had a chance to attempt a VA on my own until next weekend, but I did get a good mechanics stethoscope, and I have another video below that really captures the issue. I can hear the ticking in the valve cover area, but not able to really pinpoint it, the injectors all sound the same, very loud loud like someone is pounding a small ball peen hammer on a pipe... (is that normal?). Not knowing exactly what I'm listening for makes this a bit difficult.

Here's another video, the first 2 seconds you hear the ticking, then when the fans turn on it goes away (always does that, and with any blip of the throttle) at the :40 second mark the ticking comes back after the fans shut off. If you have headphones it will be very audible.This is pretty consistent in behavior.

I figured I'd take another week of investigating and getting feedback before I start changing things under the hood.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RMIZ...ature=youtu.be

 

Fuel injector cleaner can sometimes cause gunk to get lodged in the spray needle causing it to tick. If all else fails, you may have to get the injectors cleaned with a more aggressive method.

 

how many miles are on the car?

it could be minor knock.

 

I have someone coming over this weekend with experience and we're going to check the valve lashings.

Can it un-lodge itself over time? Or if I run another bottle of cleaner would that help or hurt the situation?

103,500. I've listened to just about every S2000 engine noise video and it doesn't sound the same, nor with the symptoms I described.

 

Take a long pry bar or screwdriver and touch things that you think the noise is coming from by holding your ear to the other end. Has saved me tons of time diagnosing all types of different cars.

 

Here's a true story: I had ticking, changed the TCT, no change. Valve adjustment, no change. Found a minor leak in the header, put in new header, no change. Ended up being a loose wiring harness.

 

From my earlier post:

So I don't really know what/where I'm listening for. As an analogy, if I listened to someones heart using a stethoscope, and I've never listened to one before...how would I know they've got a bad ticker?