Valvetrain Noise Honda

[vairox]

bearsdefect - no this is a 93 and has no EGR valve... wish it had one, problem would be solved.

surfstar - says to use 5w30 but ive only used 10w30, mobil quit making drive clean so now im using some cheaper red bottle stuff that starts with an "E" and has a tiger on it.... from autozone.

 

[surfstar]

vairox, a little oil residue isn't bad. Some people have their spark plugs and plug boots soaking in 1-2" of oil in their spark plug wells. That would usually just cause an ignition problem (missfire) and not valvetrain noise.

Maybe its time for a thicker oil? My advice, though, would be to use 10w30 and try 1/2-3/4 bottle of VSOT (Valvoline Synpower Oil Treatment) found at Pep Boys for $4. It will thicken your oil a bit, but has some good additives, lubricates well, and has quieted some people's drivetrains down.

 

[Palut]

Vairox, your car does have an EGR valve. If you'll PM me and tell me where to send it, I'll e-mail you a .pdf that tells how to clean your EGR ports.

 

[Dave Hess]

Any engine with 172,000 miles will not be as quite or smooth as a low mileage engine. My wife has a 98 Civic with 135,000 miles....and I also notice valvetrain noise as the miles increase.

Try mixing 1 quart of 15w40 or 10w40 to see if things quite down a bit.

 

[Palut]

Looks like I had a brain ****, that .pdf file is for Accords. Sorry.

 

[ShortBuSX]

Could it possibly just be pinging?

 

[vairox]

shortbus - might be, how to solve it? arx?

palut - was excited for a min lol... no egr sucks, can i add one on?

 

[jamesn]

my integra with 124k miles has some valvetrain noise that adjusting the lash does not seem to help. i guess i just have to live with it.

 

[TxGreaseMonkey]

I have a '93 Civic DX, D15B7 Engine. I believe I had the problem you described years ago. It drove me crazy until I figured out what it was. It's caused by excess heat. Replace your spark plugs with NGK ZFR7F-11, if you have the D15B7 engine. These are the same as Honda Part No. 98079-5714G or NGK 2975. You need a much colder running plug, because you are getting severe knock caused by excess heat. These cars have small oil pans and small radiators, both not conducive to dissapating heat.

Also, I would recommend you use synthetic 5w30 engine oil. Thicker oils in Civics generate more heat (plus thinner oil carries the heat away faster) and synthetics have a higher coefficient of heat, which allows bearings to run cooler. Hope this solves this annoying problem for you. These cars are notorious for running 350K to 400K miles.

[ December 27, 2005, 12:23 AM: Message edited by: TxGreaseMonkey ]

 

[Crashbox]

I also have the D15B7 engine and, yes, the valvetrain is a tad bit noisy even with only 58K miles on it. Then again, such noise doesn't really bother me having driven slant sixes with solid lifters for many years...


Shifting from first to fifth gear?? I'd never do that unless I were heading downhill on Dravus Street in Seattle! I often go 1,2,3,5 because the terrain here is almost table-flat but I try to avoid OD until about 40 MPH or so.

TxGreaseMonkey is right on about the longevity of these vehicles; of course, they need preventive maintenance just like any other automobile.

 

[jamesn]

your adjuster tip is shot on one of the valves. i had a 91 civic with 160k miles and i had to replace 3 of them. not hard to do at all. get the engine hot and pull the plugs to make it easier to rotate to TDC. pull your adjusting tips out and have a look at them some of them are probably galled. new ones from honda were 8-10 apiece if i remember.
also, do a hot overnight soak with MMO or atf to get some of the carbon off of the pistons.