hey everyone,

a week ago i posted about a knock and i thought i would re-post saying that i have gone over everything that is a common issue on here and its 100% from the bottom end.

things that i have done,

valve clearance adjustment (some valves were out by 0.005")
egr port cleaning (was brutal)
new upper gaskets
new tensioner and belt (tensioner was seized solid, had to cut belt)
changed oil to 5w30
new pcv
new air filter
new spark plugs
1 new coil
fixed a couple coolant leaks due to rotted clamps
visually inspected timing belt and looks good to me

so by the looks of it my next step is to get the oil pan off and swap in some new bearings at the proper clearances

have you guys ever seen this?? i have been dealing with honda's for years and this is my first experience with bottom end knock, and its loud. was hoping to catch it before it does too much damage

any information would be great

thanks

Mike

 

You're on the right path. Highly uncommon for these engines to develop bottom end noise, because clearance tolerances are so low that they don't wear out as our domestic cars.
Take that pan off and take a good look.

 

One could assume an extended length of time between oil changes caused sludge--
zero maitenance,, and maybe this car was parked for some time as well?
was it a salvage or rebuilt title?
got the car cheap?

a mechanics stethascope will help listening to the oil pan
have to drop some subframe parts to remove oil pan

Have you tried seafoam in oil to clear all the passages and sludge?

have you done compression cks? and leakdown test if needed?
see if a cylinder has heat/scoring damage before you do the bottem end
What did the spark plugs show? (you seem to know engines and can read plugs or use charts online)

If compression shows any prob, it may be smarter to get a junkyard engine and slap all your new parts on it

What tensioner was seized--the ac belt? thats another sign this engine was treated really bad,,its hard to drive with that ac tensioner growling

Tbelt you cant really tell condition until its flipped inside out and a magnifying glass is used to inspect for cracks,,
but who would remove it then put back on- its about the cheapest part in the deal!!
Replace its tensioner and roller/idler pullies too

 

Do not take your engine apart!!!

change the crank pulley first. also called a crank dampner.
there is a ring inside these that get loose when they start failing and will give you the most annoying knocking ever. and its sooo hard to pin point

 

^ The harmonic balancer is another name for it.
Usually causes vibrations, more than knocking. I've seen one where the rubber between the belt part and the center disintegrated easy hour of labor I think.
If it was the balancer you should notice a difference in noise level with the serpentine belt off or on.
It's worth a shot to try.

 

havent tried seafoam in the oil, i am assuming that once you hear a knock damage is already done and im afraid that if i drive it more and there is bearing damage it might spin a bearing

if i put a can of seafoam in the crankcase, how many miles would i have to put on for it to actually do something??

i put the NGK v-power plugs in it and the old ones looked just fine, normal wear, mind you there was a multiple cyl misfire when i got it and it was a dead coil on cyl #2. not sure how long it was driven like this for either

havent done a compression check yet

it is not a salvage or rebuilt title, but the previous owner did use it as a winter car so i assume that it sat for a few months in the summer.

it was the auto tensionner that was seized which is for the serp belt (alt and a/c) had to cut the belt off to take the tensionner out. i started the vehicle with the belt off and still heard the knock. it did still have the ps belt on though.... not sure about the harmonic suggestion

 

alright 01tl4tl,

so i went ahead and poured half a can of seafoam in the crankcase and then also performed the seafoam through the intake (a full can).

lots of smoke came out, i couldnt believe it

i then took it for a spirited drive on the hwy and side roads keeping it above 4000rpm

i then changed the oil and filter and the tick is still present


the guys that were talking about the balancer falling apart and knocking, would you think removing the serp and the ps belt make a difference??

i really dont want to drop the oil pan...lol


thanks

Mike

 

Removing the belt and rechecking, eliminates anything driven by the crank pulley. A/C compressor, p/s pump, alternator...
If the crank pulley is suspect you should see bits of rubber coming loose between the two parts of the crank pulley. Also the frequency of the noise should change if the problem is with the pulley.

 

Which we dont have.

 

I stand corrected. Thank you sir. Crank pulley is the name.

If this elastomer came apart, it could cause noise if all the rubber came out right?