So after driving up some mountains from eastern oregon to western oregon i noticed a new and unsettling noise coming from my engine. It sounds like a gocart has replaced my beautiful 3.2L vtec engine!!!! It sounds like a ticking clock on overdrive! It gets faster as i accelerate too. I dont know why it would start making this noise after driving (like 5 hours straight) up a mountain (there were some flat spots but it was mostly uphill). I had just got my oil changed, and changed my tranny fluid, i always use the highest grade of gas and before i left for my trip(i actually drove from seattle wa to oregon with no problems before i left for eastern oregon) i used a bottle of fuel system cleaner. I read the noise could be the fuel injectors but why would it start making noise now? Please give me any idea as to what might be causing this noise. I dont want to break down in oregon (i live in wa). I will try to post a video with the noise so you can hear it.

 

ck the ac belt tensioner - top front of engine and known to fail , makes lots of noise

why after 5 hours of use when everything is hot would it make noise,,,,dededeeee

 

Sorry i should have explained better. There was no noise before i started driving and after i stoped off somewhere after 5 hours of driving is when i noticed it. I dont know when it started exactly. I couldnt hear it on the freeway. Also i found that in my coolant res the black tube to siphon the coolant back to the rad was disconnected and i was having the same prob as the game is thick like in the other thread. But i put it back on and its not overheating. dont know if that is even relevant but i wanted to mention it. I will look at the ac belt tensioner. is there any thing else that could make this kind of noise if its not the ac?

 

Did you do your timing belt/valve adjustment service yet?

 

long hours on a weak bearing= can easily wear out without warning
ac belt tensioner is most likely to start with
It turns even if ac off- belt runs more than just the ac

the grease in its bearing could have melted out and pttt there is your noise
every touch of the throttle causes that bearing to take up belt slack

mine made noise from 45kmiles till 80 when it sounded like a V8 and got replaced

there are other possibles but start with the simple

 

The ticks could be the sound made by valves hitting the top of the cylinders, especially if the tick frequency goes up with engine rpm.

Probably need a valve adjustment job.

 

Theres a plethora of things that it could be...But like 01tl4tl said, start with the simple..

 

cmon Edward you are not really of the belief the valves can hit the pistons and the engine continue to operate!!

get real~ interferance engine = bent valves

a valve adjustment may be in order yes- but contact with piston making noise,
= one noise, BANG!

 

the fact noise changes with rpm directly points to a tensioner/bearing somewhere

that, and mine went out so I know how bad it sounded

could be other tensioners or alt bearing,,,car was driven hard in the mountains for 5 hours solid
thats a lot of heat without a break

 

Too much lash...Also, if you really want to get technical, if the rocker arms aren't receiving enough oil, they will tick...But first start with the small things and see if that changes anything.

 

need to think EXTERNAL and diagnose each rotating part you can access

internal prob to suddenly occur is pretty rare
even valve lash..hard to detect exactly without a mechanics stethascope- the first tool of diagnosing~

 

I am overdue for a timing belt service but i will look at the tensioner tomorrow morning and post an update

 

ck the coolant level in rad- when the hose inside res cap falls off- no transfer happens- so rad pushes out a little at shutdown and never recovers it~

if low, top off and burp system for safety, heater on Hot!

 

a mechanics stethascope is your best tool for the job in finding ticking noises

our megamod fsttyms1 runs his car for hours at a time each day,,leaves it running when parked 30 minutes, drives hours at somewhere above the limit~
and never had an oil pressure-valve lash issue in nearly 500,000 MILES! on 1 TL!
If your valves are that far out of adjustment it will make noise right away- when oil pressure is low, not 5 hours into a trip

heat and hard use of mountain drive could use up the last of grease on any number of tensioner pullies,,or an alt bearing if run at constant max rpm,,those bearings were never meant for that kind of use,,
take it from me- the `street stock/showroom stock` race cars,, carry spare alternator because its going to blow up!

any good diagnosis starts with examining well known failures then moves to next thing if needed
Internal probs are so rare= as to be low on the list

 

Mine ticks because i have an exhaust leak i think.
only at 1500-1700 rpm.

 

iirc there is a flex pipe off the rear manifold that likes to break

 

Good point.

And you can probably pick up a decent stethoscope from Sears pretty inexpensively.

 

My mistake. Thanks for the correction.

The tapping noise could be caused by incorrect gap separations between the rockers and the valves, resulting that the rockers are slapping the valves every time the rockers are pushing the valves open. If this is the case, then a valve adjustment job is needed.

 

^This is lash. The clearance.

 

harbor freight tools has the stethascope on sale for 3 bucks all the time, regular $5
or sears or parts stores for 10+
you choose,, but its a tool you really need if planning to work on the TL
and find things!!

 

unless this car has serious valve adjust issues, a 2 hour drive should not cause sudden lash noises,,its not realistic

you can drive this car 8 hours solid at 80mph and it doesnt care

 

I used a mechanics stethascope and it sounds like the bearings in the power stering pump pulley are the cause. im goin to order the bearings and hope it fixes the problem

 

note: the belt tension on ps system is critical- it runs a little loose compared to normal belts
ck manual or diy secton for exact setting of freeplay

too tight causes ps pump bearing failure,,often after a poorly done 105 and belt overtightened!