hey guys

ive had this problem for a while now ive had 5 mechanics look at it and ive changed everything that i thought it could be and the mechanics thought it could be im stuck!!!!!

when the car is cold, first started, the engine ticks fast under 3000 prm to the dot.
i can rev the engine cold and the second it hits 3k, the ticking goes away instantly, when it gets to under 3k, it comes back instantly!!!

what the hell could it be, i changed the jpipe, intake, spacer, cleaned the intake manifold, changed plugs, injectors, sensors, gaskets, o2s, i had the valve spacers adjusted back to specs, the valve lash checked and put to spec, the mechanic didnt see anything wrong in the heads at all.

oil is always royal purple changed early.

please hellpppppp!!! anyone got any ideas??

what switches on or off at 3k?????

also the ticking goes away as the car gets hot after driving

 

dont use that junk, do an oil change and put half a bottle of lucas oil addtive with fully syn oil up to max capicity. start it up. sound like engine bearings or worst

 

^negative, dont listen to kingkong_dav.

a lot of people have a ticking noise when the engine is cold.
Does it do it, when the engine reaches normal operating temperature?

 

He said it goes away after the car is warm.

Given that you've had the valves adjusted, it could be a lot of different things. Are you the original owner? Has the car ever been low on oil? Have you checked the compression? How many miles are on the car?

I'm almost willing to bet it's something in the bottom end as a result of being ran low on oil at some point in the past.

 

the car was never low on oil.
i tried adding lucas before and no luck.
oil quality or brand doesnt make a difference.
it doesnt sound like its coming from the bottom end, i put a scope to it before.
possibly lifter or another part of the valvetrain went partially bad and is staying that way?

compression is 95% across the board.

this car gets taken care of properly all the time.

 

just it goes away after the car reaches normal operating temps.
it comes back if it gets cold and so forth and so on.

 

Post a video of the noise..

 

acura of bay shore A tech looked at it and said its the flap in the middle of the intake manifold.

the actuator must be shot because i just readjusted it and it must be letting it get loose.
we took off the top of the intake mani and it was loose and flapping by hand.

i just ordered the actuator and the gaskets associated with it we'll see what happens when it gets here.

he said its def not the valvetrain that sounds good.

im crossing my fingers that its just the actuator and i dont have to get a new intake manifold that will cost 400 just for the part.

 

It could have been a lot worse. I would consider only $400 a good thing.

 

i know if this is it im lucky i know the tl is a expensive whore and when she's pissed she wants diamonds!!!!!!

 

Agreed on all accounts. I made a long post last night, don't know what happened to it.

I have to ask the OP, what changes with this flap at 3k and when it gets hot? I hope this works but I have my doubts. Is the sound only rpm based or does load have any effect? My first guess was piston slap which is usually harmless.

 

Can't you hold this valve tight by hand to see if the noise goes away?

 

havent tried that but when i took the solenoid off, cleaned it and put it back on with tension, the noise went away for about 5 mins and came back.

i have the parts coming now so we'll see what happens in a couple of days....

what sucks is that if the flap itself is bad then thats a whole new manifold. there is no way to change just the flap

 

iodprod please keep us updated after your parts get in...if there is anyway you can record the sound and post that would be awesome for everyone.

IHC - I feel like an idiot for asking but when you refer to load having effect what do you mean?

 

load on the engine would be causing the engine to work rather than just idling with no load on the motor. a manual is a bit easier to create a load without driving obviously. placing it into gear will create a small load.

 

sub'd....

 

Load would be torque as you give it more throttle. Valvetrain noise is usually worsened by rpm alone and torque has no effect on valvetrain. RPM alone puts stress on valvetrain components since they are not involved in transferring combustion pressure into power like the bottom end is.

On the bottom end such as pistons, you might only have a few lbs of torque on the pistons, rods, crank, etc at idle. Give it some gas regardless of rpm and as the torque goes up, any noise in the bottom end will get louder.

It would be like you are cruising steady state at 20mph. You go from steady state to a light acceleration and the noise gets louder. That would be more noise under load.

 

anyone got a part number or diagram for this flap part? i need to check mines to see if thats the problem...

 

Subscribed.

I notice a ticking noise when my engine is cold as well. I've read that it's normal (or ok) for it to happen, but I'm curious what causes it and/or how to fix it. Let us know!

 

OP: Update?

 

sooooooooooooo i changed the intake solenoid that controls the torque flap with no change!

now im listening for it even closer and my next idea is the VTEC solenoid and controler on the oil filter.
its the other component in the engine that switches on and off on 3000rpm on the dot.

BTW i got my full timing belt parts kit in so i'll do that and change the vtec solenoid at the same time tuesday.

so we'll see what happens then

its part # 10 on this display im changing the whole thing to keep mistakes from happening.

 

the flap is part of the intake manifold there is no way to swap just the flap.
99.99999& chance its not the flap.
just clean the edges where it meets the intake mani and make sure it moves freely without the solenoid that controls it in place.

just for reference, #8 controls it and #10 is the cover for it so its right in the middle

i tried running my car while taking off the solenoid and holding the gear by hand, with no diff in idle i dont know what it would do for torque though

 

My Honda pilot sounds like a diesel. Run's perfectly with no oil consumption. Plugs are fine, etc.

I bought the gasket with the screen at the vtec solenoid/pressure gauge and i am going to see if that is the source (#11 above)

I used a stethoscope and it appears to be there but I don't know if there is anything that can be done.

I will let you know.

 

Thanks for update OP, hopefully Tuesday you'll have it figured out.

 

wasting your money....royal purple is top notch stuff so please dont waste it by changing it early

 

It's a negative on the vtec solenoid in my case. It seems to be coming from under the intake so I am not sure what I am going to check next.

Mine is worse the colder it is outside but the weird thing is it doesn't knock until I rev it. When I first start it cold it is quiet.

 

I did some searching and found that the rocker shafts can loosen up and cause a rattle. I'm going to try the procedure to tighten them and see if that helps.

 

negative on the rocker shafts. Checked the clearance while I was there and they're fine too.

Must have piston slap or wrist pin knock....

 

yours might just be a valve lash or the knock sensor is acting up and that makes the engine tick/knock.

you can adjust the valve lash and change the knock sensor at the same time.

 

i spoke with a 9 second honda engine builder and he said he thinks the hydraulic timing belt tensioner is prob the cause. let's see if the timing belt change fixes it.

#8 here

 

I checked the valve lash and had adjusted that before hoping it was the problem. Not sure about the knock sensor.

I also thought it may be the timing belt components so I changed everything along with the water pump. No joy.

Hope you find your source of noise.

 

You guys are doing some awesome work. Keep it up!

 

My dads 03 types ticks/knocks on cold starts, hoping that 105k sevice takes care of it. Also my 05 TL ticks. I need to bring it in and have it looked at seeing as it is still under warrenty. Hopfully they can find and correct the problem.

 

Our engines are notorious for this ticking sound. Some people say it's the fuel injectors...

I notice the ticking sound in my car, sometimes it sounds like a diesel, sometimes its barely noticeable. I adjusted my valve lash when I did my timing belt and there was no change in the sound. (I also replaced the hydraulic tensioner).

I will be really surprised if replacing the hydraulic tensioner solves the issue.

 

Same here. I read a lot of people saying the tensioner went bad but mine was fine. I ended up changing everything since I bought it all but really didn't need to.

Mine is much worse when it's cold, but like I said, when I first start it up, I barely hear it. As soon as I rev it, then it appears and stays. It sounds like it's coming from the intake but on the Pilot, there is not flap or actuator. It doesn't appear to be the valvetrain so the only thing left for me are pistons and rods.

I pulled my plugs after 110K miles and other than a larger than recommended gap, they were perfect. I don't consume oil and the performance is fine along with the gas milage. I just hate the rattling....

When I was driving GM's, it was considered normal. Maybe Honda is getting more relaxed in this area and I just have to live with it.

Also, in my case, it started doing this around 80K miles. On my GM's, it was within 5K miles.

 

sooooo the problem was resolved finally!!!!

i went to speedtk in deer park, had them do the timing belt service, with the tensioners, seals and water pump.

the timing belt tensioner was he problem. above its parts 6 and 8
the hydraulic piston was fucked and was clapping against the roller tensioner!!!

so with all the different diagnoses that i got from a lot of people, it wasnt any of them. ive gotten everything from intake manifold faulty/valves fucked up(acura) to rod knock(ase certified mech) to injectors/spark coils(acura)

so go do a timing belt that prolly needs to be done anyway and get the tensioners and pulleys with it and i hope that will fix your issue also!


also this was causing my power loss issue!!!
the belt wasnt tensioned properly, and the heads were off timing at low rpms just slightly, but apparently that makes you lose ~30-40 tq.


good luck with your repairs!!!!

 

sounds like my issue i just fixed. have them do the hydraulic tensioner and the roller with it!!

parts 6 and 8

 

nfs, our cars are not notorious for engine noise, acura says that because they are lazy fucks!!!
they spent 2 mins looking at my engine and said replace the heads and intake mani, which wasnt even the issue!!!!
would have cost me 3 grand without fixing the issue. and good luck getting money refunded from acura for doing unnecesary work!!!!!!

some people (mechanics) get cheap and lazy and only replace the hydraulic tensioner (8) without the roller piece (6) so it doesnt make sense to do it that way.

in my case the fucked up hydraulic tensioner ate away at the roller piece and made a indent in it, even if the tensioner itself was changed it wouldnt have made a difference because its still off spec due to the indent in the roller assembly.

 

Thanks for updating the thread dude.....my car has been making some noise since couple thousand miles as well.....

i guess i know what the problem is....also i did my timing belt at 133K and am sitting at 160K now....am thinking might just get these parts done when i take my heads off for some work

PS: you took my 400th Thanks !!! Congrats !!!

 

Does anyone know if the hydraulic tensioner has oil inside?