darkfx

I get a ticking sound after the car is warmed up and its idling.. It never happens on a cold motor.. and whenever i start it, the RPM's dip low and the oil light blinks for a fraction of a second then it goes back to normal idle.. the ticking noise will go away when i blip the throttle 90% of the time.. its really pissing me off.. any ideas?

mattb1

have you checked your oil level? low oil and your valves might be ticking. Valves ticking means they need an adjustment. what is the milage on the car?

darkfx

Would the ticking go away when i blip the throttle though?

xviper

What kind of rpm we talking about here? What is the idle rpm after warm up? What viscosity of oil are you running. Low rpm (<500) results in low oil pressure. Low viscosity oil can't generate adequate oil pressure at low rpm, especially when hot. Low oil pressure and hot oil = less oil getting to the upper part of the engine where all the valve parts are = more ticking. If it goes away when you blip the throttle (BTW, stop doing this. It only confuses the ECU and makes the rpm dip down low), then it's oil starvation.

darkfx

oil level is fine.. the idle is in the high 600's so i dont think its from oil starvation.. any other idea, xviper? this is pissing me off.. could it be just a simple valve adjustment?

xviper

What about my other questions ................. oil? type? viscosity? Type of filter? How long's it been in there?

darkfx

mobil 1 10w-30 with a little castrol syntec 10w-30 (used to top off), with a PureOne filter.. its been there for about 2800 miles, 2 months..

aerowilson182

I have an 00 and just got the 60K mile schedualed maintinance which is suppose to include a valve adjustment and I still have noticable ticking throughout the rev range...I dont understand

xviper

OK, not likely oil pressure. I use the same oil and filter. I think it's time to listen with a mechanic's stethoscope. You know approx. where each valve is. Listen at each of those 16 locations. You will hear ticking quite prominantly at all locations but if one or two are really off, these will be very obvious. Then a valve adjust is warranted. If all are about the same, then focus on the cam chain tensioner. You can also listen to it (just below the VTEC solenoid). It will tick too, but you should be able to hear it get louder and softer as you rev it up when hot, just like you can hear it go away when you blip it. If it's not this, you must continue the search elsewhere in the engine bay. Idle Air Control solenoid can also tick, but this generally doesn't go away just because you blip it, but you just never know. It's at the intake manifold side near the back.

xviper

A ticking throughout the rev range may or may not be out of the ordinary. Since you can't convey the magnitude and type of ticking, noone can tell you if you have a problem. Same advice goes for you with regards to the cam chain tensioner.

Just because you got a valve adjustment done, doesn't mean it was done right. Use a stethoscope and listen.