p-rizzle

Ok im going to include as much information as I possibly can. The car (MY02) has 17,200 miles and was purchased by me 3 weeks ago with 16,800 miles. None of what I am about to describe was present (atleast to this degree) when I purchased the car. The noise is a clicking noise that is barely audible while in the car with the hood down but distinct when under the hood. I am almost positive its not the timing chain tensioner because the clicking is too infrequent, about 4-6 clicks per second at idle is my best guess. It also doesnt sound like its coming from the chain tensioner.

Its hard to tell, but it sounds like its coming from just to the right of the valve cover, near the injectors. How can I tell the difference between injector noise and valve noise? The frequency of the clicks increases with rpm (but does not get louder) and sounds the same right after a cold start, after a full warm up and an hour after warm up. The oil is a full syn and the level looks fine. The dealer told me all other fluids were checked or replaced just before I bought the car. If I throttle slightly (1200-1400 rpm) and hold it for a second in neutral and slowly release, the rpm's drop to 500 rpm and the car almost stalls. It sometimes idles anywhere from 1-3 bars below 1000 rpm and has occured during all stages of warm up.

At first I thought I might have a bent valve or two because I can notice a slight decrese in performance. Also there is a more than normal amount of vibration in both the clutch and gas pedals. Could that be due to uneven cylinder compression from a bent valve or valves? I have only hit the limiter once in 1st and once from a missed downshift from 4th to 2nd, neither time was very hard. The vibration is more noticable in 1st, 2nd, and 3rd or anything above 5000 rpm. Ocassionally at a stop while idling with the clutch ALL the way in the motor stutters and has stalled a couple times.

This may or may not be related but I encounter ALOT of resistance when shifting into first and alittle in second. The clutch is always fully disengaged and there is never a grinding noise. It doesnt feel like im "forcing" it into gear it just sticks pretty bad. This also does not depend on warm up time.

If you guys could give me your two cents before I take it in I would really appreciate it. If theres any other information needed just ask.

SIIK2NR

The ticking is not a good sign. Most likely valves. If you are not throwing a CEL now, you may in the near future.

The miss-shift is a bad sign of possible damage. It's the sole source for a lot of damage as you already know. Rev limiter wouldn't do any harm.

The shuddering and stalling at the stop is fairly common. Usually a map senser wack will fix that. Couple of things you can check are the spark plugs for wear and gap. Also the throttle cable for excessive slack.

Tim

p-rizzle

The CEL has not yet come on. Do you think a loose throttle cable could be the cause of the TERRIBLY inconsistent idle and the revs dropping to 500 rpm when i let off the throttle? When I first got the car it idled at 1000 rpm perfectly all the time which lasted until a couple days ago.

djpeak10

No, do not adjust your throttle cable. You want to clean your IAC, which is on your intake manifold. I had the same symtoms as you. spray that thing with carb cleaner and get all that gunk out, your car will idle better. Also do the "map wack".

p-rizzle

I did the MAP whack, reset my ecu, cleaned the IAC valve and put the best in-tank fuel injector cleaner I could find in with a new tank of gas. Its been 200 miles and the only thing that has improved is the idle. It still makes a faint clicking noise (sounds more like a rpm dependant whomping noise from within the car while driving) and there is still alot of vibration in the gas pedal under all conditions.

I plan to do a compression test and pull the plugs. I guess my new question is: based on the symptoms and conditions, how much SERIOUS damage could be happening from light driving even though I have not tripped a CEL at all?

If I take the valve cover off, what should I look for as blatant abnormalities?

If anyone could suggest possible causes or solutions or any ideas at all I would really appreciate it. Ive only had the car for 3 weeks and I was kinda hoping to have it for another 3 weeks.

90crvtec

While you have the valve cover off have a look at all your retainers. Do a search on this forum for a user named Billman250. He has some detailed pictures of how to spot bad retainers in an engine. Retainers are the first thing to go on an AP1 after a mis shift (and the 4th into 2nd that you describe could have done it).

vtec9

Ok if you're sure none of this was present when you bought it, then there could be a problem, otherwise, it all sounds pretty normal to me. Keep in mind you will always notice more noises and quirks as your time of ownership increases until you've heard them all and don't give a shit anymore

I guess you should do a compression test and pull the valve cover to inspect the retainers especially since you might have overreved.

The idle will dip after a climate change or sometimes out of nowhere and the ECU just needs time to adjust.

My pedals vibrate more than other cars.

The click sounds like injectors to me, especially since its coming from the right of the valve cover. The S's injectors are abnormally loud.. some are even louder than others to the point where you think something is seriously wrong, but they still perform fine.

s2krey

Might be valve's etc... get it check out or oil etc...



I hear new noises everyday but i know these cars are made noisy. Just double check retainer/valves/oil etc.