Ben850

my '08 SI has 36 thousand miles on it (right out of the bumper to bumper warranty! go figure ) and whenever it's been sitting in the garage over night, i'll start it up and after it turns over about 4 times, the engine will start and there's like a metal on metal grinding sound coming from the engine compartment? it is NOT the sound you get from holding the key to the "start" position for too long.

it only happens on cold starts, and i've never experienced it when the engine was even the slightest warm. this sound only lasts for like half a second, and goes away without returning until the next cold start.

the oil level is slightly below full, and i've used 5w-30. not sure what else i could give you for information, but i'm hoping this is just a side effect of not having the oil fully circulated around the motor for a split second.

any help would be greatly appreciated!

i-VTEC_DOHC

ummm does the sound go away when you push in the clutch?

RICO_

Man i know EXACTLY what you're talking about because it just happened to me this morning. It happens right when you cold start the car and the RPMs shoot up to around 2K or so. But the sound immediately goes away right after that.

It's hard to describe and it almost sounds like the valves, but I can't be sure. I do however think it's normal. Something to do with oil pressure and the car sitting for long periods of time.

ironworker

There was a thread about this awhile back i think everyones civic dose it including myne.

Ben850

i have the clutch pressed in 100% of the time, from before it starts till after it ends. i'm also in the habit of putting the shifter in neutral when i start the car, cause in the past i've actually had my left foot accidentally slide off the clutch. lol..

for those of you that might be reading this, but don't know what sound us 3 are talking about, i will attempt to record it tomorrow with my camera.

it's there when the motor starts, but is gone before you can hear your exhaust (1/5 a second?)

my car is also 100% stock.

Ben850

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J4uNavDOqeE

ok you can BARELY hear it, but it happens RIGHT when the timer hits 00:21 and goes away just as fast.

and that's not a rat or a cat, that is my chihuahua's ears that you see pop up

ironworker

lol thats the noise! Like i said before i think it is normal for our SI's to do this on a cold start up.

FijiBlueFG2

I don't hear anything unusual, especially not at 0:21

But what is that noise that sounds like a dying person "flatlining", prior to ignition?

Ben850

it's the fuel pump.. does yours not sound like that?

06BlackSi #45

Mine makes the exact same noise on start up. Its like a breaking loose sound, very unique. I've never this noise on another car. Almost like the pulley makes the noise.

Ben850

i read about this sound on a different forum (non-honda) and they found out that if they let their fuel pump "build up" before they started the car, then it wouldn't make the sound.

needless to say i tried it, with no luck.

ScottF

I have a 1996 Honda Civic that did this, but mine was much louder, I thought it was a really loose heat shield or something, and 3 miles down the road I was looking at a hole in my block the size of my fist, I don't know if the noise I had on starting was related to the engine failure or not...

Ben850

lol thanks for the good news! just kidding.. it hasn't gotten any better or worse, and everyone says not to worry about, so i'm just going to keep daily driving it and pray that Honda's reliability still shines through.

jamesonc

That sound is just the oil not being there for a split second...I bet it does it a little louder after you change the oil, am I correct? Perfectly normal sound.

Ben850

Yes it is slightly different for like 1 second during first startup with fresh oil

jamesonc

Haha alright, then you're gonna start sleeping again at night now, right?

Ben850

for sure man... thanks for your input.

so what experience do you have with this? do you own an Si that does this?

jamesonc

I have an '07 sedan that's done it since I've owned it, (coincidentally i bought the car with 34XXX on it.)

Ben850

so do you have any type of mechanical experience that leads you to believe it's lack of initial lubrication?

it's what i've thought all along, but i don't know enough to tell myself that it's OK

jamesonc

I'm in the middle of attending Wyotech at the Blairsville campus, I'll be graduating in june. We just covered oil/lubrication systems a month ago.

Ben850

hell, sounds legit to me! not sure if i mentioned it in this thread, but it does help alot if i let the car turn over a couple times, back off the key, then start the car.

this obviously supports what you've said, but still .. that sound must be doing SOME type of extra wear on the motor??

95cx

Mine does this about once a month, but I'm over it since the warranty is up.... I'll wait till it doesn't start at all the fix anything!

Ben850

in the summer mine rarely does it at all, cause it has to be sitting for atleast 12 hours straight.

now that it's winter, it will happen if the car has been sitting for only a couple of hours. that's why i think it's either a split second lubrication deal, or maybe a sticky starter?


i still have 15K miles til my powertrain warranty is up so we will see

1grex

normal operation

jamesonc

I'm gonna throw this out there for craps and giggles. What kind of oil filter do you typically run?