95islegreensol

Hello all,

I have an 03 EP3 with its stock K20A3 and it has developed a very bizarre issue. It has been problem free until this morning, and is still problem free below the 4700 rpm VTC timing advancement. Under hard acceleration past 4700rpm, a loud grind-like sound is emitted, which almost sounds like the timing chain scraping against plastic. Due to the nature of replicating the sound I'm not really able to pinpoint where the sound is originating from, however it seems to be louder on the passenger side. What's strange is there is no issue below 4700rpm regardless of the degree of acceleration.

It almost seems like the sound is caused by the engine being forced further back on its mounts under the increased torque associated with the timing advancement, as the sound only is made under acceleration. Redline rev-match downshifts do not cause the sound. Additionally there is no drop in power or change in handling when the sound is emitted.

I'm hoping someone's familiar with a similar issue, I really have no clue where to start with this one. Any ideas?

thisguyaves

The easy way would be to open the valve cover and remove the top timing chain cover. See if the chain has any flex after slowly rotating the crank. Soulds a lot like a chain honestly, you might have worn throught the leading guide. Do you know when the last time you had the chain and tensioner/guides replaced?

95islegreensol

After replacing the timing chain and guides I found out my exhaust donut gasket was shot and water was getting in the exhaust, making the noise. Timing chain was stretched about 1/2" (~130,000mi on it)