sharmon

Hey Guys,
OK, I think the engine is going. Ive developed a bit of a tapping sound which is most noticable at around 3500rpm and gets louder above say 4500 which I now keep the car in the low revs as much as possible as this is my daily and without it Im F'd. Its also my 6 Hr commuter home to Southern Oregon. The sound is mostly only noticable when off the power. On power it sounds pretty normal. Ive checked the valve lash and was really tight as its the first time checking since I put new exhaust valves in after burning one on a road trip. I would think a loose rod would rattle at any rpm but the motor runs pretty smooth at idle. Any suggestions? Sticking valve maybe? It sounds like its coming from the upper part of the engine at least while Im driving and also seems to come and go some and is mostly not even noticable when its cold. Could it be my oil pump? 250K miles? Would it not have a oil pressure light?

Thanks!

hondamark35

what oil do you have in it? is it full?

did you check the LMAs when you did the valve adjustment?

sharmon

Running 10-30. Yes its full but it burns oil pretty bad.

LMA's?

Thanks,
-S

sharmon

Did a quick search, I see now what they are. Do D-Series have them? I see them on B-Series......

sharmon

OK. Did a quick Youtube search for LMA's. Wow! I didnt even know these things existed! I feel really confident this is my issue now. Hondamark35, thanks for the hint that may have put me on the right track! Much appreciated!

-Sharmon

Jimster480

if it burns oil badly then you probably have a valve seal or ring problem.
Should take care of that.
But if the engine is just loud on the top end its probably the LMA's as someone else mentioned.

NVturbo

It's likely the 4 LMAs. I had to swap out mine the other day with the ones from my old motor.

- remove spark plug wires
- remove ground wire from valve cover
- remove vacuum hose at corner
- remove valve cover
- remove (10) 12mm bolts of the LMA holder
- remove the (4) LMAs and replace them with good ones

Installation is in reverse.
*** Torque the 12mm bolts to 14ft lbs. Yes, there is a sequence of how they should be tightened/torqued down. ***

B series VTEC engines have a total of 8. Same diameter size but shorter in length...meaning THEY WILL NOT WORK in a D series.

sharmon

NVTurbo, Thanks for the direction! H-T is the best. So much knowledge!

Jimster480 Going to look into it this weekend. Thanks!

NVturbo

any time man. Don't forget to apply some assembly lube to the "new" LMAs prior to re-install.

You can disregard #11-14 since those bolts are not a part of the LMA holder.