Devante

I have a 1992 Honda Civic DX.

THe last 2 or 3 days, it has been really loud.
The engine revs up a lot louder than normal when I even barely press the gas to drive.

And when I leave it in park, the RPM gauge seems to go higher than when I'm in drive but not pressing the gas.

Does anyone know why this might happen?

Thanks!

-Gary-

Intake hose loose or you have some hole in your exhaust...

Devante

Are those the only things it could be? Nothing as easy as low oil or something?

Also, where is the intake hose? I know cars are different, but general idea would help.

Lastly, the noise comes from the engine, not the muffler, so do you still think hole in the exhaust could be possible?

MR Rodgers

Check the Exhaust

.PLUMMM

sounds like an exhaust problem. Maybe an exhaust leak somewhere? Check it out and report what you find!

Devante

I'm not car expert, but I am handy with tools and figuring out stuff.

Is there a way for me to personally check if the exhaust has a leak, or do I have to take it to a shop?

SoullessJapaneseMachine

iTrader: (1)

What you are describing is called VTEC.

Archidictus

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Devante &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I'm not car expert, but I am handy with tools and figuring out stuff.

Is there a way for me to personally check if the exhaust has a leak, or do I have to take it to a shop?
</TD></TR></TABLE>

Step 1.) get flashlight.

Step 2.) turn on car.

Step 3.) lay your *** on the ground and look for where your exhaust is broken.

Step 4.) if you can't see it, pull on the tailpipe at the muffler to see if it's come disconnected from the muffler internals.

Step 5.) drink heavily until the thought of putting a rice can on your car is washed away.

Devante

I appreciate the replies and will definately check the exhaust pipe tomorrow during the day, but logically speaking, it doesn't seem like it'd be a leak in the exhaust pipe when the loudness is coming from under the hood and not from the back of the car.

As for VTEC, I read a little about it and that seems like a system that's always on, not one that is off for 3 months, then turns on one day, so I don't think it has to do with VTEC.

Any other info is more than appreciated!

FastLife617

ill put my money on the exhaust leak so check that out

Devante

OK. Will check it out tomorrow.

One thing is that it seemed to get louder gradually in the last 3 days.

By the way, if it really is an exhaust leak, why would the noise come from under the hood instead of the back?

Remember, I'm no expert so be gentle.

JBB93Coupe

A few months back, I hit a bump too hard, and it cracked my pipe right before the cat, and had similar results...the exhaust starts under the hood, i think that's why they keep telling you to check under it. Maybe you have cracked headers?

GSR in progress 96

Exhaust leak

Devante

Two more questions since it's still night.

1) If I drive it with an exhaust leak, will it hurt the car?

2) How does one fix an exhaust leak? Is there an easy solution, or do you have to replace the entire exhaust system?

egstockboosted

an exhaust leak wont hurt anything really it'll just run like crap if the O2 sensor picks it up (look for a wire plugged into your exhaust near the motor).
you dont have to replace the whole exhaust system if there's only 1 leak depending on were it is.. you can just have a muffler shop (or do it yourself) replace the pipe.
it could also be in a place were the exhaust bolts on i.e. exhaust manifold, catylitic converter or resonator (looks like a buldge in the exhaust) and one of thost gaskets could be blown or leaking which would just require a new gasket.

if your pipe looks really bad and rusted.. i suggest having a cheap muffler shop re do it all. i've gotton a header back exhaust done for 60 bucks here and after 3 years it still hasnt leaked

Vindicator9000

An exhaust leak can be anywhere between the engine and the muffler... so it could be under the hood, or under the cabin, which would make it sound like it's coming from the front of the car. The only way to find out is to get under it with a flashlight while it's running.

When I had a hole rust through right before the muffler, I took it to the local redneck muffler shop, and he charged me $15 to cut out the bad section and weld in a new section of pipe. IMO, this is just as good a solution as buying a whole new pipe, and much cheaper.

koa

check for cracks in your exhaust manifold. if it got wet while it was hot then more than likely it got cracked. Mine did tht and it got louder and louder until a valve bent!!!

Kingpirate

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by koa &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">check for cracks in your exhaust manifold. if it got wet while it was hot then more than likely it got cracked. Mine did tht and it got louder and louder until a valve bent!!!</TD></TR></TABLE>
WTF!!! so youre trying to tell me that due to a crack in your manifold you bent a valave. Which valve was that???? enlighten me.... anyways, the reason it sounds loud might be an exhaust leak , and maybe you have a vaccum loose somewhere vausing your car to idle like ****. let me know what happens.

koa

i bent a valve on the exhaust port because the crack got so damn big on the number one port

slo_hatch

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by SoullessJapaneseMachine &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">What you are describing is called VTEC. </TD></TR></TABLE>

uh..not. dx-no vtec!

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Devante &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Two more questions since it's still night.

1) If I drive it with an exhaust leak, will it hurt the car?

2) How does one fix an exhaust leak? Is there an easy solution, or do you have to replace the entire exhaust system?
</TD></TR></TABLE>

it wont hurt it...it will just be loud and smell like complete *** if the leak is in front of the cat (so it will come up and you will smell it inside the car). and fixing the problems requires you going to a muffler shop and having them either replace the whole exhaust system or just the pipe that has broken or rusted through. good luck.

Kingpirate

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by koa &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote"> i bent a valve on the exhaust port because the crack got so damn big on the number one port</TD></TR></TABLE>i still dont understand how you bent a valve on the exhaust side.

SinsEvil666

Like Everyone said, most likely exhaust leak (mine is like that right now right before catalic converter and god damn sounds loud *** hell....its annoying

Devante

Turns out the 3 bolts connecting the manifold to the exhaust pipe? at the engine become loose and fell off.

So the beginning of the exhaust pipe was just hanging there and the manifold was shooting exhaust right under the hood.

I tried my best to reach in there and rebolt it together, but I fear it will become lose again. I need a way to ensure it's tight as can be.

Even though it doesn't seem like that would hurt the engine, the engine light did come on after driving it for a few miles.

Anyway, it's running fine now so hopefully it'll stay that way until I can figure out a way to really tighten it.

Thanks for the help everyone.

8YourV8

this happened to me also, except it was my downpipe that fell off @ my turbo... ended up staying there and chillin' until i eventually drove it home and re-bolted it back up. (i still dont understand how 4 correctly threaded bolts just pop out of their respective screw-holes though...) anyway, yeah... the car sounded like a turbo-diesel v8 when this happened, not to mention adding a tremendous power gain. just a little anecdote to make you feel like you're not alone, i'm pretty sure other HT members have exhaust stories as well.