k5egg

95 Civic EX/5 speed/D16Z6...

I had a contaminated gas tank which I managed to replace a couple weeks ago (out of a freshly totaled 94 4-door) which appears to have fixed the fueling issues but another noise has cropped up.

Over the last 2k miles or so I've been noticing a 'rappy' sound from the engine, mostly just off-idle, or when under no/light load around 2000-3500 rpm. If I put my hand on the timing cover and trigger the noise, it feels like someone hitting the timing cover with small hammers.

Adjusted the valves again today... .008 in the back, .010 in the front.

I have noticed some carbon buildup on the piston tops when seen down the spark plug holes. The plugs aren't showing any unusual buildup.

I ran seafoam through it, and if anything it came out a bit worse.

I made a youtube video of the noise. Any ideas?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-NLulFGb-m0

crxboy909

bump for i have the same noise... help us plz

k5egg

Well, mine just got much worse.

Drove about 6 miles, idled about 5 minutes, drove 6 miles back. On the way back noises got much more severe. Turned in my driveway and now I have a flickering 'genie lamp' on the dash at idle. FML!

I'm going with failing rod bearing. It explains the valvetrain rattle (low oil pressure), no power (no vtec engagement due to insufficient oil pressure) and the 'rapping' noise that caused the initial concern.

Hopefully the crank is alright...

instructor74

I wouldnt count on it that sounds like a bad rod bearing and I am willing to bet that the crank is damaged

k5egg

Now you're just making me depressed. If the crank is blown I'll have to decide how to take it from there. I'm leaning toward a complete overhaul + clutch job. Sure it costs more than a junkyard engine, but I end up with a "zero time" engine vs something that has an unknown quantity of maintenance and abuse.

viper_boy403

iTrader: (1)

your timing belt is flapping all over the place, didnt anyone else notice that? That explains the tapping sound, but wouldnt really explain the CEL. Unless the "genie lamp" your talking about is your oil pressure light

94EG8

There's nothing wrong with the timing belt, they aren't supposed to be singing tight. They move in and out a bit like that, it's normal. And yeah i'd say the "genie lamp" would be the oil light (it looks like Aladdin's lamp)

Former User

Start shopping for a replacement engine.

ken9

Why not just rebuild it.

Former User

The crankshaft bearings likely failed because the engine ran low on oil or because the oil pump died. IMHO, such an engine is not worth salvaging and the best option with respect to both time and expense would be to replace it with a low mileage engine.

94EG8

Also if the head was starved for oil the cam journals are probably scored too.

viper_boy403

iTrader: (1)

neither my h22 nor my d15 have flappy timing belts like that not overtensioned either. but regardless, I think the problem has been discovered here

k5egg

Today was a busy day.

Compression was 200-200-195-205. #4 has a little carbon in it (I think from a previous incident where I had clogged injector screens) which explains the high. #3 was the worst worn rod bearing - explains the low.

Tore the bottom end off... I found:

A> lots of gold glitter in the oil pan. Oil pickup screen was almost completely covered with crud (mostly glitter)

B> Main bearings in VERY poor condition. None 'spun' though, just looking hammered.

C> Rod bearings even worse... Two were broken at the upper oil ports (#1 and #3). #3 looks like it could have spun, but didn't come out crooked so I'm not sure if it actually did. The rod shows no unusual wear pattern.

D> I think I can get away with not getting the crank turned. All the journals look quite acceptable... no scoring or other sharp edges.

Cam looks fine, I don't believe there was significant oiling issues.

Personally I suspect a combination of 7 years of being parked with dirty oil in it, fuel system being completely out of whack for a while (dirty fuel tank/clogged injector screens) and possibly overzealous use of Seafoam (when I first heard the noise manifest itself) all contributed to this failure.

Current intention list:

A> Clean journals with 320 then 600 wet/dry sandpaper thoroughly coated with ATF

B> Pull head, clean head and intake, check valves/seats, hone valves, replace valve seals

C> Remove pistons, clean, replace rings

D> deglaze cylinders.

E> replace water pump + timing tensioner

F> clean + oil everything up

G> reassemble w/ new timing belt, intake/exhaust gaskets, and accessory belts.

Planning on using the D16Y8 OEM MLS head gasket (unless somebody has a suggestion otherwise?). From what I've read they seem to be less failure-prone as the 92-95 Z6 OEM gasket assuming good prep work. I intend to reuse the head bolts (they've never been out before) as I don't expect to be doing any forced induction or nitrous on this engine.

Now all I really have to do is wait patiently for parts. We will be having beautiful weather the next few days - I'm sure it'll be cold and miserable again by the time the parts show up.

Also, any suggestions on where to buy a valve spring compression tool? I didn't find one searching harborfreight.com - I did find valve lapping hand tools tho.

k5egg

I don't doubt the timing belt is tired. Its getting replaced.