i changed my timing belt this weekend, along with the balancer belt, both pulleys, and the waterpump. Everything went smoothly and took about 4-5 hours to complete.

There are some differences i noticed in the way my engine is running, and i was wondering if i should be concerned.
1. the engine runs real quiet, but when i accellerate in gears 3, and 4 mainly, from 2000-2250 rpm, i hear a chattering sound coming from the timing belt area. i took off the bottom cover again, and checked the tension on both belts and it was ok. What could cause this noise.?

2. when the car idles, i doesnt stay still at one speed, but bounces randomly from 700-900 rpm approximately. Is this normal?

3. When i drive real slow in gear 2 or 3 at about 1100rpm, such as driving in traffic, the car starts to choke back and forth, and doesnt coast smoothly like it used to? Is this normal?

I there a break in period for the new parts, or what can be cause these things?

Thanks again.

 

is it a 5th gen?

hit me up on AIM at General Chang7

 

Have you checked the timing? Are you sure the balance shafts are set up correctly?
This link might help you figure out whats wrong;
http://www.cybertrails.com/~pu....html
Do you know what year and model you are working on?

 

yes, i checked all the timing marks from that website. i am confident that the balancer shafts are where they are supposed to be.

it is a 1994 accord lx.

could it be spark plug knock or something like that?
thanks.

 

Huh, that sounds strikingly familiar, as I have a 94 lx that does very very similar things, only I didnt just change the timing belt, but will probably be due soon.

My idle bounces like that on and off when the engine is cold, but then goes away. The IAC (intake idle control) valve on the very back of the intake manifold is the culprit. It could either be going out, or I have heard that you can take it off,clean it out, and loctite a screw down in it and it will stop doing that. Anyone care to confirm?

I have the "chattering as well, at roughly those rpms mostly when the engine is cold, but Im pretty sure its valve tick. Funny thing is I just adjusted the valves and they were TOO tight from when I had the dealer do it, so now they are right, but it still ticks. I had never thought that it could be the timing belt. What could cause a metalic tick like that in the timing belt area? the tensioner flapping around?

ANd as for that jerking around at low rpms, yep it does that to. I was thinking it was motor mounts maybe? but I dont know why it would start doing it after a TB change unless you didnt hook back up a motor mount correctly. I also have suspicions that it may have to do with my tranny (5 speed)

Also, mine is a J-vin. Would yours happen to be?

Lets figure this out

 

mine is a 5sp also. i dont recall the vin though.

i dont suspect anything is wrong with the intake idle control valve, cause it was working fine before the change. also my tranny was in tip top shape before the change, so i dont think it is that either. also my valves were silent before the change, so i dont see why they would be out of adjustment now.

could the camshaft being off 1 tooth cause these things? im not saying this is the case, but i might go back and have a look if it is a probable cause.

as for motor mount, it went in as it came out, so i dont suspect that it is cause the oscilation at low rpms. this makes the car a pain to drive in traffic, as i have to keep putting the clutch in when coasting at low speeds.

as for the rattle in the timing/valve area. can bad spark plugs cause this? im just thinking out loud.

thanks.

 

what does hit me up on AIM General Chang7 mean?

 

its means to send him a message through AIM on his screenname. http://www.aim.com

 

Well, since it was pretty much running perfect before the change, something has to of been messed up. I suppose if timeing were off (from a mis aligned cam shaft) then that would make the motor do all sorts of weird things.

Mine is doing all of the same things, only it "was" running fine when I purchased it 25K ago, and these things have slowly began do develop it seems. Maybe the tensioner is old and I threw the belt off a notch or two?
Have you double checked the timing?

I still get great mileage on the highway(30-33) and dont burn a drop.

sohc

 

that would make sense to me too. i am going to have another look at the timing some time soon to confirm the cam timing. i guess a cam off by one tooth could cause an engine to run slightly different/unpredictable.

what are the typical symptoms for a camshaft being off 1 tooth in either direction.

as for it changing gradually over 25k, could timing belt stretch cause this?

thanks.

 

Typical symptoms of being off a tooth is pretty much what you are describing. A rough idle, but once off idle, things smooth out. Lack of power at low revs etc. Id check your valve timing marks to make sure you are right on. PM me if any other questions.

 

It might have been mentioned before, but I suppose if the balancer belt was off a little it would mess things up as well...
Let us know what you find out!!
sohc

 

bump

 

bump

 

i plan on opening the covers back up sometime this week to check the valve timing marks again. i will let you guys know how it goes.

thanks for the help thusfar!

 

i went back into the timing area of my 1994 LX this weekend, and here is what i found.

The camshaft was a tooth and then some too far counter clockwise when the crankshaft was at TDC.

i proceeded to remove the belt, move the camshaft clockwise to its TDC position, and reinstalled the belt. put everything else back together, and now the engines runs so much better. no more pinging valve noise. no more jerking/choking at lows rpms. i am also going to keep an eye on my fuel mileage, cause it was not that great since i originally installed the belt about a 1000mi ago.

Thanks for all your help on this one. i plan on doing this on my parent's 93 civic in the next couple of months. other than there being no balancer belt on this one, are there any other surprises?

thanks.

 

glad to hear that its running better... I wonder if I have the same culprit except from the age of the belt (stretched/jumped)