good day, everyone. i'd appreciate any help with this matter.

i'll begin with the cliffsnotes version of my sob story.

'91 civic si, d16a6 5-speed w/166k miles -- had to climb a hill, rode 2nd gear to 6800 because i'm an idiot that was paying attention to the radio; shortly after heard a light "whocking" sound that kicked in about 3.5k-4k rpm. sounded like it was coming from exhaust, as i'd heard a similar sound before when i had an exhaust leak. driving home from work, constant freeway speed of 80-85, car seemed extremely sluggish, "whocking" escalated into loud clacking, sudden extreme loss of power, vehicle started shuddering -- towed it home after car decided to give up.

the engine starts, and i had to drive it about 12 feet up my driveway, so it's still alive... just badly wounded. i'm guessing... maybe i floated a valve?

it seems pretty clear to me that this is a valve problem, due to the nature and position of the sound, but i have this fear that it could be something deeper... something internal.

have any of you gone through a similar event? i'm looking at replacing the cylinder head, and before i drop money on one, i'd like to know your thoughts.

what are the possible scenarios? will replacing the head fix the problem? what's the worst case scenario, and how should i go about making my poor EF alive again?


any help/advice on the matter would be greatly appreciated.

thank you all very much.

-generalBEEEF

 

dropped valve maybe

 

WORST CASE, Spun bearing. A spun bearing exhibits the sounds and sights of what you describing, but you get the same sounds from a dropped valve. Pop the head and give it a look.

 

thanks guys... i've taken this as a reason to stop procrastinating and finally swap the motor, so i'm looking into that now. i appreciate the help.

 

sounds like a spun bearing. mine did the same thing. the noise only gets worse until it just will not go any further.