Heya, this is for the experts, if you don't know - haven't experienced this condition and had to troubleshoot it. Don't post.

My bottom end on the ole' a6 sounds like a popcorn machine. It hasn't thrown a rod, actually runs perfectly fine. Last night it got louder, this morning it's back to normal... It's an inconsistent rattle.

My only guess is that the rod bearings are shot and miiiiight be able to cause that sound ... but I don't know for sure. I've never had bad rod bearings.

I'm not willing to take it apart until it blows So I'm just curious if there's a Honda mechanic that has had to troubleshoot this for a customer or something.

Thanks guys, Peter

 

i have had similar problems with other makes of cars and it turned out to be electrical. ignition firing problem caused by water damage and grounding out. but the car would still run, just rough at low rpm. otherwise i dont know but good luck.

 

Again, not on a honda, put had a Ford 289 with a slipping wrist pin. Sounded a lot like a popcorn machine as the wrist pin smacked cylinder wall.

But since i don't actually know what's wrong with yours, and whether you're talking about oil or air popcorn machine... perhaps i shouldn't have posted?

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by civic_dork &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Sounded a lot like a popcorn machine as the wrist pin smacked cylinder wall.</TD></TR></TABLE>

OUCH!!!

 

hahahah well shitballs.. New opinions, come on, someone has to have experienced this before, we just had a ZC like this into our shop 5 weeks ago and couldn't diagnose it.

 

Beleive it or not. We had a stuck valve once. Had so much buid up and nasty **** caught up in it that it was jam, and when the cam would hit it, it would make a nasty loud sharp click. And at 1000rpm it would hit it alot and sound like a pop corn machine.

We did a valve train swap and it ran like new. P&P the head too.

 

Oh, and a rod bearing would make a loud knocking noise. Trust me, it's a bad noise. It comes from the oil pan moistly (the noise that is) and it's deep. You simply can't mistake it.

 

well since i cant hear the sound its making and i have to guess what a "pop corn machine sounds like, my ZC was making weird *** sounds, and it was cause my timing was way the expletive off, and i had to change the head, make sure the tpc on your crank pully lines up with your cams,

 

i cant say ive had the "popcorn problem" but i have used a doctors stethoscope type thing with a long metal rod attached to diagnose injector problems and listen to the valves. the same thing might help you to get an idea if its the head or in the block. good luck

 

Take the head off and put some kernels in with the pistons...Dont forget the butter

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by ludesrv &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Oh, and a rod bearing would make a loud knocking noise. Trust me, it's a bad noise. It comes from the oil pan moistly (the noise that is) and it's deep. You simply can't mistake it.</TD></TR></TABLE>

Yuuuup that's it, when it got loud for those few minutes the other night, it sounded exactly like a rod about to break free of the block looooud knocking noise.
But, it got quiet again... weird. I'm just running it till it blows at this point, picking up a z6 this week "incase ****"

edit:
hey checkout the "relevant links" from google LOL "popcorn zone!!" LOL