Hey guys, this is my first of many posts. Thanks for the help before hand.

I am having a little issue, I have a 93 Acura Integra 1.8L DOHC (NON-VTEC) and when I open my hood it seems that the engine is pretty loud. I just changed the oil to Mobile One Synthetic 10w-30 about 500 miles ago, but I am not sure if that could be the cause. I did buy the car used, so the car's history is questionable.

The noise sounds like the normal honda engine ticking (in time with the RPMS) but much louder. I am thinking that I need a valve adjustment, but wanted to get the opinion of some non $$ hungy people.

BTW if you guys have any links for an HOW TO on valve adjustments, or have an idea how much it would cost, or any other input please reply.


Thanks Guys and Gals,
OC-Beta

 

Judging by your post, I politely recommend bringing the car to a good mechanic!

 

Welcome to the boards!

Sounds like valvetrain noise to me. It may just be a clearance adjustment; Honda motors can be very noisy when the clearance is out of spec. A valve adjustment is not terribly difficult, it is time consuming however. Consider that you won't pay much (in the neighborhood of $100) to get a mechanic to do it. I'd buy a Haynes manual. They're not as good as a factory manual but they're adequate for tune-ups. One word of caution, improper valve adjustment can cause serious engine damage.

You might also have sticky lifters, possible oil starvation, etc. How does the car run? Fuel mileage? Is there any smoke? If so, when do you see smoke and what color is it?

If nothing else, drive conservatively until you can get to the bottom of this.

 

Thanks for the advice, I will look into having a mechanic look into it, since it is time consuming and fairly risky do-it-yourself job.

There is no smoke, I average about 20-30 mpg depending on hard city driving (high revs and so forth) or highway crusing. The car runs strong. I just want to do everything I can to prevent any issues that could arrise. Thanks for the help.

Oh, and I have been looking for a good honda/acura forum for a while. I used to use purehonda until they got lame. So thank you for the warm welcome.

One of my friends said that if they are hydrolic lifters, then I should get some Mystery Miracle Oil for like Kragen's and see if that helps. I will see what I can do.

OC-Beta

 

Nope, Teggies use mechanical lifters. They're probably just out of spec. Even so, I'd take it easy until you get 'em adjusted. You don't want to risk damaging the camshafts (or valve float ). Or maybe you do, so can have an excuse to do all that headwork you've been wanting.

 

it could most likely be your valvetrain. valve adjusted with new cam seal and valvecover gasket costs around $100.

 

Thanks for the help guys, I will deffinatly look into it, and let you know how it turns out. ($$ permitting, i guess it would be a good time to upgrade my cam gears, timing belt, and even cams. any suggestions?)


Thanks,
OC-Beta

 

Yes just do a valve adjustment. You can get the tool from snap on or harbor freight. Or if you decide to go the cheap way you can get a box wrench and bend it to fit. Well thats what I did. Just to let you know I went out and bought the tool from harbor freight online after doing my adjustment twice trying to get it right.

http://www.c-speedracing.com/howto/v...lveadjust.html



[Modified by Fooser, 4:21 PM 4/22/2002]