I went to start the car this evening and heard an odd sound coming from under the hood. It was sort of like a "tik tik tik tik tik tik" sound. Almost as though something were loose and moving when it shouldnt, or something is slapping oddly against something else.

I popped the hood and pressed my finger gently on various parts to see if I could affect the sound and nothing. I removed the plastic V-tec branded cover to see if anything was loose underneath and didnt see anything.

The car is an 03 EP3, but has only about 26K on it. Mechanic isnt open on sundays, and it isnt until after garage hours today that I noticed it.

My friend called it a "valve tap," but I have to be honest Id never heard of it before. The sound is soft but noticable.

Anyone have a suggestion?

 

Does the sound "speed up" along with throttle inputs? If so, it's more than likely valve tap. The sound might get a little louder, but not much.

 

your sure its not the injectors? I guess not since its "new" to you, but the injectors are very loud and make a ticking noise.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by umop-apisdn &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Does the sound "speed up" along with throttle inputs? If so, it's more than likely valve tap. The sound might get a little louder, but not much.</TD></TR></TABLE>

Just checked to see if the sound speeds up. Its really hard to tell over the engine noise. It seems to speed up and then go away after RPMs reach about 2.5-3K. When the RPMs start to come down it starts again. I thought valve taps were more sporadic, this sound is pretty consistent aside from going away while accelerating.

if It is a valve tap, what kind of repair am I looking at?

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Unbreakable6161 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">your sure its not the injectors? I guess not since its "new" to you, but the injectors are very loud and make a ticking noise. </TD></TR></TABLE>

it could be described as not being too different in sound as the injectors, but a lot louder than I have heard of them before.

As a side note, checked oil levels and they are fine, but just to be safe Ill change the oil tomorrow.

 

most likely its your injectors, you just probably notice is alot more for some reason.

 

could be valve tapping.....

 

i bet it's the injectors. the K motors have really loud injectors.

 

Injectors. I doubt there are any valve issues at 26K miles. I checked my clearances at 30k and 60k and all was well. Haven't had to adjust one yet.

 

Starter probably? I never/haven't had that sound in my EP before but my old corolla had that tik tik tik and I found out it was my starter...

 

be sure that it is coming from the engine and not the tranny or anything.. im new to my ep3 but my old integra started making a tapping and it ended up being my throw out bearing... good luck figuring it out tho