Heres the specs: JDM Type-S shortblock, remanufactured OBD1 head w/all new valve train, new timing and balancer belts, with manual tensioner. This motor was piece together and the other odds and ends from a 97 SH were thrown on to finish it out.

Anyway, I started this project last October. It hasn't run right from the beginning and I haven't messed with it too much. The car just doesn't seem to have the power it should, and its ticks pretty loud. I had my injectors cleaned and flow tested, I've replaced the plugs and wires, I just re-confirmed the timing (which was perfect), I've checked/adjusted the valve clearance 3 times (going to check it again today), I've ran a little fuel system cleaner through it. Although I haven't had it running well enough to run all that much gas through it. Thats all I can think of off the top of my head.

Does anyone have ANY input on anything else to check/try? I was thining maybe the fuel pump could be bad/semi-clogged/gummed up.

 

Is the ticking noise coming from the head or the bottom end?

I would also check the cylinder leak down to see if you are loosing power that way.

 

what ecu are you running? and what kind of manual tensioner parts did you use? check the belt and make sure its not streched

 

If it ticks really bad, do a valve adjustment...

 

What cams are you running and with which LMAs? What lash are you setting the VT to?

What octane fuel are you using? What ECU and what injectors?

What oil weight are you using? Does the ticking increase in frequency or amplitude with revs?


-P

 

Is the car tuned[with what]?
Hopefully you didn't throw this setup together with a stock ECU and think it would run right.....
Why do people bother?!.......

 

Your valves are out of adjustment or you didnt tighten something to spec in the bottom end. Well thats your tapping issue atleast, idk about power

 

I'm sure it needs to be tuned. The shop hatch was recently tuned[EuroR H22] with ONLY bolt-ons and it was down 18whp. eCtune vs Generic P28 prgm

 

I dont know much about tuning cept ive watched the program in use and been walked through how to use it, But hes right about the tune, you always need a good tune if your not running the stock setup that the ecu was ment to run

 

Even stock setups can benefit from a tune.......
The STOCK H22 we dyno'd a few years ago had 11.5-12:1 AFR's


I have to say, is it maybe time to get a PRO involved for the valve adjustment?
YOUR time is worth money.......and its NOT working for you. Suck it up and spend the $$$.

 

It's coming from the head. I did a compression test and it was all good. I have not done a leak down test. Is this necessary if the compression test is good?

I inspected my valve lash today and some of them were tight. I put all of the intakes at .006-.007 and all of the exhausts to .007-.008. After I re adjusted the ones that needed it, I double check all of them and they were good. I didnt have enough time to put the valve cover back on and fire it up, hopefully tomorrow.

Stock 97 SH ecu. I dont remember exactly what parts I used. Whatever was listed in the write-up. The belts are brand new and good.

Stock cams from a 97 SH
LMAs?
Intakes .006-.007
exhausts .007-.008
Running 93 octane
97 SH ecu, stock 97 SH (freshly cleaned and tested) injectors
5-30 oil
I believe it ticks faster as higher RPMs, yeah.

Stock 97 SH ecu. Pirate as well as few other told me it SHOULD work ok.
Like I said before, I'm definitely no pro mechanic, but I have SOME decent experience. A valve adjustment is fairly simple and I can handle it. I'm still learning the insides of engines. I've done several complete swaps, but this is my first project where I've somewhat built and adjusted the motor. We all have to learn somewhere and this is my learning project.

Looks like maybe I should have it tuned? I just don't want to try to have it tuned if that's not the problem.

 

Is it possible this is just the VTEC tick? I don't remember my stock cammed setup being the quietest out there.
Why NOT tune it? you may be leaving 10% of your power on the table.

 

Well tuning is not your tapping problem. Your could have a wrist pin thats not right, Did you sure your valves are correct? If there just a hair too long it could cause a serious headache up the road

if possiable a video of the noise could clear this up very quickly

 

if its ticking the valve adjustment setting is too high. try to tighten up your clearances. had the same problem few years ago. took me all day to get it right since i was just learning. you really have to get a feel for the right drag. im guessing you're using the proper tool.... the snap-on jam nut adjuster?

 

If you're sure it's valvetrain-related and your lash is set correctly then check the LMAs (Lost Motion Assemblies). Your 1997 LMAs, an older style, might have acquired a "ticking". You can search for it. LMA tick might be a possibility.

Something else you can try is to tighten the lash to .004" (or less) all around and see if it gets any quieter. If it does get quieter then it's likely just a noise you'll have to live with with the lash set to factory spec. I don't recommend running around with super-tight lash all the time but for a test in your driveway you can set it real tight to see if it gets quieter.

Another thing you can do to eliminate all other possible tickings from the accessories is to pull the belts so that the engine alone is able to make noise.

If you think it's possible that it's detonating get a timing light and see if retarding the distributor 3˚ and see if it gets any quieter.

Then there's the possibility that you just have noisy injectors. My injectors have always ticked a little bit, but if you wrap the engine up and let it decelerate all by itself with the throttle closed then the injector tick should stop for a second and start again when it kicks the fuel back on at idle rpm.

I can't remember, but is this the P5P H22A block I sold you? If so I never had a tick when I had it running and the block's never been apart while I had it.

I maintain that if the only thing you change in an engine is a little compression then you don't need a retune. If you go from 10:1 to 13:1 then you'll have to re-tune your timing which might slightly affect your A/Fs but compression alone does not significantly change the breathing dynamics of the engine to warrant a full retune. It only changes the thermal efficiency and peak combustion pressures.

-P

 

fred, would you say that a problem like worn LMA's would have more of a repetitious ticking?

 

Sorry guys, I was out of town for the weekend. I meant to egt back here on Friday, but I didn't have time.

I haven't ruled out tuning it, but I want to make sure everything thing is right before I waste time and money having it tuned. And its not VTEC kick, hah. Since I can't even really get it into VTEC. Its ticky at idle too.

And The ticking frequency DOES go up with the RPMs.

You are probably right. This is my first time adjusting valves. Like I said, I'm trying to learn the internals as I go. Is there any way you can explain the "proper" drag? I am using the correct tool. I have 2 of them actually, but the one I use is actually a knock off of the snap-on one.

I'll do some research on LMAs.

As I stated above, maybe the "drag" I'm feeling isn't what I'm supped to be feeling when sliding the feeler gauge in and out. I pretty much set all the valves to where the high end of the tolerance (.007 intake, .008 exhaust), making sure I could just barely feel the gauge drag. I figured they were clicking from being too tight, so I set them loose. Like I said, I guess I just need to k now how much drag there should be when sliding the gauge. I originally read for there to be "very slight resistance".

The ticking is definitely coming from the head.

I really don't know much about detonation or using a timing light. But I'm using my OBD2 distributor on the OBD1 head. I thought the timing could only be changed on the OBD1 dist.?

The injectors were just cleaned and flow tested, but I'll try the rev drop test and see if I notice anything. Although, I believe you're implying that they can tick whether they are clean or not.

Yes, it is the H22A block you sold me. I took it apart a little just to put a USDM oil pump on it.

Also, I made some videos, but the camera I used had crappy sound, so they really aren't worth posting.



Thanks to everyone for their input.

 

well, if you're unsure that you're setting the lash correctly then find the thinnest guage you can and set the lash real tight and see if it makes the same amount of noise while parked blipping the throttle. If it's quiet or quieter then it's a good indication it's the lash. If it doesn't change then it's a solid bet to look elsewhere. Hope you figure it out.

-P

 

when i was setting my lash i would double check to make sure i was pushing and pulling the feeler gauge at the same angle. make sure the cams are facing the right way. and about the resistance of drag. what worked for me was going with a feeling for an "easy drag". by easy drag i mean adjust it so it doesnt feel like a bumpy or un-smooth drag. at the same time it shouldnt just pass through there with barely any effort. i would go a little tighter than very slight resistance and see what the gives you. if your able to get the next gauge above the one your using in there at all (with force) its too high. somtimes you just have to set it and turn the engine on and listen. i would keep going tighter until the ticking subsides. some times the rocker pads get so worn you might have to go .001" smaller than whats recommended. if the ticking does not go away it just might be your LMAs. how many miles are on that block?

 

So I adjusted the valves..again. I tightened them down the the low end of the tolerance. I pretty much made it so that the next gauge up wouldn't fit. Its still ticky =( I was hoping that would fix the problem. Another thing that I noticed is the exhaust sound raspy when you rev it. Its just a stock exhaust but it almost sounds like a rice can when you rev it. Also at idle, its kind of rumbles and puffs here and there.

I was reading the helms manual and i was looking at checking the distributor timing. It says to check the timing with a light and if the timing is off, then you need to replace the ECM. Hah. Anyway, I guess I need to get/rent a light and check that out. That still doesn't explain the ticking, though.




I made some videos of the exhaust and the ticking:


Ticking: http://s314.photobucket.com/albums/l...t=MVI_1704.flv

 

For some reason the exhaust video wont show in the post above, so here it is:

http://s314.photobucket.com/albums/l...t=MVI_1705.flv

 

Firstly I have never heard valves thick like that on an H22A, but it does sound like the valves rather than ignition etc but I am no expert.

Only thing I did want to mention is that "drag" on the feeler gauge is very subjective, or atleast I found that it was. I set my valves to what I thought was "drag" but after checking them with a larger feeler unit I could still fit it through... Hence they were all set way too loose. What I ended up doing was to get another pair of hands.
One person holds the appropriate feeler gauge (in the appropriate spot for the appropriate cylinder) and they must keep moving the feeler gauge in and out while the other fully tightens the valve with the flat screwdriver in the "special tool". Once the feeler gauge is stuck and cant be moved, we gave the screw just a small turn. This was enough to allow the feeler to just fit in and move, which I assume is the appropriate drag. Then we tightened the bolt and rechecked etc etc. We also rechecked every cylinder after doing all the valves. This may or may not be helpfull, hope you get it sorted!

Good luck

 

If the valve lash is good, replace the lma's with the updated 99+ design.

 

Sounds like a lawn mower

 

I would do another oil change.

I remember when I did an oil change on a crown vic, it was ticking hella loud. No oil leak or anything. Then, the tech replaced the oil filter and got a new one on, bam; problem fixed. So it was a bad oil filter. It may not be related your problem but thought I wanna share it with you.