Just bought a 95 Accord LX. My first Honda, and compared to my previous Dodge V6 this sucker is click-ety and almost sounds like a small diesel!

Please take a listen to my engine and tell me what you think. Seller offered to buy back the car if I was not happy with it. Want to make sure I didn't end up buying a 'PROJECT'!

Note: the recording is a bit large (~7MB) cause I wanted good volume and sound quality. Also, the mic was positioned within 12in of valve cover.
http://www.bestpcrepair.net/Accord.wav

Thanks for your opinion.

Mike

 

Wow... I have a 95 EX with 178xxx and it sounds nothing CLOSE to that. Get your money back, man!

 

I might just need its valves adjusted. Typical maintenance and nothing to worry about (if that is the culprit) but i think it is. My car sounded similar just a lil less soo... but when i did my valves it smoothed out and sounded "healthier"

 

If your valve lash is too loose as well, your valves will not fully lift. Severely decreasing engine performance.

 

That is valve lash. The valves needs to be adjusted. It would be totally normal for a car that old and with that many miles on it to sound like that if the valves have never been adjusted. Its not a big deal. You can go buy the feeler gauges needed, a new valve cover gasket, and you have everything you need to do it.

 

Before you get into ur values take a sec and look down at ur oil pan on the left , right next to pan is a black cover, check and make sure its not bent because I changed my oil pan on my 95 lx and I bent it a bit and It made that noise.

 

94 accord lx 2.2 120k:

Just adjusted my valves after purchasing the car. Mine sounded identical to these. Inherent to higher mileage. words of wisdom. 1) be gentle. 2) be precise. 3) make sure you clean and prep your valve cover surface area with acetone to ensure a good rtv seal where rtv is needed. 4) supplied with the gasket kit is the four spark plug tube grommets. These, as we all know, tend to leak oil, filling the tube, and making a nasty mess. This is not book procedure, but a honda tech told me to use a "thin coating of RTV where the Grommet meets the top of the head. I also rtv them into the valve cover. ever since, they do not leak. Done this multiple times on multiple hondas and works like a charm. Always remember to let your engine sit for a full 24 hours after applying RTV to ensure complete curing of gasket sealant. if not, you will wind up with rtv in your oil pan, and that's not fun. The haynes manual is great to have for this operation, and is pretty much a must to ensure you do it correctly. best $20 book you'll ever buy.