So after a pretty grueling day at the local lapping day, my car developed a slight noise. It sounds like a muffled clinking, or "sticky" valves. (please see youtube clip)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oa1P4t0H77c

I've searched and searched on HT and can't narrow it down. I tried the screw driver handle test but I can't rightly tell.

The noise is most audible upon cold start (idle around 2,000 rpm). I can also hear it when the car is warmed up at ALL rpms. When I cruise at 4,400 rpm with my earphones on, I can hear/feel the "clinking" resonating from the engine bay area. There is no loss of power.

Car history/info:
stock b20b with PHK pistons
PR3 head milled 0.0200 thousandths
type R cams
26,000 km on setup
Recently installed spring type LMAs

Please tell me if I'm crazy or not. I want to sign up for another lapping day this weekend. Thanks in advance.

 

Check your valve lash (when cold).

 

Thanks, I will do that this weekend. I just made a tool last night (wrench + JB weld + 10mm deep socket).

I assume I can still drive around town on this? and its definitely not valve tap?

 

I can't get the YouTube link to work. Please re-post.

Just check with feeler guages. No need to wait and perhaps drive when you shouldn't.

 

that's wierd. Try this link perhaps?


or

 

Sounds like valvetrain noise.

Looks and sounds (whining) like your timing belt tension is too high.

 

I adjusted my valve lash yesterday. The IN were set to 0.006" for the most part but the but many of the EX were also set to 0.006"!!

I adjusted and checked everything and now the engine sounds like this (see below link). I can still hear a sticky/tapping sound that escalates with RPM. For the most part, it is more quiet.



Spark plugs seem healthy as well. There was a bit of oil on cylinder 1 and 2 but I think the oil was from a leaky spark plug gasket (which I applied permatex to before installing again).



I guess the issues are fixed for now. Thanks for your help Rocket! Any comments/suggestions are welcome

 

LMA's going bad ? I have the same thing with my gsr tick tap tick tap some times it comes and goes has been going on for 4 months and 12,xxx km's so I don't think it's the start of rod knock in either of our cases.


p.s mine sounds JUST like that and I did adj my valves still persists lol.

 

Its definitely not the LMAs. My LMAs went bad about a month ago and I had them all replaced with the new spring type version. So I'm solid in that department.

I've heard that untreated, bad LMAs will actually cause more serious damage to your valvetrain. So I would swap those ASAP if I were you. Here is what mine sounded like before I swapped out the LMAs.



Thanks for confirming that my B series sounds "normal". I guess that's just what they are like, even when they are 100% healthy!

 

what I thought was paranoia turned into a 900 dollar fix. cams,valve, rocker assembly, valve guides

 

The intermittent tapping is not good. Indicates that one or two valves are affected by abnormal beating.

 

sounds very close to mine even got same cam gears lol

click on the image to play<<<<<


cardboard is to isolate the sound