Unexplained Ticking and Vibration...Help

Here's a list of things that have been done to the car leading up to my current issue of ticking and vibration.

<U>Symptom:</U> There's a repetitive ticking that seems to be more apparent when the car is first started. The sound comes and goes when the car is fully warm and at idle. I've tried listening to see if the ticking occurs during accelaration but it's hard due to the noisy nature of the ITR. Even with the car noise, I've picked up a slight ticking noise during acceleration.

<U>Events</U>
Beginning of August
- Started using Kenji's P28 ECU.

Beginning of September
- Hooked up VAFC with Kenji's ECU. No tuning was done.

Middle of September
- Did 30K Service myself. Replaced spark plugs(w/stock plugs), distributor cap&rotor, fuel filter, and fluids. Also did a valve adjustment and used the loose specs. I only had to adjust 5 of the valves.

End of September
- VAFC tuning was done

Beginning of October
- In an attempt to catch the light, I almost redlined in 2nd but ended up not catching the light. So I slowed to a stop and that's when I first noticed the vibration and ticking. A day after, I was slowly going down my street and the car just cut out. I was able to start it with no problems. Two days later, I was trying to start after spending an hour in the mall and it was having a hard time starting. Once I got it fired up, it was idling all whack! To alleviate this, I reved it a bit and the idle was finally back to normal.

Addtional Info
- The car has no idling problems other than what was described above. The problems above haven't resurfaced. According the VAFC, my idle is fluctuates from ~736-755rpms. There are times where it dips momentarily to the 600rpm range for no apparent reason but I'm thinking that's just something with the P28. This happens probably twice a week.
- I've done a compression test about 4-5 times now since my problems started and my numbers are around 215-215-215-208 everytime.
- The vibration isn't anything major but I can just tell that it was more than before. I can feel it in my seat and while holding the shiftknob at idle.
- I've put in the stock ECU to see if it's an ECU related issue and I got the same vibration and ticking.
- I rechecked my valves this weekend and adjusted them to the tight spec. This didn't fix the issue.

Any ideas?!

 

The Type R valves seem to tick as is. But if you're just noticing it now I'm guessing the ticking is worse than before. I don't know why the ECU may be a culprit. Have you checked your oil levels? I know it sounds stupid, but the R burns up oil rather quickly and maybe you're getting low. Have you mis-shifted at all? It's possible that you may have bent a valve. These are just the few things I could think of, but keep me posted as to what you find out. Good luck, if worse comes to worst just take it to the dealer and have them take a look.

 

One more thing. Are all the V-AFC settings correct. I know you said it's untuned, but do you have the proper settings for the needed info in order for the V-AFC to adapt to your ECU?

 

ticking = poor valve adjustment

 

ticking goes away when the car is warm. when it warms up, the cam metal will expand very little, maybe by less than a hair, but enough to lessen the gap so taht the ticking will go away. for my car atleast.

 

1.) Oil levels are good. There was about two weeks from the time I did my last oil change to the time the ticking occured.

2.) I've never misshifted.

3.) VAFC is now tuned and yes, the settings are correct.

Hmmm...There was about 2 to 3 weeks time from the time I did the valve adjustment to the time the symptoms started. I don't know how I can mess it up if I used the in-spec valves as my guides to adjust the out-of-spec valves.

 

can you tell where this ticking sound is coming from?

 

It's hard to pinpoint but it can be anywhere from the belt/pulley area to under the valve cover.

 

The best thing would be to go back and ck the valves.