Well, I'm not the owner but how do you tell if you've got rods knocking? I'm driving a '95 LX w/ 150k miles. When I first crank up I'm getting more noise than after it warms up. I'm a'feared it wasn't treated too nice be a former driver. Right now it's just wheels till I can get a replacement for my truck that died. But it would be fun to put a JDM 1.6 manual into it.

 

Take a metal spoon and smack it against the side of the block fairly hard. Make note of how it sounds because that is pretty much what rod knock sounds like.

Being your sound goes away once warm, that sounds more like out of round cylinders causing piston slap being piston slap is usually the one that lessens or goes away with engine temperature. Usually rod knock is always there regardless.

 

Let's try to add some information... Wouldn't rod knock *always* be present in the engine, regardless of temperature, IF it was in fact rod knock?

 

A rod knock gets louder with throttle application, and a lot quieter when decelerating.

 

An engine with truly bad rod knock can also have very low oil pressure.

 

Well, THANKS guys!! I feel a little better. It does go away after the engine warms up. I'm thinking about trying some Engine Restore to see if I can at least keep it going a bit longer. Has anyone tried this product?

I have no idea if my friend would consider selling the car. It seems to be a fun car to drive. And there are so many possibilities for mods.

 

Ummmm, doesn't this


equal this

??


Now this does does add more information:

 

Engine Restore is a very short term last ditch effort and is typically tossed in by a seller to pull the wool over a buyers eyes. It doesn't last long and will have to be tossed in every oil change to keep it going.

If you are thinking about engine restore, you may prefer to try Xado Engine treatment. It lasts longer than engine restore (60,000 miles). Might take a couple of treatments and quite a a few miles but I have heard it quiet a couple of engines down. Of course one engine I put the knock back by redlining it when cold but the knock had actually gone away after a couple of treatments and about 4500 miles or so.

 

What if you get the sound of rod knock during cold start up but it goes away after........5 - 10secs? Is that still considered out of round cylinders?

 

Check the valve lash, adjust as necessary, see if the noise situation improves.

 

I think I would try Lucas Oil Stabilizer and see if anything changes. The honey consistency of the stabilizer helps keep oil in the journals for cold starts. My initial thought is the journals are dry and the bearings are worn. On a cold start within 5 seconds journals are filled with oil and the sound goes away.

But could be cold morning piston slap, just the enough that withing the first 30 seconds of combustion, enough heat passes by and expands the metal enough to get rid of the sound.

My tech friend said as long as the sound goes when the engine warms up it's a non issue and is fairly common on the older Honda engines.

 

After having that certain sound happen only during cold starts I told myself "**** it, if it goes I'll get another motor". But its been running, even after me selling the car to my cousin. So it didn't bother me much but was curious as to what could be causing it. I guess if its still running strong, and yes its still a healthy b20b, than just leave it be.

 

Thanks Ya'll! This has been a great help. It sounds like I need to check the valve lash and maybe do a compression check. I've got to replace the valve cover gasket because the spark plug well grommets are leaking. So, while I've got it apart I'll check it out. I'll have to get the numbers for the valve lash. But, that shouldn't be too hard. I'll post that in a new thread. I may be able to return it to it's owner. I think my sweet wife has found a car she likes. Found a lease return Forester, so...it may be bye, bye Honda. I've really enjoyed driving it.
Highpockets

 

95 LX should be the D15B7 motor. Valve lash is 0.007"-0.009" for Intake and 0.009"-0.011" for Exhaust. I personally us 0.008 IN and 0.010" for EX so that way if it's a touch tight it's on the tight spec and if it's a touch loose it's on the loose spec but still in spec regardless.

Also just use this thread for the car updates. No need starting another thread especially if it will be bye bye Honda. Just easier to keep it all right here in this thread for your short stay.

Cheers.