So I'm setting up a bone stock civic si for upcoming track days (Road Atlanta). I need this motor to be rock solid. It has 147k on it and just had timing belt replaced and valves adjusted. I'm hearing a god awful ticking (happened before the valve adjustment and persisted). Best guess is it is the LMA's (lost motion assembly).

QUESTION: Will running with worn out LMA's endanger the engine, specifically, during prolonged periods at high rpm? Could this cause engine damage or failure? Could is cause issues with vtec engagement?

Obviously had I known this was the problem earlier I'd have had them changed but I didn't figure this out till after. If this won't effect anything on track and just cause noise then great. If it could cause an issue I'm gonna have to fix it. The only reason I'm hesitating is because of my time frame. I am building this thing from the ground up, and will be spending a lot before the first track day in June. I still need wheels/tires, brake pads/rotors, seat and bracket, and suspension, so fixing this will likely mean giving up something else (either a seat or suspension). If possible I'd like to avoid unnecessary costs.

Thanks everyone, you'll see a lot more of my posts here. Just got the car fall last year and plan on posting my progress in this track build.

Pic of my cars just cause.

 

Bump, any have anything on this?!?!

 

The "during prolonged periods at high RPM" is what worries me a bit here. I'm not sure how much of an overall risk this would be, or how liable the LMA is to fail.

 

Have you tested the LMA's?

When you push down on them, they all should rebound without binding. And with an EM1, you should have the spring style LMA anyway, so shouldn't be an issue.

 

Too cheap to replace them then just prepare for another used engine.

 

Have not tested them. This is all guess work (getting it checked out soon) but from the research I've done, the b16a2 does not have the spring style. it has the cylinder style which is prone to wear.

 

What happens if one does fail? I'm coming from tracking a 08 civic si then a 2016 ecoboost mustang so pushing these motors is totally alien to me.

 

A bad LMA will cause additional wearing on the cam and valve train - if you think its bad its probably best to replace it. You can replace the LMA without having to pull the engine out or pull the head off. It's a fair bit of work since you have to pull out the cams and all of the valve train.

Here is a how-to: https://honda-tech.com/forums/honda-...d-lma-2536305/

 

Yea that's what I was fearing. I just got the timing belt and valves adjusted. Gonna be expensive to have to get it done again ( I don't do my own wrenching on track cars). Ugh well I guess it will be worth not destroying a motor.

 

Quick Update: Talked with my mechanic (general mechanic but he is a big Honda guy with a h23 prelude) and he says it's just normal Honda noise. Unless anyone in near the Chattanooga area and wants to take a listen personally I think I'm going to just hope for the best. Let everyone know if I'm needing a new motor in 3 months :D

 

For anyone interested here is a video of the civic at idle after a normal commute. Very light revving and just getting the various noises around the engine bay.