Hey guys,

I have a 97 Civic LX that I bought that had a beyond overheated Y7 & auto trans. I have pulled that engine & trans & swapped in a Y8 with a manual trans. All the wiring is completed & it runs fine.

New Timing Belt & Water Pump, New clutch, flywheel, TO Bearing, all mounts (do not currently have either torque mounts), Y7 exhaust manifold being used.

I am currently having an issue which sounds like Detonation. I can hear from inside the car. I have barely drove the car just around my neighborhood & started to hear the noise. I couldn't tell if it is Detonation, or an Axle issue or a transmission issue. Definitely a loud ticking noise. The transmission was perfect prior to this as well as the Y8. But, using a crap XTD clutch & Pressure Plate.

But, I have noticed that for some reason, thinking this is a timing issue, the Distributor will spin Advanced towards the Firewall a good amount but, when I try to spin the Distributor Retarded towards the bumper it stops at a certain point where the middle tab to bolt it is, like it won't go any further. I have another Y8 in another Couple I own & I could spin that Distributor each way a huge amount.

I used the Distributor off of that Coupe Y8 & put it on the LX Civic it is still only limited to the amount of Retarding it will spin. So it's gotta be something with the Cam timing I assume.

It looks visually that the Cam timing marks & the Crank timing marks line up for TDC. But, yesterday I found that the CFK Sensor wires have been rubbed on by the Alternator belt & the wires looked like they were touching. I have replaced the sensor from another Y8 I have but have not tested the car yet.

The Detonation seems to only happen in gear from 2k-3,800k RPM under some load but not at idle. Idles perfectly & sounds perfect even when I rev it in Neutral.

I am just not sure if this Detonation is from the CFK wires rubbing through or if the timing mechanically is off.

I have done so many timing belts on H22s & F22s & a few B18s but idk why this is giving me a hard time.

Anyone have any ideas?

 

You'll normally hear detonation when the car is accelerating under load, as you mentioned. It'll sound like crinkling aluminum foil.

Make sure you aren't installing the distributor upside down. Confirm your ignition timing with a timing light.

 

Are you using the right Y8 ECU? Do you have a picture of the distributor install?
Are the distributor wires frayed? If the signals cross it can definitely cause issues and I've seen it before especially as these cars age.

 

Thanks for the replies.

I put the timing light on last night. It is the type with the adjustable dial. Y8 is to be at 12° right? I adjusted the dial on the Timing Light to 12° & it did hit the middle mark of the 3 marks. Should you adjust the dial or just leave it at 0° & move the distributor accordingly?

I am pretty sure the Distributor is on correctly, the flatter end of the cap is pointing towards the front of the car. I compared it to my Y8 coupe. The distributor wires are all good & not exposed or frayed.

I do have the correct Y8 ECU that I pulled from my Coupe with the factory manual Y8 ECU.

I will take pictures when I get home.

I have not drove it since swapping in the new CFK Sensor from a spare Y8 I have.

 

Okay so I go the timing light out & the timing is spot on. I jumped the Service Connector on the passenger kick panel after the car got to operating temp. On the adjustable timing light dial I kept it at 0° & it lines up the middle mark of the three marks. I also turned the dial to 12° & the TDC line on the crank lined up perfect. This was all without moving the distributor from where I had it yesterday.
Brand new spark plugs just to be safe, drove the car & still made the noise. I am going to post a link to my YouTube of the video I took of the sound because HT won't let me upload the video for some reason.

https://youtube.com/shorts/ZuT-wxd_LL0?feature=share
So in the video I am in 2nd gear off the throttle letting the engine brake itself instead of hitting the brakes. Everytime previously the sound was around 1,500RPM-3,500RPM in 1st or 2nd gear with about 10% throttle when the noise would occurr. But, whenever I push in the clutch the noise immediately stops. It doesn't effect if I am turning to the left or right, still makes noise under load with barely any throttle.

I am beyond stumped right now. Besides the noise the car has been running really good. I still have the Y7 exhaust manifold on the Y8 & I did not replace the donut gasket where the downpipe meets the rest of the exhaust. I still have the hole from cutting out the auto trans cable tunnel so it is really easy to hear from there. I don't smell anything odd as if something were burning or rubbing & nothing is smoking or dripping.

 

Maybe a bad input shaft bearing..?

 

Were you able to watch the video? Do you think that's what it sounds like?

I always shake the Input Shaft & inspect for play before I connect the trans to the engine. I did not see/feel any play before putting it together.

It does not do the noise at idle, just under small load.

Using the stock exhaust manifold with down pipe connected is from the Y7 originally in the car which severely overheated.

I never heard the noise from what I remember when I had just the stock same Y7 exhaust manifold & downpipe unhooked from the rest of the exhaust. I also did not replace the donut gasket & using some random bolts without the spring that typically goes in the middle.

 

Had just watched it and no.. scrap what I mentioned, it ain't the bearing...Misread about your info saying the trans was good prior..