Guys I have a 90 Civic sedan with the 1.5 in it and when I start it first thing in the morning, it sounds pretty sloppy and was wondering what it might be. Got right at 180,000 miles on her. When it warms up it pretty much goes away. Would the valves needing adjustment do that or is it worse (rod bearings/rods)? Any ideas/suggestions would be awesome. Thanks.

 

What do you mean slop?

 

Just kinda sounds really loose/clattering. Not really that dull rod knock just kinda loose. I was leaning towards slop in the rocker arms/valves but with my limited knowledge I may not even be close. Don't know what loose rocker arms in a 1.5 head sounds like so am not sure.

 

With your vague description its very hard to tell. It could possibly be the valves just need adjusting. Try changing your oil and using a heavier weight.

 

I use 10w30 and substitute a quart with that Lucas Synthetic stuff. So go to like a 10w40?

 

if you are going to change your oil weight because of noise when your car is cold, why would u change to oil that is the same viscosity during cold conditions?

make sure your valves are adjusted and use 10w30 if you feel you need extra protection.

every honda motor i know ticks and makes slightly more noise when cold...

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by sgallagher &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">With your vague description its very hard to tell. It could possibly be the valves just need adjusting. Try changing your oil and using a heavier weight.</TD></TR></TABLE>

x2... try to use a heavier weight oil and it most likely needs a valve adjustment if you havnt had one in a while with that amount of miles.

 

Its piston slap. When the motor is cold, your cylinder walls are not s perfect circle. While the motor is cold, and the cylinder walls are out-of round, there is excessive piston to wall clearance. As the motor warms up the walls conform to the shape and size of the piston, causing less piston to wall clearance, which = less noise. Thicker oil may help a little, but not much.

 

Thansk guys for all of the awesome recommendations/suggestions. The one about the oil makes sense for sure as they all do. I doubt if the valves have ever been adjusted since it was new. I know someone that said they could do it for me so I'll give that a try first and keep my fingers crossed. Thanks again.