Basics: The car is a 97 Integra RS with a H22 swap and some bolt ons. Intake, exhaust and a Zex dry kit.
Yesterday I'm on my way home from work, I slow to take a right corner and then accelerate up a mild hill in second gear. About halfway up the hill my engine get's really loud. Basically it sounds like REALLY loose valves. I'm like WTF. I'm almost home so I baby it to the house.

I pop the hood and notice right away that the hose blew off my fuel pressure regulator. I'm thinking I'm fucked and the car went lean and burnt a hole in a piston or a valve or maybe something worse. I reattach the hose and start the car and it's still loud.

Today I do a compression test on it and I get 230, 240, 230, and 240. Soooo, what gives? I don't have a whole in anything but it sounds like something is banging around in my engine while its on?! Is it possible my valve lash suddenly loosened way up?
Anything else anyone can think of?
Thanks

 

get your feeler gauges out and check valve lash to start with....

 

OK, so I adjusted my valves, they were a little loose. But NO improvement. What gives? The car doesn't seem to be down on power or anything but it sounds like a grenade went off under the valve cover.

 

Can anyone help me? I have no idea what else to check.

 

Just a thought but oil? In my experience honda engines sound a little louder with less oil

Have you got a mechanics listening/doctors tool thingy that may help identify the problem.

check dissy bolts, exhaust manifold bolts too

Good luck man

 

Yeah man the oil was the first thing I checked. I wonder could something inside the distributor come loose and sound bad like this?

 

trace down the noise with a stethescoupe or a screwdriver to the ear first. then go from there, My question is does it make the noise when your car is in vtec, if not it may be the lma's also you could just be hearing your injectors as well. i mean it the internet its realy hard to diagnosis noises over the computer.

 

I feel like an idiot but I think I narrowed it down to being an exhaust leak somewhere right before the cat, like in the flex pipe maybe.
Thanks for all the help

 

Ain't that a bitch when two completely different problems occur at the exact same time? Fun stuff!

Glad it was nothing major though...