Honda Knock Question (video inside)
 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eYnZ5RNjLuE

Members here seem pretty savvy w/ diagnosing car problems. Plus, it seems like alot of Miata owners were previously Honda owners, so I thought I might post a Honda problem here, if you guys don't mind.

I'm having a knocking sound on m 94 Integra GSR. It began when starting a trip to Southern CA. I continued and finished the trip which was about 300 miles. I did an oil change and the sound went away for about 4 months and at least a couple hundred to thousand miles later.

Oil was a little low and never over-revved.

Now, it's back. I haven't driven the car in 4 months since I got a miata. Battery was dead when started and it was knocking again.

Does this sound like a spun bearing? Do spun bearing sounds come and go? Any other ideas?

Thanks.

Rod knock (bent rod or bad bearing)... 9:1 ODDS, otherwise maybe broken ring land.

Mark

can you tell if the sound is coming from the head or the block?

I had two ticking/knocking sounds that were intermittent on my Integra. One was an injector and one was a LMA.

sounds like a rod to me.

I’ve never heard of a rod knock being intermittent.

Sound more like valve train to me.

When was the last time you checked the valve lash?

I did the valve lash 1 month after the noise started. Seemed to be fine until now.

Stock Cams?

Everything is stock.

+1 on rod


might be a stuck lifter though... does sound disappear after some time or does it keep on knocking?

It's louder at first but then quiets down a little. It stays, but it did go away for more than 4 months. More like 6 months. Now it's back.

i dont think it could be rod since rod would knock constantly. might be stuck lifter or something like that. get them cleaned and try adding a bit of atf with a fresh oil change.
see if that helps and if it doesnt then just take it to nearest mechanic for diagnosis and see what they say.

On my old Escort GT it had a knock that would go away after an oil change. It was in the head, and it blew the head gasket a few months later. After rebuilding the head I found out a few of the lifters were actually falling apart. Those were HLA's though, from the sound of the posts above Honda doesn't use them?

i dont think honda uses hla
stuck lifter can lead to all kinds of nasty failures

Yeah maybe not, I don't know Honda's. I only know a little about my 88 Accords A20A1....I think thats what the code is. It has a carb, and that vacuum manifold prevents you from seeing ANYTHING but vacuum lines. It's like a damn rotary.

Honda doesn't use hydraulic lifters in the B, C, D, F, or K engines (exception: ZC), just to clarify.