Honda / Acura K20a K24a Engine Forum banner

HELP!!! nasty valvetrain rattle/noise!

14K views 15 replies 6 participants last post by  LotusElise 
#1 · (Edited)
so i have been struggling with a terrible noise coming from the valvetrain in my stock k20z3 in my 8thgen. the motor has ~75k on it, at one point had tsx cams, but now back to stock. noise started occurring well after stock cams were back in and running fine.

noise does not start until the engine is up to temp. i have recently installed a brand new honda tensioner replacing the oem one that was in before. i have disconnected the vtc solenoid but i still have the noise, eliminating that as an issue. i have used a stethoscope on each bolt on valve cover, you can hear the noise in each but its much louder when listening to the bolts on the right side of the cover.

also not sure if its related but when the car goes to the high cam you can hear a loud click when rpm's are falling back down and vtec disengages.

here are some videos of the rattle, its is most present at idle, then seems to go away above 3500 RPM's

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QybTd_GUU00&feature=youtube_gdata_player

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vsqm8vbPPeE&feature=youtube_gdata_player

(camera slipped in the second video but still can hear the noise just fine, camera was just sitting in the bay and i had to use the pedal to give it gas - thanks dbw)

thanks for any help...


SOLVED!!!!

IT WAS THE OIL PUMP CHAIN TENSIONER
 
See less See more
#2 ·
so i have been struggling with a terrible noise coming from the valvetrain in my stock k20z3 in my 8thgen. the motor has ~75k on it, at one point had tsx cams, but now back to stock. noise started occurring well after stock cams were back in and running fine.

noise does not start until the engine is up to temp. i have recently installed a brand new honda tensioner replacing the oem one that was in before. i have disconnected the vtc solenoid but i still have the noise, eliminating that as an issue. i have used a stethoscope on each bolt on valve cover, you can hear the noise in each but its much louder when listening to the bolts on the right side of the cover.

also not sure if its related but when the car goes to the high cam you can hear a loud click when rpm's are falling back down and vtec disengages.

here are some videos of the rattle, its is most present at idle, then seems to go away above 3500 RPM'su

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QybTd_GUU00&feature=youtube_gdata_player

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vsqm8vbPPeE&feature=youtube_gdata_player

(camera slipped in the second video but still can hear the noise just fine, camera was just sitting in the bay and i had to use the pedal to give it gas - thanks dbw)

thanks for any help...
have you adjusted your valves?
 
#10 ·
I am on skunk2 stage 1 cams with supertech honeycomb valve spring and 12.5:1 comp ratio. Vtc camgears, guides, pumps, tensioner were replaced too. The nasty sound now became prominent at 2k to 4k part throttle. 2 tensioners gave way within 2 weeks. Anyone found the root cause? Sorry i cannot find the full thread.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top