Having a very bad day with my car.

[ZeroLux]

Quick question, would a head gasket that finally let go cause a chattering sound when in gear around the 2k rpm mark?

What was originally an occasional chatter on big hills is now a constant "i cant drive over 2000 rpm's on a flat road" issue.

No power. Lots of noise. If I keep it under the 2k mark I don't hear it anymore.

Maybe I'm wrong or too mentally fried right now, but a HG does not seem like it would be causing symptoms like this, it just does not make sense to me.

Planning on pulling the head this weekend to see what's going on inside, if I find nothing more than a blown out gasket I'll be amazed.

Suggestions from anyone here?

Zero

[Rendon LX-i]

i would drop your pan and check your crank bearing if your lucky man maybe you can get by with just a replacing those and polish your crank at the same time....i think thats your issue slaping or chattering is rod bearing i mean lol....not crank bearings either way i would replace em...

[ZeroLux]

Sounds more like the valves getting beat under pre-det, the sound is higher than the main crank would be. Either way it's bloody annoying and I cant really go anywhere now. I'll take a look this weekend at that though, thanks.

Zero

[itzdave]

yea id pull the head and see whats up. maybe the cam slipped a tooth on the belt, that could mess some stuff up.

[3rd Party]

i would drop your pan and check your crank bearing if your lucky man maybe you can get by with just a replacing those and polish your crank at the same time....i think thats your issue slaping or chattering is rod bearing i mean lol....not crank bearings either way i would replace em...

I agree with Rendon here on this, if the headgasket was blown in the most of extreme cases the car doesn't run since there's nothing sealing pressure inside the cylinder chambers. Plus bent valve clatter would be a possibility, but unlikely since you didn't specify if the car doesn't run any worse. If it's just noise it's gotta surely be the bearings on the rods...just my two cents ; )

[mrma5b]

Is there any vibration associated with the chattering? Maybe you should check the condition of the engine mounts.

[Rendon LX-i]

check bottom end first if your clear then your okay..Well if you see shit in your pan as in shaving then you know...Valve train rarely gives out. But idk im not there..do a vid..that would let us see whats really the deal. Pull the valve cover. check for loose parts..if its valve you would notice it when you pull the vavle cover. check valve lash...Spring might be really bad. idk but let us know man

[ZeroLux]

No out of the ordinary vibration. My trans mount is shot but that only manifests itself at idle while in drive. I adjusted the valves not long ago while dramatically quieted down the upper cylinder noise. I did a comp test a while back and it came up 180-160-90-90 or thereabouts (might've been 165). Have not had the chance to do a leakdown yet. Thought about tossing in $5 worth of 93 grade in the morning to see if that changes things again. I'm sure all mysteries will be revealed upon removing the head from the block, at least, I'm hoping that will provide some answers. I cant have this car down for long it's my only one right now so I'm a bit frustrated. I also checked the timing alignment with the mark in the trans and the cam gear when I did the valve adjustment and everything was spot-on. I installed a new dizzy that day too and tweaked it the best I could at the time. It was not chattering this easily after the new dist install so I am doubting that's the source of the problem. I took the car to a buddy of mine earlier and the noise is NOT present if I leave the car in park or neutral and rev the crap out of it (sounds like a beast when I do, not a thing wrong) and personally I am ruling out much possibility of lower end bearing issues for the moment.

Thanks guys, I'm sure it'll get sorted out eventually.

Zero

[Rendon LX-i]

No out of the ordinary vibration. My trans mount is shot but that only manifests itself at idle while in drive. I adjusted the valves not long ago while dramatically quieted down the upper cylinder noise. I did a comp test a while back and it came up 180-160-90-90 or thereabouts (might've been 165). Have not had the chance to do a leakdown yet. Thought about tossing in $5 worth of 93 grade in the morning to see if that changes things again. I'm sure all mysteries will be revealed upon removing the head from the block, at least, I'm hoping that will provide some answers. I cant have this car down for long it's my only one right now so I'm a bit frustrated. I also checked the timing alignment with the mark in the trans and the cam gear when I did the valve adjustment and everything was spot-on. I installed a new dizzy that day too and tweaked it the best I could at the time. It was not chattering this easily after the new dist install so I am doubting that's the source of the problem. I took the car to a buddy of mine earlier and the noise is NOT present if I leave the car in park or neutral and rev the crap out of it (sounds like a beast when I do, not a thing wrong) and personally I am ruling out much possibility of lower end bearing issues for the moment.

Thanks guys, I'm sure it'll get sorted out eventually.

Zero

180-160-90-90 WHOA WHOA WHOA...bro sorry to say but your motor DONE FOR. nember 1 cylinder good the rest not. you need to be 175 or higher on all cylinders. thats insane. you need a rebuild period

[ZeroLux]

You sure that drop in compression at the end does not potentially have anything to do with a slightly warped deck on the head or a possible gasket break? I know the 90's are low but being that it was exactly the same between both chambers and I had all the plugs removed at the time one would imagine that the leak was in essence equalizing between the chambers giving that result. Like I said, I have not done a leak down yet to rule out rings being bad, I am just starting from the top and working my way down. And as far as the 160/165 goes, I was always told (for years now) that there's a 10% rule for acceptable measurements between cylinders and while yes 160 would be low it would not be devastatingly low as compared to the other two which are clearly pooched.

Besides I only need ONE good cylinder to have a running engine right? I mean, look at lawn mowers! :lol: Come to think of it my Briggs and Straton push mower feels like it has more power than my Honda half the time.

Zero

[Rendon LX-i]

its low bro...way to low...shouldnt be that low...if your head is warped get a new one/used one whatever. bad compression is bad power,boging, just not good...

[SZfiftyfour]

This sounds like my 3g right before i got rid of it lol. The chattering might be the injectors ticking. Especially if they've been replaced with cheapo's.

[ZeroLux]

Well, I was considering when I get it all apart this weekend having the local machine shop tank it for a bit to clean it up and do a full inspection on it. If it can be milled, have that done and toss it back on as long as the rest is within reasonable spec. Should solve a few things right there. If not, the local pick-n-pull has an LX-i just like mine in their yard last I saw and had a complete engine I might be able to pull.

It's either that, or focus on the B18 swap from the LS I've been offered. That seems unlikely at the moment however.

Zero

[MessyHonda]

swap it....our cars are ment to go fast

[AccordB20A]

ive seen an engine with a mucked up bottom end that made the com pression lower, like the pistons didnt come up to the top of the deck due to something that had gone wrong like a bent rod or something