Valve Clikcing...getting worried

So after a few searches on here, I suspect the best remedy is a valve adjustment, but I wanna know a bit more.
So after a long, hard, road trip back to central Maryland from Northeast Ohio, some wierd things have happened under my valve cover.

There is a distinct clicking coming from the top of the motor. Its not there at idle, but is distinct around 2500Rpms and clears until about 4000rpms. If I really step on the gas, then it is present throughout the powerband.

The road trip entailed my 5spd DX hatch moving at 90+ mph for the better part of Maryland (about an hour er so). Plus, Im an ass and overreved. Once was to "growl" at this idiot who thought the left lane was the slow lane and wouldn't move over. The other time was getting up to 100 in 3rd gear. Either way, no noise came until after I got home, shut the car off for 20 minutes, and then 5 minutes after easy driving.

and the coup de gras, I was all but dry on oil, the CAI aparently ups normal oil consumption significantly, and I was near dry, and really thin, when the noises, and a few over revs, happened.

So I know I'm an ass and should be ashamed of myself, I am, but the car is at the shop right now. I suspect an adjustment and maybe some springs will do it. But, being new in town here, I don't trust any mechanics. What are your thoughts on what's wrong, and what kind of BS might this guy throw at me.

I only have about $500 to fix it (goodbye exhaust fund) what am I looking at? (labor I think is $50/hour)

sorry for the long post, but I know details are important in this situation,
thanks AF
-wheel

i would say either you need a valve adjustment, or maybe just gotta run alittle higher octane gas. those are the 2 things that come to mind

my guess as well, I was hoping to get some feedback like that...especially from someone who knows what they're talking about

thank you

(i figured worst case scenario was a busted retainer spring)

from what i heard, valve ticking is a very common honda issue. heck my prelude ticks, and other ludes and civic drivers told me what i'm about to tell you. its not anything serious, and from what i've been told, a valve adjustment would get rid of it. just make sure your oil levels are normal and don't sweat it.

well now I'm tweeking because the mechanic just called and said that the problem wasn't in the valve train and that he figured it was plug noise (my first guess - changed the plugs) or timing...hmmm; after those two, he thinks its a bottom end noise....well forget that.

what bottom end issue could possibly cause a clicking sound that sounds like it's coming from the valve train?

maybe its not coming fron the valve train at all...how hard is the clicking? if it sounds pretty rough u could have broke a rod

rod knock. sounds like valves clicking at first and get louder and louder till eventually you throw the rod.

i had rod knock on my ls block i bought. i thought it was the valves at first because it does sound liek its coming from the valves, but after i adjusted all my valves and they were all good, that left rod knock. took off hte oil pan to find 2 rod bearings all burnt up

Well I hope that rod is not the case, that's a little more cost than I can afford.

after a world of searching and talking to various mechanics yesterday, most think that it is just the timing, and it very well could be, I'm not losing any power, there's no hesitation or jumping, just an anoying clicking, and the clicking isn't present throughout the powerband,
Im getting the timing belt replaced today (set timing, tensioner, etc) and hopefully that'll do it.

few things though, one mechanic said that if it was something bottom end...he mentioned that aparently my car is notorious for throwing rods, so now I'm a bit concerned, another mechanic was concerned with the amount of blow by in my valve cover thinking that might be throwing something off. The vaccum hose is sealed, I checked all the tubing (I have a CAI) and no leaks. I took the bottom end of the cold air off, leaving just a short pipe, no improvement in the blow back.

I pray its not a rod. I live in an apartment and therefore mechanics have me by the balls because I can't do any of the work myself, no lift, no jacks, no car maintenance in the parking lot, and that repair will be crazy expensive.

with any luck I can get a mechanic to let me make payments, or a local shop to let me pay off a motor swap - a d16y7 may not be worth the effort and money to put all that back together.

take note that injector's can also have a tapping or clicking sound.

My friend had a gsr swapped in his civic and had the same problem it clicked all the time at idle and all, he eventually adjusted the vavles and it turned out the injector's were the one's doing all the clicking.

But about you being dry on oil lead's me to believe that maybe it's the beggining of a rod knock.

Also im in maryland and I have a friend with a d16y7 who would be willing to sell it if it come's you need a new engine.

civicHBsi91, lets talk, send me a PM and I'll shoot you my cell. Where in Maryland are you, I'm in Glen Burnie, I say Annapolis because most people ot of the state don't know Glen Burnie. (that might be an option if the price and the motor is right)

the latest diagnosis after the timing change, tensioner adjustment, and belt replacement, along with a new water pump, is that it may be the wrist pin on the connecting rod. The click isn't that "deep" in tone to indicate a broken rod, by mine, and my mechanic's, ear, but that doesn't mean it's safe - the clock is ticking. The guy might be able to get my car in there to work on it, and I volunteered to help (he seemed suprisingly receptive to that) he mentioned we might do it at night on the side. Either way, I need it fixed - el pronto grande. ( I never took Spanish)

I'll keep you posted - I suppose the best part of this will be learning, if not becoming intimately aware, of how my engine internals work.

thanks again all

idk why you guys havent done it yet but take off hte oil pan and play wiht every rod and see if one has excessive play. thats how it was in my ls motor, #2 rod had lots play in it and thats how you figure it out it was that rod. if you drop the pan and they have all the same play you could always take off the rod cap and see how hte bearings look and if any of them needs replacing. that will eliminate the rod knock possbility or find hte problem if it is the rods

























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I have a very simple answer for why that hasn't been done. Labor at $65/hour. I live in an apartment complex and don't know anyone from Adam himself down here, so I have no way to get the thing up to do that, and to pay someone for it, might as well burn my money for heat.

None the less, good ol' civicBHsi91 there put me in touch with his buddy, Im gonna buy that motor, and my mechanic is working the details out with me on installing it. He, and his one employee, actually feel more comfortable with replacing the motor than taking the block apart. and frankly, so do I. I'd rather have a replacement motor, with less miles.

My car was a victim of hurricane Isabelle, and was flooded before I bought it, unbeknownst to me when I bought it, so it's likely that Honda didn't spend the money to overhaul it, and who knows what kind of other internal damage there is, not to mention the oil loss.

In this instance, replacing the d16y7 with another is the better option for me.

however Civickiller, I am not trying to downplay what you said, if I were at home in Ohio, rest assured I would have pulled that damn thing apart already, but here, my hands are tied.

thanks again all for the help. And a BIG right on and thank you to civicHBsi91!!! Hooked me up huge!

Anytime man, always glad to help a fellow honda lover out!