88 honda civic hatch back VALVE TICK??

[whodjadaddy]

So I'm thinking about buying a 88 civic hatch. Only problem is.. It ticks when its first started, and stops when it gets warm. My friend told me it was a valve tick. How could this be fixed?

[2poor2tune]

just buy a vtec head and slap it on there. just a thought. sorry i really cant help but someone will.

[pokey69]

Alot of engines do tick heir valves when they are cold, but, when they are up to operating temperature, the car's engine will have the proper clearences and tigheten up. stoping the ticking, i think its somewhat normal.

my crx does it.

[Smoghog]

Originally Posted by pokey69

Alot of engines do tick heir valves when they are cold, but, when they are up to operating temperature, the car's engine will have the proper clearences and tigheten up. stoping the ticking, i think its somewhat normal.

my crx does it.

Ditto. mine too.
Running a thicker oil will quiet it a little on start-up. 10w40 is what I run. 10w30 made it worse. However I would check the valve adj. just to make sure.
SH

[civic_boy91]

its nothing to worrie about...unless its really bad...but you said it stops so it cant be that bad. about 90% of the hondas i have seen tick. one of the only ones that dont tick is my car. but my motor only has like 50k-60k on it
my old motor was really bad, just get a valve adjustment.

[Shaguar47]

My hatch ticks like hell even after i got my valve adjustment. Ticks so loud that i can hear it in my house when cold but after warming up, it's gone. What else could be done here?

[civic_boy91]

Originally Posted by Shaguar47

My hatch ticks like hell even after i got my valve adjustment. Ticks so loud that i can hear it in my house when cold but after warming up, it's gone. What else could be done here?

....umm a type R swap....lol

[FrodoGT]

Im not sure if mine ticks, it may be the vtec lobes ( i hear b's are notoriously cammy lol) but I can hear my cams outside the car at all times, and if I pass by a large truck or something the sound will bounce back, but its not one valve, just a harmony of beatiful power....

[mistawrench1]

OK, I am a retired Honda tech and I think someone needs to step in and give the final blow (and yes, I will do it in Native English). Old Honda Engines (when I say old, I'm talking over 60-70k) are perfectly normal when the valves tick on cold startup but then clear up when the engine gets hot. When an old engine is cold its tolerences are quite a bit under spec - that includes, rings, bearings, and even plug gap. Some people might say "I have an old engine and it never ticks" - well that's great for you. You got lucky. The real reason behind this is the actual machine that the parts were cut from - CNC lathes, mills etc. If the spindle & chuck on a CNC lathe, for example, were assembled with a borderline 20 micron tolerance (across the z axis). After an 8 hour cut test when the machine has all it covers installed and is nice 'n toasty, the tolerance can drift by as much as 50-70 microns. I won't even go into ballscrew tolerances. What does that mean? It all depends on how tight the tolerances were on the machines that your engine parts were made from. I have taken out lifers, valves, rods, bearings, etc, from identical engines, identical cars, made in identical plants, and measured them with micrometers and other tools only to find that the parts all vary greatly in size and quality. Yes, your stock VTEC lobes were probably built in a 3rd world plant on the same machines from the same material as Joe Blow's bone stock 2005 Honda Accord DX cam lobes were - sorry to say, and I'm a VTEC owner myself. 99% of all car owners COMPLETELY overlook this FACT! Running a thicker oil only masks the problem but it will actually prolong the engine life a little (as long as you don't startup and immediately rev it up when it's cold). Give it a little extra time to warm up and "tighen up".

[Hybrid1990crx]

Originally Posted by FrodoGT

Im not sure if mine ticks, it may be the vtec lobes ( i hear b's are notoriously cammy lol) but I can hear my cams outside the car at all times, and if I pass by a large truck or something the sound will bounce back, but its not one valve, just a harmony of beatiful power....

yes because your loss motion essembly is engaged at idle causing your secondary lobes to be riding on the lifters . And yeah one of the many wonders of vtec is that you have a low lift to idle, and high lift to make power in the high rpms, do you even know what "cammy" means or would even sound like?.....you are seriously an idiot.

[FrodoGT]

Thank you for showing your ass... Obviously I was using the reference "cammy" simply to refer to the sound, it still amazes me how people can get off from being complete dicks to people. And yes I would know what it sounds like, I have plenty of hands on experience building engines, and understanding what makes them tick, and why (no pun intended). I understand very well how the vtec engagement works on my car, and why the system was designed and implemented. No, I don't think its some mysterious power boost that just makes my b16 beat everything on the road, that would be asinine! Have fun attacking me for your own ego inflation...and also have fun banging your head on that wall, I promise I won't lose any sleep.

[raymonator]

Have you had the valves adjusted.