Engine knock/tick in morning

[xxBLOOD88SHOTxx]

Rod knock can happen anytime, but usually if it's bad enough you would A) Hear it constantly or B) only hear it on startup and it suddenly goes away when the oil pressure rises.

Pinging is detonation which CAN happen on a cold engine, but it's usually a situation where everything is heated up (like pistons are at full temp) where something like that shows it's ugly face.

 

[dancam]

Dancam, you must drive alot if you average close to 20k miles a year. I cant speak for 7th gen Civics but as for typical cars with that syle of fuel filters, I know they can go for 3-4 years of use or longer. I stated earlier that at such an inexpensive cost of around $20 its worth it to do it around 15k-20k miles. thats just a suggestion not a rule. There can be many exceptions, but its a method I try to employ for peace of mind. If it cost $80 it'd be a different story.

I used to do over 20k a year but now im married and we have to cars and do about 35,000miles between the 2 of them a year. Most people i know drive a lot and sometimes i forget that not everyone does. Makes for a lot of maintenance and i try not to do too much stuff early.


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At 100k

Who did it? May not hurt to check it again. Its easy to do but someone who doesn't care or doesn't pay close attention can easily do it wrong.
My 7th gen civic had super loud valve train noise so i adjusted it but it was still quite loud after. Inside a shop you can still hear it from 40ft away. Stupid manually adjusted valve lash... My other car is 23 years old with hydraulically adjusted valve lash and is nice and quiet. I wish honda would learn... Anyhow, are engine mounts common items that wear out on yourcar? Im not sure if they are but that causes shake.
What rpm are you idling at when hot?
Might have a faulty coil, cap/rotor, wire, or spark plug. I had the porcelain fall off a spark plug into the cylinder while drive once... Caused the engine to run rough obviously. Distributors failing on your car are common right?


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I had actually brought it to Honda for the valve adjustment and there was an issue at the time. The car shaker at idle worse than before I brought it in. The "senior" mechanic after asking questions revealed he adjusts all the cars on a warm engine. I told him it should be on a cold engine and after a bit of complaining he agreed to do it in morning if I dropped it off at night. So I did, and the idle was perfect.

So that lost my trust in having others do the adjustment. Though I never myself have attempted such a thing so a little uneasy about it

Oh and it idles around 600 rpms in warm weather and slightly higher around 700-750 in cold weather when the engine is warmed up.

So actually fuel filter had no change on idle shake. Still experiencing that. It only seemed better last night because with lights on it idles little higher

 

[HeX]

So actually fuel filter had no change on idle shake. Still experiencing that. It only seemed better last night because with lights on it idles little higher

Well, at least its one worthy factor out of the way. Move on to the spark wires exchange and keep my suggestions in mind. A heavily concentrated fuel cleaning may need to be in order as well. Have you considered raising the idle up a little to see if it improves?

As for the valve adjustment, it really is quite simple with the proper tools.

 

[98civex]

I remember last year when I did a full tune up I still had the shake at idle. I think I even posted about it and people suggested engine mounts but they all seem fine.

What kind of fuel cleaning do you suggest?

 

[dancam]

What do spec sheets say your idle should be? 750 when warm and 850 when its cold out sound more normal to me but your car may be different. 100rpm can make a huge difference in how it idles.


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[98civex]

I forget but I know mine always seemed a little low. I've cleaned idle valve, checked timing, did idle relearn. All that stuff that's generally recommended

 

[HeX]

I remember last year when I did a full tune up I still had the shake at idle. I think I even posted about it and people suggested engine mounts but they all seem fine.

I believe Dancam is about right with his numbers. I know HXs actually run about 600-700 RPMs which is where you are. HX are about 150RMPs lower than most Civics, so you should raise yours up a bit.

What kind of fuel cleaning do you suggest?

Seafoam, Royal Purple or Techron concentrated fuel cleaner system. Get the larger tank additive & refill to have a tank or less instead of the suggested full tank.

The Seafoam top-engine cleaner/lube spray is great for the intake & valves too.

You may also want to test the injectors or just consider getting them refurbished. I got a great deal on used injectors and hsd them refurb'd by OsideTiger.com so I could still drive me car in the few days it took to send then receive the injectors. Theyre very reasonable and Ive been satisfied with the results.

 

[98civex]

Do I just raise the idle by turning the screw or have to do the entire relearn procedure?

Also I'm curious, do you guys put a little dielectric grease on the distributor cap side of plug wires?

I usually smear a tiny amount around the actual cap terminal on the outside before inserting the plug wire but was curious if it mattered or would affect anything

 

[HeX]

Do I just raise the idle by turning the screw or have to do the entire relearn procedure?

I dont know what you refer to as"relearn procedure". Just turn the idle adjust screw, accelerate the throttle a few times then let it settle.

 

[98civex]

Here's a video hopefully you can hear the ticking I'm referring to. This is on a cold engine that's been sitting all day

 

[Shrillin]

Sounds fine to me. I thought mine was a little rough too, so I looked up some videos to hear others stock motors (same engine as to compare) and feel as if I was just paranoid. Maybe same in your case? I look forward to reading your solution though, and good luck!

 

[Shaaaft]

Sounds like mine on a cold morning...

 

[HeX]

Civics have a typical constant tick, but on the video it sounds a little higher than usual. But its not fair to judge solely off video sound. I say Seafoam the intake, do a fuel system cleaning, and adjust the valves. See if that affects it.

If not, drive by a reputable mechanic, possibly a Honda specialist, and ask for their opinion. Any reputable shop owner wont turn down a possible client.

 

[98civex]

Yeah I feel any mechanic will try to change anything they can without even addressing what I'm referring to lol

What's weird is a friend has a 99 civic dx with over 200k miles and never once had a valve adjustment done and his aren't that noisy. What's up with that? Lol


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[HeX]

Yeah I feel any mechanic will try to change anything they can without even addressing what I'm referring to lol

What's weird is a friend has a 99 civic dx with over 200k miles and never once had a valve adjustment done and his aren't that noisy. What's up with that? Lol

Proof positive that driving tactics have a huge impact on engine wear. It sounds like he's had his Civic for a while and you havent. Theres no telling how the previous owner(s) treated the car.

 

[98civex]

I've had it for 7 years now. Mine was a recovered theft car when I bought it


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[Shaaaft]

Multiple things can effect the engine. Running the engine low on oil for a week, waiting an extra month/1,000 miles on an oil change literally so many possibilities. Just do what you can to fix it, I just changed my fuel filter an did a system clean. MPG went from 30-31 to 35 on my last fill up. I also have a can of seafoam to run through it! General maintenance goes a long way with these cars.

 

[98civex]

Ok so an update on the advance auto thing.

I had written to NGK and they couldn't do anything in the end saying their distributors handle warranty issues. Wrote to advance corporate and went unanswered.

So what I did was try an advance auto a town over. Walked in and pretended I was just having the issue and didn't explain the previous incident at the other store.

The computer still showed a return on the wires and I explained how that's not possible. He went on to explain that they've had issues with employees sneaking a manager's code and doing returns on items pocketing the money. Unbelievable. He said I may have fallen victim to it and swapped all four wires out for me hassle free. I was even given a receipt in case it happens in the future.

Interestingly enough my car seems more responsive with the wires replaced. Idle seems the same with the shaking but at least I can rule the wires out.

 

[HeX]

Great effort. Im glad it paid off. My only suggestion is to callback that friendly AutoZone manager and ask for thevregionsl managers contact info. Tell him in no detail that you loved their service and want to commend it as youve had poor service from other branches. Once you getvthe info, let the reg. Manager know everything.

 

[HeX]

Its time to move onto the cleaning suggestions and possibly getting another opinion from a mechanic who can hear the issue in person.