clanking noise!
09-17-2003, 02:19 AM
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clanking noise!
alrite i have a steep driveway and sometimes when im going up it, and i keep the rpms lowere then normal (when theres just enough UMPH to get me up, u know when the car may start to shake a little) i sometimes hear a clanking knocking noise from the front of my car. it sounds liek metal hitting metal, but this is only sometimes. what could this be? does anyone think it could maybe be connected to why my car wont start anymore? my car turns and tries but it wont get going. the timing is good, theres spark, i have gas but i dont see any fuel leaks, so im not sure whats wrong. any help would be appreciated. thanks!
09-17-2003, 01:31 PM
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Sounds like you've got bearing knock. That clanking sound you're hearing is the crankshaft whacking against the main and connecting rod bearings because you're putting the engine under so much load at such a low RPM that the oil pump is not making sufficient pressure to support the load.
Especially when you're climbing hills and have the engine working hard, it is absolutely imperative that you keep the RPM above 3,000. The reason for that is, on virtually all Honda SOHC engines (probably the DOHC engines too), the oil pump is designed to produce peak oil pressure at around 3,000RPM. If you're lucky you haven't caused any permanent damage, but you will definitely cause irreversible damage if you keep doing that to the car.
As for the hard starting, you're probably filling the cylinders with carbon deposits when it's under that heavy load at low RPM. The engine isn't burning the fuel efficiently, so it's running super rich causing the carbon build-up.
One way to help the poor starting is to wipe the carbon away from the fuel injectors. Remove the fuel rail and injectors and use something like brake cleaner on the end of a Q-tip to wipe carbon out from the injector seat in the intake manifold. You can spray the brake cleaner into the injector hole, but make sure you let it evaporate away for several minutes or you'll have fireworks goin off when you start the engine. The injector cleaning did wonders for my CRX's poor starts, it's started right away since then.
Seafoam is also good, you pour it into your gas tank. Napa auto parts sells it. Great stuff. And for future reference, remember that you drive a 4-cylinder; it's an engine that makes power high in the RPM band. Don't be afraid to climb hills at 3,500 RPM. I assure you, the engine will thank you for running it where it's meant to be run.
Especially when you're climbing hills and have the engine working hard, it is absolutely imperative that you keep the RPM above 3,000. The reason for that is, on virtually all Honda SOHC engines (probably the DOHC engines too), the oil pump is designed to produce peak oil pressure at around 3,000RPM. If you're lucky you haven't caused any permanent damage, but you will definitely cause irreversible damage if you keep doing that to the car.
As for the hard starting, you're probably filling the cylinders with carbon deposits when it's under that heavy load at low RPM. The engine isn't burning the fuel efficiently, so it's running super rich causing the carbon build-up.
One way to help the poor starting is to wipe the carbon away from the fuel injectors. Remove the fuel rail and injectors and use something like brake cleaner on the end of a Q-tip to wipe carbon out from the injector seat in the intake manifold. You can spray the brake cleaner into the injector hole, but make sure you let it evaporate away for several minutes or you'll have fireworks goin off when you start the engine. The injector cleaning did wonders for my CRX's poor starts, it's started right away since then.
Seafoam is also good, you pour it into your gas tank. Napa auto parts sells it. Great stuff. And for future reference, remember that you drive a 4-cylinder; it's an engine that makes power high in the RPM band. Don't be afraid to climb hills at 3,500 RPM. I assure you, the engine will thank you for running it where it's meant to be run.
09-17-2003, 02:19 PM
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whoa thansk
Hey thanks a lot. Ive never read that before, so i will try to do what you said. I know though that my car runs rich, well i think it does. i get bad gas mileage, when i let off the gas i hear popping noises in the exaust and i can smell an oil/gas smell in my car. and i was trying to fix my timing and i needed to know what TDC was so i stuck a stick down number 1 cylinder and when i pulled it out there was all this black shit on it, and my spark plugs are all nastafied. ok so..
-is there a way to fix the bearing problem? or should i just keep it in higher rpms?
-how can i fix my car from being all extra rich?
-what does seafoam do =D?
once again thanks a lot.
-is there a way to fix the bearing problem? or should i just keep it in higher rpms?
-how can i fix my car from being all extra rich?
-what does seafoam do =D?
once again thanks a lot.
09-17-2003, 02:37 PM
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seafoam cleans the engine out from the inside. there are 2 forms i guess. the one i used was a spray in. you remove the intake and spray direct to the throttle body. read directions! after this start your car and you will be smokin like none other...this is normal. drive aroudn the block a few times and it will all burn out.
09-19-2003, 09:27 AM
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As far as your bearings go, there's no way to "fix" them unless you tear the engine apart and rebuild it. I'm finishing my D16A6 rebuild for my own CRX, and I can tell you first hand, it's expensive and very time consuming. My total cost is still about half the cost of a B-series swap, but it's a big chunk of change no matter what.
You can prolong the life of the engine by using thicker oil. One thing I'd highly recommend is called Lucas Oil. It's also sold at Napa, it's super thick oil that you mix with normal engine oil. That will help a bit with keeping the bearings happy. The biggest thing though is just to remember to keep the RPM up above 3,000 when the engine is under load.
You can prolong the life of the engine by using thicker oil. One thing I'd highly recommend is called Lucas Oil. It's also sold at Napa, it's super thick oil that you mix with normal engine oil. That will help a bit with keeping the bearings happy. The biggest thing though is just to remember to keep the RPM up above 3,000 when the engine is under load.