Hi guys

Is the below sound anything for me to worry about?


Besides a slightly rough idle there is zero symptoms. Car drives fine and Is completely reliable. It's a 09 GE with 28k miles on it.

 

Its hard to tell, but it sounds higher pitch tick, which is the lifters. These engines have very noisy rockers.

A bottom end knock is low pitch, sometimes you can even feel the knock in the block with your hand. The bottom end is pretty tough if you have been keeping up with your oil changes.

 

Hmm Alrite here's another vid from the top

The valvetrain sounds fine to me, but the bottom end I'm not sure about

 

do a fresh change of oil with dealership 0w20 or my preference, mobil1 advanced economy 0w-20. its silver bottle with green label.

then schedule a valve lash adjustment at your dealer if they actually are honest about prices and its under $200.

Or with a DIY on this site, you can perform your own adjustment with just a few hours of your time, 10mm wrench, 10mm socket, bent style feeler gauges (under $30 at sears or autozone)

few other tools needed perhaps, just going from general honda memory lol

 

Agree with above. Even after adjusting the lash, mine is still noisy when cold. Using a stethoscope (or tubing) can help you pinpoint the noise, but I'd start with the oil change, then valve lash adjustment.

 

Thanks guys

I did a oil change about 3 weeks ago using synthetic 5W-30 as per the honda specifications.

I'm not so concerned with the noisy lifters but more so with the noise on the bottom end. It seems to be the most obvious when the car is sitting after it's been driven for 30mins +. Given the age, condition and lack of symptoms I'm hoping it's not a bottom end knock to do with bearings or a loose wrist pin.

Anyone else out there with a GE that sounds like the vid?

 

Have Honda check it; still under warranty, yes?

 

I got it second hand so it's still under dealer warranty for another month, but to be honest id like to avoid them. I'd be likely to get the "it's a normal" sound.

 

Understand, but it will be your problem if it turns out to be more serious and not fixed during the warranty period. Very hard to diagnose from a video, but you described it as not being the lifters.

Also, are you sure your manual recommends 5w-30? Mine states 5w-20.

Merry Christmas.

 

Sounds normal to me. 5w30 is fine especially since 0w20 is recommend here for mpg. The L15 has a noisy thrust bearing and that is why you are hearing it from underneath. Does it go away when reving or more defined?

 

Do not take "sounds normal" as an excuse

Have them change the oil. if they give you trouble, ask if they can fix the noise. Either way, if the car is recently purchased, most dealerships do a free oil change or two as a compliment for buying the vehicle.


That said, excessive valvetrain noise should NOT be allowed. While the L15A7 suffers from excessive valvetrain noise compared to other hondas, the noise in the video is way more then I see on my own vehicle, and I have 24k miles so far without an adjustment. Im planning on adjusting my stuff as soon as I have the money to purchase bent feeler gauges.


Take this into consideration, does it sound like its getting worst, or does it sound the same as the day you got it? some things go un noticed for awhile!!

 

He should take it to the dealer but its so close to the end of warranty that they wont do nothing. Since he is in Australia, that is why they are using 5w30. He is not complaining about valve noise. If he is worried about it get a extended warranty and surprised it was not certified by Honda for 100000 miles. He should use Honda semi synthetic oil that they use in bulk.

 

For the rough Idle I would use 4oz of Marvin Mystery oil to a full tank, it will lubricate the injectors and remove any carbon that might be causing a rough idle or carbon knock.

 

The noise is almost unnoticeable when revving or driving. The only time it's apparent is when the car is warm and idling.

Precisely, majority of my dealings with dealers in the past have been worse than useless. They will dismiss the issue at any opportunity. Correct in regards to the oil weight. In Australia, Honda factually recommends their own FEO 10W-30. I have gone one step further and used synthetic 5W-30. Also the valve noises is fine by me, sounds within spec to me.

Understand where you are coming from but dealing with dealers can be a draining and taxing experience, especially since it's my DD and the dealer ship is not exactly close. Sound has not gotten worst and I suspect it's just gone unnoticed since I got it.

I might give that a go, but for this specific noise it sounds like it's coming from the block, not from the injectors. Worth a shot though.

 

DO NOT use additives! Most are useless and are more targeted to very old setups.

Any car under 10 years old should have no need of fancy additives to help it.


If the car is still under warranty, have the dealership isnpect it.

DO NOT let it slide. if they try to postpone an appointment or such, keep in mind if you BROUGHT it to them before the warranty expired, they still have to fix it under warranty, even if they made the appointment out of the window of warranty.


If they try to give you the run around, just casually say something like "I hope I didnt get a lemon".

Lemon laws are federally mandated, and cover consumers from buying pieces of crap, and also help avoid a stealership from screwing people over!

 

yeahbut down under it's Kiwi Laws.

Not sure lemon laws apply to used cars; manufactures and dealers are not going to be held accountable for the previous owner's abuse. Even here with new cars, the laws vary state by state, and tend to favor the manufacturer. There are specific steps that have to be taken, and they apply very early during ownership, not after a couple of years.

But yeah, take it in before the end of the Honda warranty, just for peace of mind if nothing else. Get them to document it (your receipt should be fine along with a description of the noise).

Just listened to your vids. Doesn't sound out of the ordinary to me. 28k is too early to be concerned with valve lash. Get the dealer to give a listen though.

 

Kiwi laws haha, that's New Zealand. Here in Australia unless it's a new car, dealers offer a 3month limited warranty period. Being the new year period will be hard to get a slot at a dealer.

One of the reasons I have been reluctant to take it in is because one clause on the warranty mentions coverage of repairs only to a certain amount, I think it was $3000 from memory. Also I'm reluctant to have the dealerships trainee technicians recklessly start pulling the car apart possibly introducing new issues.

There's a few other threads about this and no one has yet identified what is causing that low end knock coming from the block (first vid). On the flip side I have not heard of anyone having any engine issues as well because of it.

 

A few ounces of MMO is not going to hurt anything. Its even on the EPA approved list. BTW there is additives in both fuels and oils and not necessarily the ones you want.
List of Registered Gasoline Additives | List of Registered Fuels and Fuel Additives | Fuels and Fuel Additives | US EPA

::Marvel Mystery Oil::

This might help too. https://www.fitfreak.net/forums/1st-...out-noise.html

 

I went through that thread last night (all 11pages) and in the end no one posted a conclusive result. There's been mention of dealers just replacing short blocks.

 

That is why I said it sounded normal. I would see what the dealer would do just in case. I remember mine making noise too and just came to the conclusion it was the engine. I used premium gas from a top tier and M1 but now use the what Honda uses and still the same premium gas.

I just put 4oz of MMO in my mother in laws car and it helped her. Even the CEL light went off. I got the codes and told the mechanic the fix which is a 4 dollar part in the throttle body if it ever came back on. I put it in the fuel.

If you clean the carbon before it damages the engine it is worth it. Not saying its carbon but its Keeping It Simple.