A few car issues

[Darkcloud]

Okay as some of you guys may know I just got my car running again after my blown headgasket situation. I'm having some issues at the moment and I'am stumped on what could be my problems.

1. for some reason I can't rev past 3.5k rpms my car it feels strong but once I get to that rpm range it's doesn't go any higher.

2.I have very loud ticking noise from multiple valves it sounds like I have stage 2 cam in my car. I just did a valve adjustment with in the specs of .009-.011 on the int side and .011-.013 on the ext side. The car does start up easy without hesitation and idle's nice and starts all the time,it doesn't smoke or anything, the acceleration is there until 3.5k rpms as mentioned above. the only thing that is odd is that my spark plug tips have a lot of carbon build up which they're new just put them in today. should I re-do my valve lash to a tighter spec to see if the ticking stops?

Also what are the symtoms of bent valves. I just want to know to be safe.

[Darkcloud]

ANYONE?!?!?!

I have tried searching but everything I read was a lil vague.

[Fiveiron_42]

my friend had that first problem and it ended up being his oxygen sensor.

[Darkcloud]

Did he get a check engine light b'cuz I don't have a cel, but ill look into that

[johnl]

Does it just fail to rev higher, but still smooth"? Or, does it start misfiring, the misfiring being what prevents it revving higher???

[Darkcloud]

It idles smooth. it just won't rev no higher and it does not misfire

[xkjnboix]

when i couldnt rev higher than 3k on my lude it was cause my alternator connection was a lil loose. clean the contacts and have the alternator tested at autozone for free. if your spark plugs are new but they arent NGK plugs then u need NGK plugs bottom line no ifs ands or butts. and if i remember right u got new plug wires too cause autozone gave u some for a D series instead of an F series. i would either go to honda and get a tune up kit or look for some NGK wires for the f series lol.

[fatboy1185]

The reason you can't rev above 3.5k is because your ECU has put your car in safe mode. It could be just about anything, from a injector wire loose to a o2 sensor out.

[Darkcloud]

when i couldnt rev higher than 3k on my lude it was cause my alternator connection was a lil loose. clean the contacts and have the alternator tested at autozone for free. if your spark plugs are new but they arent NGK plugs then u need NGK plugs bottom line no ifs ands or butts. and if i remember right u got new plug wires too cause autozone gave u some for a D series instead of an F series. i would either go to honda and get a tune up kit or look for some NGK wires for the f series lol.

It was B-series spark plugs lol. The altnator is fine thats still new, and I always run ngk plugs its a must.

The reason you can't rev above 3.5k is because your ECU has put your car in safe mode. It could be just about anything, from a injector wire loose to a o2 sensor out.

Okay cool I'll check my injector wires out also when going into safe mode doe the ecu make the injectors push more fuel b'cuz while warming up and at a steady idle I smell a strong odor of fuel, people tell me it's unburned fuel that I smell

[johnl]

I wonder what the closed and WOT voltages are on the TPS. Just an idle thought, might have nothing to do with your problem.

[Darkcloud]

^^^^^^^^

I'll lopk into that anything else that would cause this

[johnl]

I'll lopk into that

TPS output should be 4.5v WOT, 0.5v closed throttle.

Green wire is earth, yellow is live + feed (should be 5v with ignition on), red is feed to ECU from TPS (the one that should be 4.5v WOT, 0.5v closed throttle).

anything else that would cause this

Most probably....

[johnl]

should I re-do my valve lash to a tighter spec to see if the ticking stops?

Never adjust the clearances below spec because when the valves heat up they get significantly longer and as a result the clearance may disappear the valve may fail to seal.

Also what are the symtoms of bent valves. I just want to know to be safe.

Depends on how bad it is / how many valves are bent.

Failure to start / run, difficult starting / poor running. Noisy operation because a bent valve won't seat properly so the clearance will become greater. Poor compression, no compression. Possible hissing noises as gasses escape through poorly sealing seats.

[Darkcloud]

I re-did my valves lash to .006 on the intake side and .008 on the exhaust side abd not a sound from the valves. Some of my friends said to put them at that spec they do it and have no issues what so ever,I had the m set at .010 on the intake and .012 the exhaust side and was ticking like a a disel truck.


As far as not revving beyond 3.5k rpms that is due from lack of oil pressure. I have 4.5 quarts of oil in my car. What can cause lack of oil pressure.

[johnl]

I re-did my valves lash to .006 on the intake side and .008 on the exhaust side abd not a sound from the valves. Some of my friends said to put them at that spec they do it and have no issues what so ever,I had the m set at .010 on the intake and .012 the exhaust side and was ticking like a a disel truck.

Valve noise isn't a problem in itself, some 'ticking' / 'tapping' / 'slapping' is normal and does no damage. I'd be happier if my clearances were on the loose side (within reason) rather than too tight.

The clearances are specified by Honda for a good reason, and even though there wil be some margin for error it is unwise to second guess Honda's extensive research in this area. You never want to run with no margin for error...

Your friends may well not have had any problems from running very tight valve clearances, or, they may have problems they are unaware of, or they may be yet to encounter a problem, or may be yet to suffer the consequences of problems of which they are still unaware...

When the valve gets hot it gets longer, and the hotter it gets the longer it gets. If the cold clearance is too tight then you run the risk of the hot clearance closing up to zero or even zero minus, in which case the cam's base circle will be holding the valve very slightly open.

If so then this would result in some loss of compression on the compression stroke and sealing on the power stroke. This may not be enough to stop the cylinder firing, but enough to affect it's power output. This condition may (or may not) only exist when the valve is at it's hottest (and longest), say when the engine is at max torque output, but not when the engine is just lazing along. If so then max power may be somewhat reduced...

Additionally, if the exhaust valve doesn't seat properly it will be unable to lose as much heat (by conduction) into the much cooler metal of the cylinder head. This is very important because the very hot exhaust gasses heat the valve very substantially as they pass by the open valve head, and the valve seat is the major pathway by which the valve rids itself of this heat (when the valve is shut).

If the valve fails to seat properly, then this will result in the valve getting very hot, possibly to the point of glowing red hot (which can cause pre-ignition), and, if the valve gets hot enough for long enough (or hot enough enough times) the valve face may 'burn', which detroys compresion etc.

But, you can be lucky and get away with it...

As far as not revving beyond 3.5k rpms that is due from lack of oil pressure.

I very much doubt it.

I have 4.5 quarts of oil in my car. What can cause lack of oil pressure.

Worn oil pump or worn bearings.

Why do you think the engine "lacks" oil pressure? What do you mean by "lack of"? Do you have an OP guage? Have you had it checked with an OP guage? If you have an OP guage that's reading low, first thing to check is that the guage is functioning correctly...