i was diagnosing my car for another problem and was sitting in it letting it idle smoking a cigarette when i started hearing a ticking noise that would in quick intervals then stop. the pattern wasnt consistant. it wasnt too loud but loud enough to hear over open header. any ideas? also when i was driving tonight my car almost died while just cruising at like 40. i turned the car off and turned it back on while rolling and it ran fine. but sometimes while idling it will almost stall but jumps right back to normal rpms. i thought maybe it was the rotor screw backing out b/c it happend on the b18 a few times and that was the problem each time. it starting raining and i dont have a garage but anyone have any advice on either prob?
ticking u might need to adjust ur valves…from the way ur talkin i figure u did a swap correct? did u adjust the valves when u dropped it in?
Sparking also makes a ticking sound… rapidly… and sharp.
Could be injector tick. Very common with old Honda Injectors. The other thing it could be is intermittent “sticking” LMAs (lost motion assemblies). When not in VTEC these keep the VTEC rockers in contact with the cam. If they are bad, it will sound like really loose valves letting the VTEC rockers slap the cam. The LMAs will stick intermittently at first, then they’ll just be stuck. No damage is caused by the noise, it’s just rather annoying.
to the original poster…
Did you ever figure out what the ticking noise was/is?